Lightning reassign Matthew Spencer, Alexey Lipanov and Ryan Lohin to Solar Bears

ORLANDO, Fla. – The Orlando Solar Bears have announced that the Tampa Bay Lightning have reassigned defenseman Matthew Spencer and rookie forwards Alexey Lipanov and Ryan Lohin to the club from the Syracuse Crunch of the American Hockey League. Additionally, the San Jose Barracuda of the AHL have loaned rookie forward Marcus Vela to Orlando, and the Solar Bears have signed rookie forward Jake Jackson to a tryout. Defenseman Kevin Lohan has also been added to Orlando’s training camp roster after returning from his AHL training camp invite with the Binghamton Devils.

Spencer, 22, split the 2018-19 season with Orlando and Syracuse, putting up 15 points (2g-13a) and 34 penalty minutes in 36 games for the Solar Bears, and one assist and two penalty minutes in 11 games for the Crunch.

The 6-foot-2, 204-pound blueliner has 18 points (4g-14a) and 47 penalty minutes in 50 career ECHL games split between the Solar Bears and Adirondack Thunder. He has also posted six points (1g-5a) and 15 penalty minutes in 51 career AHL games with Syracuse.

Prior to turning pro, the Oakville, Ontario native played major junior hockey for the Peterborough Petes of the Ontario Hockey League, where he accumulated 98 points (19g-79a) and 203 penalty minutes in 251 games.

Spencer was a second-round selection (#44 overall) of the Lightning in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft.

Lipanov, 20, returns to Orlando after skating in four regular season contests last season, producing four points (1g-3a). He also appeared in four playoff contests for the Solar Bears, logging one assist and two penalty minutes. Lipanov also has 10 games of AHL experience with the Crunch, where he has picked up three assists and four penalty minutes.

The native of Moscow, Russia played his major junior career with the Kitchener Rangers, Sudbury Wolves and Barrie Colts of the Ontario Hockey League, accumulating 69 points (25g-44a) and 36 penalty minutes in 116 career games.

Lipanov was a third-round selection (#76 overall) of the Lightning in the 2017 NHL Entry Draft.

Lohin, 23, will begin his first full professional season with Orlando after appearing in three games with the Crunch at the conclusion of the 2018-19 season, in which the 6-foot, 192-pound forward logged two penalty minutes.

Prior to turning pro, Lohin played three seasons of college hockey at the University of Massachusetts-Lowell, where posted 81 points (33g-48a) and 56 penalty minutes in 110 career games for the RiverHawks program. In 2018-19, he served as team captain, and helped UMass-Lowell capture the 2017 Hockey East championship.

The native of Chadds Ford Township, Pennsylvania played junior hockey for the Waterloo Black Hawks and Madison Capitols of the United States Hockey League, amassing 83 points (33g-50a) and 103 penalty minutes in 122 career games.

Lohin was a seventh-round selection (#208 overall) of the Lightning in the 2016 NHL Entry Draft.

Vela, 22, will begin his first full professional season with Orlando after skating in six games with the Barracuda near the end of the 2018-19 campaign, in which he tallied two assists and two penalty minutes.

The 6-foot-2, 201-pound native of Burnaby, British Columbia played college hockey at the University of New Hampshire, where he put up 58 points (24g-34a) and 112 penalty minutes in 135 career games for the Wildcats program. Vela captained UNH during his senior season.

Vela was a seventh-round pick (#190 overall) of the San Jose Sharks in the 2015 NHL Entry Draft.

Jackson, 24, joins Orlando after appearing in training camp with the Barracuda on an invite basis. The 6-foot, 190-pound forward looks to begin his pro career after skating for the past four seasons at Michigan Tech University, where he collected 51 points (27g-24a) and 57 penalty minutes in 113 games for the Huskies program, and captured back-to-back Western Collegiate Hockey Association conference titles in 2017 and 2018.

The Maplewood, Minnesota native also skated in the USHL for the Des Moines Buccaneers and Waterloo Black Hawks, where he picked up nine points (3g-6a) and 20 penalty minutes in 44 career games.

Jackson was a seventh-round selection (#201 overall) of the Sharks in the 2013 NHL Entry Draft.

Lohan, 26, previously agreed to terms with Orlando on July 25.

Opening Night is Oct. 12:

The Orlando Solar Bears open their eighth season of ECHL hockey against the South Carolina Stingrays on Saturday, Oct. 12 at 7 p.m. Opening Night tickets are on sale via the Amway Center box office and Ticketmaster  – CLICK HERE TO PURCHASE TICKETS TO OPENING NIGHT. Single-game tickets for all Solar Bears home games are now on sale at the Amway Center box office and Ticketmaster. CLICK HERE to download the calendar for the 2019-20 season.

Pre-Order New Jerseys:

The Orlando Solar Bears will wear new jerseys for the 2019-20 season. An extremely limited quantity of replica jerseys are available for pre-order online, with adult sizes available for $149.95 and youth sizes available for $109.95. Fans can visit bit.ly/OSBJerseys to place a pre-order today.

2019-20 Season Ticket Memberships on Sale Now:

Upgrade to Solar Status and become a Season Ticket Member today. Season ticket memberships for the 2019-20 season are now on sale and start as little as $270 – CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION.

2019-20 Season Presented by XYMOPrint:

The 2019-20 Orlando Solar Bears season is presented by XYMOPrint, Orlando’s digital printing experts. As a special offer, fans who call XYMOPrint at (888) 223-9390 from now until June 15, 2021 and reference the Solar Bears will receive 15% off their first order and a free Orlando Solar Bears poster!

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 seven seasons of operation, the team has qualified for the Kelly Cup Playoffs five times. The Solar Bears are owned and operated by the Orlando Magic and the DeVos Family, and play 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.