Game Preview: Solar Bears at Everblades | Feb. 5, 2020

WHO: Orlando Solar Bears at Florida EverbladesVENUE: Hertz Arena, Estero, Fla.DATE: Wednesday, Feb. 5 at 7:30 p.m.WATCH: ECHL.TVLISTEN: OSB Radio via Facebook, Mixlr, TuneIn and Lightning Power Play

TONIGHT: The Orlando Solar Bears (20-18-5-1) conclude a four-game road trip back in the Sunshine State with their seventh meeting of the season with the Florida Everblades (30-11-2-2). Orlando is 1-3-1-1 in six prior meetings with Florida this season; including tonight’s game, the Solar Bears play the Everblades eight times down the stretch, the largest percentage of Orlando’s remaining game schedule. This is Orlando’s first game against Florida since Nov. 14.

REVAMPED ROSTER: The Solar Bears’ roster is significantly altered from when the team previously faced its division rival in November. Gone are Taylor Doherty, Hunter Fejes, Colby McAuley and Mike Monfredo; in their place are Tayler Thompson, Blake Kessel, Johno May and Taylor Cammarata, who have appeared in a combined 76 games and accounted for 35 points.

KESSEL ON CUSP OF 100TH GAME WITH ORLANDO: Blake Kessel’s next game will be his 100th with the Solar Bears organization, where he has also enjoyed the longest tenure in his professional career. The veteran blueliner will become just the seventh defenseman in team history to reach the century mark for games with Orlando, and his 43 career assists with the Solar Bears rank third among in team history, behind only Eric Baier (78) and Michael Brodzinski (53).

SHOT DIFFERENTIAL SUBSTANTIALLY IMPROVED: In the first quarter of the season, Orlando averaged only 30.22 shots per game, while facing an average of 36 shots against, with a record of 5-9-3-1 (.389). In the third quarter of the season, Orlando is averaging 33.5 shots per game, while facing an average of 29 shots against, and has gone 5-3-0-0 (.625) in that span.

SOSUNOV BACK IN: Oleg Sosunov is expected to make his return to the lineup for Orlando tonight after missing the last eight games and being placed on the injured reserve retroactive to Jan. 18. The second-year pro appeared in five games for Orlando in the month of January, recording an assist and a plus-minus of +3.

SCOUTING THE OPPONENT: The Everblades enter Wednesday’s game on an 8-0-0-0 tear, most recently coming off a 5-2 win at South Carolina on Saturday night. Everblades captain John McCarron leads his team in scoring against Orlando with seven points (2g-5a) in six games. Florida will be missing a key piece of its blue line after defenseman Logan Roe signed a PTO with the Syracuse Crunch earlier this week. The ECHL All-Star defenseman recently led the league in plus-minus in January with a +13 for the month.

NEXT GAMES:

The Solar Bears return home to host the South Carolina Stingrays on Thursday, Feb. 6 at 7 p.m. for a Thirsty Thursday, presented by Coors Light, featuring $5 domestic draft beers. CLICK HERE to purchase tickets for this game.

Purchase Single-Game Tickets:

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.

Order New Jerseys:

The Orlando Solar Bears will wear new jerseys for the 2019-20 season. Replica jerseys are available for purchase online, with adult sizes available for $149.95 and youth sizes available for $109.95. Fans can visit bit.ly/OSBJerseys to place their 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.