Solar Bears drop weekend opener to Stingrays

NORTH CHARLESTON, S.C. – The Orlando Solar Bears (19-16-3-0) dropped the opener to their weekend series with the South Carolina Stingrays (21-16-2-0) by a 4-1 score on Friday night at the North Charleston Coliseum.

Click here for the box score.

Both teams received quality scoring chances in the first period, but the Stingrays struck first late in the frame when Tad Kozun redirected a shot by Vinny Muto in the slot past Corbin Boes at the 18:10 mark.

Kozun scored again early in the second period to make it 2-0 at the 3:14 mark.

Matt Pohlkamp extended South Carolina’s lead three goals at 7:59 with a breakaway following a stretch pass from Kevin McKernan, prompting the Solar Bears to replace Boes with Clint Windsor, who in doing so, made his ECHL debut.

Orlando had two breakaway scoring chances in the second period, but both Mathieu Foget and Mike Monfredo were unable to get one past Angus Redmond.

Colby McAuley finally solved Redmond at 16:56 of the third period with a blast from the high slot for his fifth of the season after a Stingrays turnover, making the score 3-1.

Orlando pulled Windsor for an extra skater in an attempt to close the gap, but Cameron Askew put the game away with an empty-net tally at 18:03 to cap the scoring.

Boes took the loss with 11 saves on 14 shots against while Windsor stopped all 13 shots he faced in relief; Redmond picked up the victory for the Stingrays with 38 saves on 39 shots against.

THREE STARS1) Tad Kozun – SC2) Angus Redmond – SC3) Cameron Askew – SC

NEXT GAMES: The Solar Bears square off against the South Carolina Stingrays again on Saturday, Jan. 19 at 7:05 p.m. at the North Charleston Coliseum. The Solar Bears return home to host the Jacksonville Icemen on Wednesday, Feb. 6 at 7 p.m. for a Wine Down Wednesday. Fans can take advantage of $5 wine specials during the game. CLICK HERE to purchase tickets for the game.

Fighting Four Packs presented by CenturyLink:

Gear up for the second half of the 2018-19 season with a Fighting Four Pack, presented by CenturyLink! Pick any four remaining home games and get $65 dollars in gift certificates to Dick’s Sporting Goods, First Watch, QDOBA Mexican Eats and a FREE center ice ticket to the Saturday, Feb. 23 game against the Greenville Swamp Rabbits, part of Hockey Fights Cancer Weekend, presented by XYMOPrint. Packs start as low as $69.99 – CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE.

2018-19 Season Presented by XYMOPrint:

The Orlando Solar Bears are proud to have local digital printing experts XYMOPrint as the presenting sponsor of the 2018-19 season. As a special offer, fans who call XYMOPrint at (888) 223-9390 from now until June 15, 2019 and reference the Solar Bears will receive 30% off their first order of 500 business cards.

2018-19 Single-Game Tickets Now on Sale:

Single-game tickets for the Orlando Solar Bears 2018-19 regular season home schedule are now on sale. Fans can purchase single-game tickets for as little as $15 at the Amway Center box office, or online at Ticketmaster.com.

2018-19 Season Ticket Memberships:

Season Ticket Memberships for the seventh season of ECHL Orlando Solar Bears hockey are now on sale. Full and Half-Season memberships are both available, starting as low as $270. For more information, call (407) 951-8200 or visit orlandosolarbearshockey.com.

About the Orlando Solar Bears:

The Orlando Solar Bears are the proud affiliate of the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning and members of the ECHL, the premier “AA” hockey league in North America. In six seasons of operation, the team has qualified for the Kelly Cup Playoffs four times. The Solar Bears are owned and operated by the Orlando Magic and the DeVos Family, and play at the ARS.com Rink at Amway Center, the 2012 Street and Smith’s Sports Business Journal Sports Facility of the Year.

Officially licensed Orlando Solar Bears replica team jerseys, apparel, and headwear can be purchased at orlandosolarbearshockey.com/shop.