Barone, Element lift Solar Bears to 1-0 win over Icemen

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Shawn Element scored midway through the third period to break a 0-0 tie, and Brad Barone made 28 saves to collect his third shutout of the season as the Orlando Solar Bears (26-21-4-0) defeated the Jacksonville Icemen (30-16-2-2) by a 1-0 score on Wednesday night at VyStar Veterans Memorial Arena.

Both Barone and François Brassard traded phenomenal saves throughout the game, but it was Element who finally broke through when he deflected a shot from Luke McInnis past the Jacksonville netminder at 10:59 of the final frame.

The Icemen pulled Brassard with approximately two minutes left in regulation in an attempt to draw level, and a late penalty on Nolan Valleau created a 6-on-4 man advantage for the hosts, but Barone and the Solar Bears held off the final shots to secure the win and snap a three-game winless stretch.

BOX SCORE

1st PeriodSHOTS: ORL 7, JAX 8

2nd PeriodSHOTS: ORL 13, JAX 10

3rd PeriodORL Goal: Shawn Element (1) at 10:59. Assisted by Luke McInnis and Steven Oleksy.SHOTS: ORL 7, JAX 10

GoaltendingORL: Brad Barone, 28-for-28JAX: François Brassard, 26-for-27

NOTABLES:

• The win was Orlando’s third 1-0 victory of the season.
• Element’s goal was his first ECHL marker and his third professional goal.
• The Solar Bears now lead the regular season series with Jacksonville with a 5-4-0-0 record, with five games remaining, including three of Orlando’s next five contests.
• The victory gave Barone his 19th win of the season, which leads the ECHL. He has moved into a tie with Cal Heeter (2017-18) and Ryan Massa (2015-16) for the fourth-most wins by a Solar Bears goaltender in a single season, and a tie with Heeter for the fifth-most wins in franchise history.
• Orlando improved to 18-2-2-0 when scoring first.  

NEXT GAMES: The Solar Bears continue their road trip when they visit the South Carolina Stingrays on Friday, March 4 at 7:05 p.m. at the North Charleston Coliseum. The Solar Bears return home to host Jacksonville on Thursday, March 10 at 7 p.m. at the AdventHealth Rink at Amway Center for a Thirsty Thursday, featuring $5 domestic draft beers.