ORLANDO, Fla. – The Orlando Solar Bears (27-19-3-0) continued their recent high-scoring ways and matched a franchise record for the most goals scored on home ice in a single game as they defeated the Manchester Monarchs (27-24-1-1) by an 8-2 score on Sunday afternoon at the ARS.com Rink at Amway Center.
Click here for the box score.
Akim Aliu gave the Solar Bears a 1-0 lead with his second goal of the season just 2:04 into the first period when his shot from the left point found its way past Charles Williams.
Alex Schoenborn deflected a wrist shot from the right point by Aliu at 18:37 to notch his seventh of the season and make it 2-0 for the hosts.
Corey Kalk added his eighth goal of the season at 4:18 of the second period when he banged in a wraparound attempt from Matthew Spencer.
Jackson Playfair netted his first career pro goal for Orlando at 14:43 as Tayler Thompson moved the puck from the left circle across the slot to the newcomer, who snapped a shot past Williams to make it 4-0 for the Solar Bears. Following the goal, the Monarchs replaced Williams with Cole Kehler in net.
Orlando continued its offensive drive as Dylan Fitze sprang Aliu for a breakaway at 18:03 and the blueliner buried his second of the day to give the Solar Bears a five-goal lead.
The Monarchs finally solved Martin Ouellette at 19:47 with a power-play goal from Nic Pierog.
The Solar Bears resumed their goal-scoring in the third period as Playfair helped set Thompson up for his fifth goal of the season. Playfair’s shot from the left circle rebounded to the side of Kehler for Thompson to stuff into the net at 4:39.
Mike Robinson made it 7-1 when Kevin Lohan fed Robinson from the left corner, and Robinson shoveled a backhand shot past Kehler at 8:23 for his fourth of the season.
Zach Frye then capped Orlando’s scoring at 14:24 with his first career ECHL goal when he received a pass from Fitze and beat Kehler with a shot from the right point.
The Monarchs converted on a late power play, as former Solar Bears forward Tony Cameranesi snapped a shot over the glove of Ouellette from the top of the right circle at 19:41.
Ouellette picked up the win with a new season-high of 40 saves on 42 shots against; Williams took the loss after coming up with 19 stops on 23 shots, while Kehler turned aside nine of 13 in relief.
THREE STARS1) Martin Ouellette – ORL2) Jackson Playfair – ORL3) Akim Aliu – ORL
NOTABLES:
- Orlando’s eight goals tied the franchise mark for goals scored in a home game. The record was previously set on Dec. 28, 2012 vs. Florida (8-4 win).
- The victory by six goals also set a new franchise record for the largest margin of victory in a home win, surpassing the previous record of five goals, which had occurred five separate times before, most recently a 5-0 win on March 31, 2018 vs. Greenville.
- The Solar Bears took the regular season series against Manchester with a 1-0-1-0 record against their opponent from the North Division. The victory moves Orlando up to second place in the South Division. The Solar Bears have won five straight on home ice dating back to Jan. 6.
- Orlando is now 18-2-1-0 when scoring first and 19-0-0-0 when leading after two periods.
- Aliu finished the day with three points (2g-1a) and a team-leading +4. Aliu’s plus-minus matched the previous season-high set by Nolan Valleau (Oct. 27 at Florida) and Frye (Feb. 15 vs. Jacksonville).
- Thompson finished the day with three points (1g-2a), good for his first career three-point outing since joining Orlando.
- Schoenborn’s goal extends his point streak to three games (2g-2a).
- Matthew Spencer’s assists on Kalk’s and Frye’s goals gives the defenseman a three-game assist streak (4a).
- Fitze led the team with three assists and now has a two-game assist streak (4a).
- Mathieu Foget’s assist on Aliu’s second goal gives the forward a three-game point streak (1g-2a).
NEXT GAME: The Solar Bears take on the Norfolk Admirals at the ARS.com Rink at Amway Center on Thursday, Feb. 21 at 7 p.m. for Thirsty Thursday, presented by Coors Light. Fans can take advantage of $5 domestic draft beers throughout the game. CLICK HERE to purchase tickets for this 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.