The Solar Bears dropped their season-opening contest 4-1 at the hands of the Florida Everblades at the Germain Arena on Friday night. Florida scored two goals in the first period en route to the victory.
The Everblades struck first, midway through the opening frame. A shot from the blue line off the stick of D Mike Cornell found its way through traffic in front of Solar Bears
goaltender Christopher Gibson and inside the right post to give Florida a 1-0 lead. F Maxime Langelier-Parent pushed the lead to 2-0 at 12:06 when his one-time just trickled through the pads of Gibson and over the line. Florida continued to hold the 2-0 lead heading into the second stanza.
In the second, the Everblades quickly increased their lead to 3-0. Just 2:23 into the period, F Danick Gauthier squeezed a shot between the pads of Gibson to increase the Florida lead. Late in the period, the Solar Bears answered back when D Corey Fienhage fired a wrist shot past the glove of G Kristers Gudlevskis with 3:28 left in the frame.
Once again an early period goal helped the Everblades extend their lead. A long pass from D Jordan Henry led F Kyle Bonis on a two-on-one rush. Bonis picked the top right corner with the shot 3:25 into the period as Florida collected a three goal lead. It was the final goal of the contest, as Florida defeated the Solar Bears by the final 4-1 score.
Three Stars: 1. D. Gauthier (FLA); 2. K. Gudlevskis (FLA); 3. J. Henry (FLA)
Power Plays: ORL: 0/5; FLA: 0/8
Shots: ORL: 21; FLA: 27
