Bear Bites: Week of Oct. 18, 2021

ORLANDO, Fla. – The Orlando Solar Bears return to the ice this week as the team drops the puck on its 10th season of ECHL competition with Opening Night against the Atlanta Gladiators on Saturday, October 23 at 7 p.m. at the AdventHealth Rink at Amway Center.

THIS WEEK’S GAMES:

• Saturday, Oct. 23 vs. Atlanta Gladiators at 7 p.m. – Opening Night
  • Be sure to join us on Church Street for Fan Fest prior to the game, featuring Solar Bears cornhole, DJ, Ivanhoe Park Brewing Co. beer garden, smoothie sampling from Planet Smoothie and more!
  • The first 5,000 fans in attendance will receive Solar Bears clappers, presented by VyStar Credit Union!
  • Visit the Janney Roofing table on the concourse to enter to win a free roof from Janney Roofing, official roofer of the Solar Bears! This season, Janney Roofing is the presenting sponsor of every Solar Bears power play. During the 2021-22 season, Janney Roofing and the Solar Bears are teaming up to donate $200 for every power-play goal scored on home ice to benefit Central Florida Children's home!
  • Lennar Homes is using the proceeds from Saturday’s chuck-a-puck intermission contest to benefit the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society!

GET TO KNOW THE GUYS: While the Solar Bears still must submit their Season-Opening Roster to the ECHL league office by 3 p.m. on Wednesday, October 20, here’s a glance of the current Solar Bears training camp roster as it stands as of this morning:

Orlando Solar Bears 2021 Training Camp Roster:

ForwardsTyler BirdNick BlighLuke Boka [R]Dylan FitzeJoseph Garreffa [SJB]Kryštof Hrabík [SJB]Jackson Keane [R]Tristin LanganAaron LuchukJake McGrew [SJS]Ian Parker [R]Steenn Pasichnuk [R-SJB]Fabrizio RicciKyle Topping [SJB]

Defensemen

Braydon Barker [R]Michael BrodzinskiChad Duchesne [V]Kevin LohanLuke McInnisCole Moberg [R-SJB]

GoaltendersZachary Émond [R-SJS]

R = Rookie – less than 25 regular season games of professional hockeyV = Veteran – 260+ regular season games of professional hockeyTB = Tampa Bay Lightning contractSJS = San Jose Sharks contractSJB = San Jose Barracuda contract

The Orlando Solar Bears, along with VyStar Credit Union, have announced the launch of a co-branded debit card, available now for all VyStar Credit Union members.

Fans can get a Solar Bears debit card when they open a VyStar account with a minimum balance of $5 at any branch location. They can also apply for membership online at apply.vystarcu.org but will need to visit a branch to get a Solar Bears card. Current members can request a co-branded card by visiting a branch, calling 800-445-6289 or speaking to a VyChat representative at www.vystarcu.org.

IN CASE YOU MISSED IT:

Earlier this month we caught up with Tampa Bay Lightning vice president and general manager Julien BriseBois at the NHL preseason game at Amway Center. We got his insight into how the Solar Bears fit into the on-ice development plans for the Lightning entering the fourth year of the affiliation between Orlando and the defending Stanley Cup champions.

BITES:

• Tristin Langan and Aaron Luchuk enter the 2021-22 season with the active team lead for consecutive games played, after appearing in all 72 games last season – the Solar Bears’ “Iron Man” streak is currently 88, held by Johnny McInnis (March 19, 2015-Oct. 29, 2016).
• The Solar Bears hold a lifetime 38-30-6-4 (.551) record against Atlanta; Orlando is 21-11-2-1 (.643) against the Gladiators on home ice.
• Joseph Garreffa (4g-1a) and Kyle Topping (2g-3a) led the Solar Bears in scoring for the preseason.
• The Solar Bears have 11 players on their training camp roster who previously appeared in at least one regular season game with Orlando.
• The Solar Bears’ training camp roster currently has five NHL draft picks; Tyler Bird is the highest-drafted of the five, taken by the Columbus Blue Jackets with the 137th pick in the 2014 draft.
• Dylan Fitze is the oldest player in camp at 28 years, 10 months, two weeks and six days old; Cole Moberg is the youngest in camp at 21 years and one day old.
• The Solar Bears are 4-5-0-0 in home openers; last season Tristin Langan provided the game-winner in Orlando’s first home opener decided in overtime in a 3-2 victory over Jacksonville.

BEAR BEER FLORIDA LAGER CANS DEBUT THIS WEEK: Earlier this summer, the Solar Bears and Ivanhoe Park Brewing Co. collaborated to introduce Bear Beer Florida Lager, now available on tap at the official watch party location for Solar Bears games this season. The beer will also be available later this week for purchase in cans (art pictured above) at Ivanhoe Park Brewing Co.

Now Solar Bears fans can win a trip to Jacksonville for 2022 ECHL All-Star Weekend! The format for the 2022 Warrior / ECHL All-Star Classic will feature the entire Jacksonville Icemen hockey team going head-to-head with the ECHL All-Stars. One lucky fan will win a trip to All-Star Weekend, including travel and accomodations, along with two tickets to Fan Fest on Sunday, January 16 and the 2022 ECHL All-Star Classic on Monday, January 17!

BEARS IN THE NHL:

Several former Solar Bears currently occupy spots on NHL rosters for the 2021-22 season – here we will track their progress:

BECOME A VYSTAR CREDIT UNION MEMBER! 

VyStar Credit Union is the official credit union of the Orlando Solar Bears – take advantage of member benefits including discounted tickets and more! 

CLICK TO LEARN MORE ABOUT BECOMING A VYSTAR CREDIT UNION MEMBER