The Solar Bears enter the season’s 20th week in third place in the ECHL’s South Division, following three straight wins on home ice this past weekend, allowing Orlando to leapfrog the Greenville Swamp Rabbits on Sunday. Orlando heads out for a three-game road trip on Wednesday before returning home this Sunday afternoon for Faith & Family Night presented by Auto Justice Attorney Michael T. Gibson.
STANDINGS:
SOLAR BEARS RECORD: 24-21-5-1 — 54 POINTS (.529)SOUTH DIVISION: THIRD OF SEVENEASTERN CONFERENCE: SEVENTH OF 13LEAGUE: 15TH OF 26
LAST WEEK AT A GLANCE:
LAST WEEK’S RECORD: 3-0-0-0LAST WEEK’S SCORES:
- Friday, Feb. 14 vs. Norfolk (4-0 win)
- Saturday, Feb. 15 vs. Norfolk (5-4 OT win)
- Sunday, Feb. 16 vs. Atlanta (5-2 win)
THIS WEEK’S GAMES:
Wednesday, Feb. 19 at Florida Everblades – 7:30 p.m.
Friday, Feb. 21 at Atlanta Gladiators – 7:35 p.m.
Saturday, Feb. 22 at Jacksonville Icemen – 7 p.m.
Sunday, Feb. 23 vs. Norfolk Admirals – 3 p.m. – Faith & Family Night presented by Auto Justice Attorney Michael T. Gibson & Fairwinds Solar Bears Sunday – The first 100 Fairwinds Credit Union members who present their Fairwinds debit/credit card and photo ID at the Amway Center box office will receive a pair of free tickets to that day’s game. Once the first 100 pairs of tickets are claimed, Fairwinds members can still take advantage of a buy-one-get-one ticket offer. Visit fairwinds.org/solarbears for more information.
SOLAR BEARS LEADERS:
Goals: 17 – Trevor OlsonAssists: 25 – Michael BrodzinskiPoints: 33 – Tristin Langan and Taylor CammarataPlus-Minus: +22 – Tristin LanganPIM: 54 – Trevor OlsonGame-Winning Goals: 3 – Rich Boyd, Taylor Cammarata and Jake CoughlerPower-Play Goals: 6 – Alexey Lipanov (in AHL)Shorthanded Goals: 3 – Trevor OlsonShots: 127 – Cody DonagheyWins: 12 – Clint WindsorGoals-Against Average: 2.34 – Clint WindsorSave Percentage: 0.928 – Clint Windsor
OTHER NOTABLES:
SHORTHANDED SPECIALISTSMichael Brodzinski’s empty-net goal on Sunday to seal Orlando’s 5-2 win also came with the Solar Bears on the penalty kill, giving the team its ECHL-leading 12th shorthanded goal of the season. Orlando’s previous single-season record for shorthanded goals was set during the 2018-19 season, when the Solar Bears found the back of the net 15 times when playing down at least one skater. The Solar Bears currently rank third in the league with overall penalty-killing rate of 87.7 percent.
POWER PLAY HEATING UPThe Solar Bears recorded a power-play goal for the fourth consecutive game on Sunday, giving the team its longest stretch of consecutive games with at least one conversion with the man advantage. The Solar Bears have gone for 5-for-18 (27.8%) over that span. Orlando is currently ranked 14th in the ECHL for the season with a rate of 16.6%.
CLUTCH CAMMARATATaylor Cammarata has had a penchant for scoring timely goals for the Solar Bears since his acquisition just over a month ago. The forward buried the game-winner in overtime for Orlando on Saturday night, giving him his third game-winner since joining his new team, which ties him with Jake Coughler and Rich Boyd for the team lead.
COMEBACK KIDSWith two back-to-back games in which Orlando rallied from a second-period deficit, the Solar Bears are third in the Eastern Conference with four wins earned when trailing after the second period this season.
WINDSOR TO THE RESCUEAfter coming on in relief of Mike Condon midway through Saturday’s game, Clint Windsor made all 11 stops required of him to give Orlando the defensive support to rally from a 4-2 deficit and win in overtime by a 5-4 final. On Sunday afternoon, Windsor was stellar again, stopping 37-of-39 to backstop the Solar Bears to a 5-2 win and his 12th victory of the season. The rookie ranks among the top goaltenders in the league in goals-against average and save percentage, and recorded wins in back-to-back appearances for the first time since Dec. 21 and 26. Windsor is 9-4-1 in games in which he starts and allows two or fewer goals. At 16-11-3 in his Solar Bears career, Windsor needs just two more wins to tie Martin Ouellette for the fifth-most wins in franchise history.