The Orlando Solar Bears
Pick your cliche, but Orlando badly needs a victory in Game 3
will try tonight to get back on track after dropping the first two games of their ECHL South Division final series against the Florida Everblades.
“One game at a time.” It’s one of the most overused sports cliches ever, right up there with “give 110 percent” and “play within yourself.”
But Orlando Solar Bears head coach Drake Berehowsky used it to describe the team’s mentality after losing the first two games of its ECHL South Division final series against the Florida Everblades.
Turns out those other two overused sports cliches fit with Orlando’s fate now that it’s in the same position Florida was in last year.
“The guys know we’re able to play with them when we’re all focused,” Berehowsky said after Tuesday’s morning skate. “It’s going to take everybody playing at the top of their game for us to compete.”
That practice was in a different place this time — Amway Center, at which the final score of the Bears’ last home game was still displayed on multiple videoboards.
Solar Bears 2, South Carolina Stingrays 1 (in overtime), with the time of 2:48 also still showing.
It’s a reminder of what Orlando
team that’s supposedly better on paper.
“The guys love playing in front of our crowd — the best crowd in the league,” Berehowsky said. “Hopefully we’ll be energized by them and be able to jump on [the Everblades] early on.
“It’s a great rivalry; has been since the first day I got here. We have a lot of respect for them, but we realize we can do much better against them.”
One of the two players on last season’s squad that was up 2-0 on Florida in the first round of the ECHL playoffs before eventually losing in seven games knows the Bears can do the same thing.
“I think they’ve had us on our heels a little bit,” Joe Perry said. “They’re a real good team, but I think we gave them a little too much respect. Two games in, we have more of a feel of what they’re going to bring. If we play our best we know we can beat them.”
Orlando hasn’t played close to its best during the majority of the first two games.
It’s stayed close after the first two periods. Hunter Fejes’ goal less than two minutes into the third period in Game 1 cut Florida’s lead to 2-1 before the Everblades finished with a pair of late goals to beat the Bears 4-1.
Chris LeBlanc’s goal eight minutes into Game 2 tied the score at 1-1 before Florida exploded again in the third period, this time with four goals to win 5-1.
“We have to stick with our game for 60 minutes,” Berehowsky said. “Stick to our structure, stay focused and stay disciplined.”
Part of that is not committing as many penalties. In the first two games of the series, Orlando has 82 penalty minutes while Florida only has 34. The Bears had 68 minutes in the box in Game 2 alone.
“There’s less incentive to fight because penalties are so big in the playoffs,” Perry said. “Obviously it’s going to be there because of the rivalry, but we’re looking to stay disciplined for the next few games.”
Orlando also needs to create more offense. It’s been outshot 64-50 in the two games.
Even though the Bears were also outshot against South Carolina in both overtime wins at home, Perry knows at some point the offense needs a boost.
“We need to do a better job in their zone,” he said. “We’re not generating enough right now. When we dump pucks in and they’re forechecking, we’re checking and not retrieving. We need to find ways of retrieving pucks when we dump them in and get our cycle game going. That’s what we pride ourselves on and where we’ve found success this season.”