Luchuk leads Solar Bears to 5-2 win over Everblades

ORLANDO, Fla. — Aaron Luchuk led the way with two goals and an assist to pace the Orlando Solar Bears (15-10-3-0) to their second straight victory of the week over the Florida Everblades (21-7-0-2), courtesy of  5-2 win on Saturday night at the AdventHealth Rink at Amway Center.

VIEW BOX SCORE

After Orlando fell behind 1-0 in the first period, Luchuk tied the score with a power-play goal from the right circle for his seventh of the season at 11:08.

Luchuk added his second of the night on a breakaway after receiving a stretch pass from Zack Andrusiak, beating Jake Hildebrand at 3:32 of the second period to put the Solar Bears up 2-1.

Luchuk then found Tristin Langan for the sophomore forward’s sixth of the season at 5:57.

Blake Winiecki pulled Florida to within a goal of the Solar Bears at 14:35 of the third period, but Chris LeBlanc and Anthony Repaci added empty-net goals to seal the win.

Michael Lackey picked up his fifth win of the season with 37 saves on 39 shots against; Hildebrand took the loss going 29-of-32.

THREE STARS:1) Aaron Luchuk - ORL2) Michael Lackey - ORL3) Tristin Langan - ORL

NOTABLES:

• Orlando is riding a 4-0-1-0 streak, its best stretch without a regulation loss this season
• Luchuk’s three-point night was his first of the season and extended his point streak to 10 games (5g-8a), the first Solar Bears player to record a double-digit point streak since Erik Bradford (10 games, 3g-7a; March 6-26, 2016); Luchuk is now tied for fourth in league scoring with 26 points (8g-18a)
• Mark Auk assisted on Luchuk’s first goal, extending the defenseman’s point streak to five games (1g-6a)
• Repaci’s empty-net goal at 19:03 of the third period was the first goal of his pro career; he now has 1g-1a through his first two pro games
• LeBlanc played in his 200th career game with the Solar Bears, becoming the first forward in team history to do so
• Orlando is 15-1-1-0 when scoring three or more goals and 11-0-0-0 when leading after the second period
• The Solar Bears improved to 5-8-2-0 in the series with Florida
• Lackey is now unbeaten in regulation in his last five outings, with a 3-0-2 record since Feb. 13; he has posted a 1.77 goals-against average and a .941 save percentage over that stretch  

NEXT GAME:

The Solar Bears close out the weekend with the second game of Kids Weekend, presented by First Watch, when they take on the Florida Everblades at the AdventHealth Rink at Amway Center on Sunday, March 7 at 3 p.m. Sunday’s game is also a VyStar Credit Union Solar Bears Sunday. The first 100 VyStar members who show their VyStar debit/credit card at the Amway Center box office can score a pair of free tickets to the game; once the 100 pairs are claimed, VyStar members can still take advantage of a BOGO ticket offer. Visit vystarcu.org/solarbears for more information.