With all the action any hockey game promises to deliver, the game between the Orlando Solar Bears and the Jacksonville Icemen last Saturday night (Nov. 2, ’24) was no exception! Winning 5-1, the Solar Bears gave their fans everything they could want: fast skating, plenty of scoring and fights… a lot of fights!
A Night of Hockey
Alex Frye of the Solar Bears, was the first player of the evening to light up the lamp, finding the back of the net seven minutes into the game and assisted by Djibril Touré and Darik Angeli. The second Bear to score in the first period was Aaron Luchuk just two minutes later at 9:03 and assisted by Tyler Bird and Brayden Low.
Period Two
Just 2:32 into the second period, the Icemen’s only goal of the night was slipped by Solar Bear goalie Michael Simpson by Zach Jordan assisted by Robert Calisti and Davis Koch. The Solar Bears, however, slipped two more goals past Icemen goalie, Matt Vernon by Tyson Feist, assisted by Anthony Bardaro; and Darik Angeli, assisted by Alex Frye and Ben Carroll.
Third Period
Period three saw the Icemen take 12 shots on goal; that’s twice what the Bears shot. But they still remained unable to score, while Aaron Luchuk scored his second goal of the night assisted by Jimmy Mazza and Darik Angeli.
Night of Fights
Regardless of your opinion on this aspect of hockey, fighting remains an integral part of the game. Enforcers, or “goons” hold some players accountable for their actions for getting too physical with a team’s top scorers.
Dropping the Gloves
Saturday evening’s game afforded the fans at least five confrontations. However, the glove-drop everyone will remember was between Solar Bear Djibril Toure squared off against Icemen Ty Cheveldayoff. The two had been at each other’s throats the whole game and it finally came to a head with only a minute or so left to play.
The rising roar of the crowd is a completely different sound made during any other part of the game. A person can tell a fight broke out without even watching the ice just by the sound the crowd makes.
After a puck drop in the Icemen’s zone, Toure and Cheveldayoff had enough of each other, dropped their gloves, skated into the center if the rink, and like a scene straight out of the movie, “Goon,” the crowd went wild, and the fists started flying!
Both players were ejected from the game as Toure spurred the crowd on by waiving his arm in the air!
For all you who enjoy reading the stats of each game, you can find them here on the Orlando Solar Bears’ website.
Don’t miss any of the action! The Orlando Solar Bears plays the Savannah Ghost Pirates tonight, Nov. 4, 2024, and the Atlanta Gladiators on Wed. 6, 2024 Puck drops for both games at 7:00 PM.
For tickets to games, visit the Tickets page on the Solar Bear site!
