Bear Bites | Week of May 13

The Orlando Solar Bears were eliminated from the 2024 Kelly Cup Playoffs by the defending champion, Florida Everblades in five games after a 2-1 overtime decision on Saturday night at Kia Center.

#3 Florida Everblades vs. #4 Orlando Solar Bears:
Game 1 - 1-5 L - (FLA leads series 1-0)
Game 2 - 3-6 L - (FLA leads series 2-0)
Game 3 - 2-4 L - (FLA leads series 3-0)
Game 4 - 4-2 W - (FLA leads series 3-1)
Game 5 - 1-2 OTL - (FLA wins series 4-1)

AT A GLANCE:

PLAYOFF RECORD: 5-5-1 (.455)

LAST WEEK’S RECORD: 1-1-1

2024 PLAYOFF LEADERS:

TOP SCORER: Darik Angeli, Jaydon Dureau - 11 points

MOST GOALS: Spencer Kersten – 6 goals

MOST ASSISTS: Jaydon Dureau – 8 assists

PIM LEADER: Tyler Bird – 29 PIM

PLUS-MINUS LEADER: Darik Angeli - +10

LAST WEEK’S GAMES:

Game Three: Florida Everblades 4 at Orlando Solar Bears 2 F
Game Three shifted back to Orlando, with the Solar Bears trailing two games to none. For the third straight game, Florida scored first and took a 2-0 lead in the second. Mitchell Hoelscher and Darik Angeli got the Solar Bears to square. Matthew Widman put the Blades back in the lead and Oliver Chau scored an empty net goal to give the Everblades a 4-2 decision.

Box Score | Highlights

Game Four: Florida Everblades 2 at Orlando Solar Bears 4 F
Darik Angeli, Jaydon Dureau, and Ben Carroll each recorded two points, as the Solar Bears staved off elimination with a 4-2 win in Game Four at Kia Center. Evan Fitzpatrick made 37 saves for the victory.

Box Score | Highlights

Game Five: Florida Everblades 2 vs. Orlando Solar Bears 1 F/OT
The Florida Everblades eliminated the Orlando Solar Bears from playoff contention Saturday night, as the Bears lost their first overtime goal of the playoffs, 2-1 in front of a sellout crowd of 9,049 at Kia Center in Orlando. Mitchell Hoelscher scored the lone goal for Orlando in the final minute of the third period to force overtime, but Robert Carpenter's two goal night propelled the Blades to their third straight division title.

Box Score | Highlights

PLAYOFF BITES: 

• Darik Angeli and Jaydon Dureau passed Denver Manderson for the most points in a single playoff year by each tallying 11 points. (10 - 2017)
• Darik Angeli set a new Solar Bears playoff record with a +10 rating
• Evan Fitzpatrick tied Connor Ingram from most wins in a playoff season (5 - 2019), and set new records in games played (11), minutes played (696), and saves (370).
• The Solar Bears finished the playoffs with a perfect 4-0 record when scoring first.

BEARS IN THE NHL:
Several former Solar Bears currently occupy spots on NHL rosters for the 2024 Playoffs – here we will track their progress:

• Mason Marchment - Forward - Dallas Stars - 4 GP, 1g-1a
• Spencer Martin - Goaltender - Carolina Hurricanes - 0 GP, 0-0-0, .000%