Orlando KIA Center – The Orlando Solar Bears suffered a tough loss Monday night falling to the Florida Everblades 1-0 in an exciting and hard-played ECHL hockey game at the KIA Center in downtown Orlando. Any loss is hard, but this one seemed more difficult due to the hard play by the Solar Bears.
Scoreless First Period
From the outset, the Bears struggled keeping the puck in the Blades’ zone. Even with Florida’s Craig Needham taking a full four-minute timeout in the penalty box, only three shots were taken on goal verses the Everblades’ six. Both goalies – Alexis Gravel for Orlando and Cam Johnson for Florida chalked up shut-outs going into the first intermission.
Period Two
The second period was nearly a repeat of the first with the minor exception of the solitary heartbreaking goal of the whole game. With six and a half minutes left to play, Everblades forward Craig Needham snuck one by Gravel.
Solar Bears Stars
The third period had the entire arena on the edged of its seat. The Solar Bears fans watched with a feverish anticipation for what never came. The game came to an end at 1-0. However, as I mentioned earlier – any loss is hard, this game certainly had its stars.
Solar Bear Goalie: Alexis Gravel
Yes, the Everblades got one passed goalie Alexis Gravel, but they took 27 shots on goal. 27! That means Gravel stopped a whopping twenty-six goals! That is simply amazing. To be fair you may be asking, “But what about Needham? He stopped all of the Solar Bears’ shots.” This is true. But the Bears only took 17 shots on goal the whole game, and 12 of those shots were considered “non quality on net” shots. Of the 27 shots Florida took, only 10 of them were deemed “non quality.”
Solar Bear Defender: Djibril Touré
At only 21 years old, 6’ 4”, 225-pound defender Djibril Touré has his team’s back. In this 2024-25 season, Touré played in each of the 11 games, has had one goal and three assists. He has also racked up a total of 21 minutes of penalty time… so far, which means he’s doing a good job of letting the opponent know he will not be allowing any crap from them. Though “Defender” is his official position on the team, I think “Enforcer” suits him just fine as well.
Solar Bear Tickets
If you have never seen a professional hockey game, the Orlando Solar Bears are offering a great deal on all the home games left in November! Be sure not to miss any of the excitement each and every hockey game has in store!
