Orlando’s goalies cast wide net to stop shots
As the Orlando Solar Bears close in on an ECHL playoff berth for the second consecutive year, one big reason will be Garret Sparks.
Another will be Maxime Clermont.
When the gloves go on, the Solar Bears’ goaltenders are prepared to deflect whatever comes their way.
“It’s a friendship, and we both have the same endgoal in mind,” Sparks said. “There’s no real rivalry between us. We make sure that each other brings their best.”
The Solar Bears (36-23-6-4, 72 points) need to earn one point to eliminate the Greenville Road Warriors (37-29-1-3, 68 points) and claim the final postseason spot from the ECHL’s East Division. Orlando’s first opportunity to clinch will come in a potential first-round playoff preview against the Florida Everblades (47-15-2-5, 101 points) at 7 tonight at Amway Center.
The Solar Bears will conclude the regular season with road games Friday and Saturday nights against the Everblades.
“We’ve been playing a high level of [competitive] hockey for weeks now,’’ coach Vince Williams said. “We’ve had to make sure we are playing the right way and doing the right things. That’s prepared us to play in big games, like [tonight].’’
Regardless whether Sparks or Clermont will be in goal, the Solar Bears can rely on one of the league’s best goaltending combinations. Sparks (20-7-2-1) leads the ECHL with a .934 save percentage, his four shutouts are tied for second and he ranks fifth with a 2.42 goals-against average.
“He is an elite goalie at this level,’’ Williams said.
Clermont (9-6-2-2) has recorded a .900 save per-
centage and 3.01 goalsagainst average in 20 games. He went nearly 214 ⁄ minutes — a regulation hockey game is 60 minutes — without allowing a goal during one stretch last month.
Clermont was selected in the sixth round of the 2010 NHL Draft by the New York Devils, one year before Sparks was taken in the seventh round by the Toronto Maple Leafs. The Solar Bears are the Maple Leafs’ ECHL affiliate.
“We’re the last guys on defense, and goaltending is huge, especially around this time of the year,’’ Clermont said. “We just have to make sure we’re ready to do our part.”
Said Sparks: “It’s like you’re playing a different sport on the same sheet of ice. Being a goalie is a completely different game. It’s good to communicate with [skaters] and tell them what you see on the ice and relay that message, but at the same time, you never want to go in and make demands.”
Not that the other Solar Bears aren’t willing to listen.
“When their time’s called, they’re stepping up and accepting the challenge,” captain Stefan Della Rovere said. “They’re our last line of defense, and we rely on them a lot.”
Sparks, a Midwesterner from Elmhurst, Ill., and Clermont, a Montreal native, have connected off the ice. They have become good friends and meet for dinner regularly.
Most of the time, though, they just join the rest of the Solar Bears.
“I’m a little more goofy and outgoing, and he’s definitely the more polished professional,’’ Sparks said. “I learn a little bit from him about that.”
And Orlando’s opponents are learning that facing Sparks or Clermont can lead to plenty of rejections.