Orlando – The Orlando Solar Bears had back-to-back home games this past weekend, losing the first and winning the second.
Bears’ Friday, Jan. 3, 2025
In their first game of the new year, in front of a crowd of 7401 fans, the Solar Bears took on the Greenville Swamp Rabbits Friday evening. This was the game they should have won, as the Rabbits were ranked two notches below the Bears. But upsets happen, and sometimes when the opponent is underestimated the score reflects that mindset.
Those “wascawwy wabbits” managed to score three goals in the first period, consequently causing Head Coach Matt Carkner to replace starting goalie Ryan Fanti with Alexis Gravel after the third goal. Spencer Kersten and Aaron Luchuk, however, were able to put points on the board, making the final score 5-2 in favor of the Swamp Rabbits.
Solar Bears’ Saturday night, Jan. 4, 2025
Undoubtedly, this was the game everyone expected our beloved Solar Bears to lose, and for good reason. They were going face-to-face with the #1 team in the ECHL – the Florida Everblades. Losing six out of eight games to the Blades, the Bears skated into an arena with 8857 fans cheering them on! That’s only 192 fans short of capacity!
As I mentioned earlier, it’s never good to underestimate your opponent and that’s exactly what the Blades did Saturday night. Playing harder and better than some NHL teams I’ve seen play; the Orlando Solar Bears showed the #1 (now #2) team that they aren’t just some “easy win.”
Solar Bears Goalie Ryan Fanti
Though the whole team played better than I’ve ever seen them play, it was goalie Ryan Fanti who was truly inspiring! Any goalie would have understandably been shook-up and in a heavy funk after a game like he had the previous night against Greenville, and I’m sure Ryan beat himself up good. But one would have never even guessed that he had had a bad night when he skated confidently onto the ice Saturday evening!
With a scoreless first period, the Blades were the first to find the back of the net eight minutes into the second period. It was Big Bear Jack Adams who evened up the score just 1:35 into the third, causing the game to go into overtime. And with only 56 seconds left in overtime play, Spencer Kersten slipped the puck through Blade goalie David Tendeck’s 5-hole (between the goalie’s legs) bringing the game to an end and throwing the fans into a frenzy!
Fanti ended up stopping 25 out of 26 shots on goal, holding the team who has the most Kelly Cup wins (four titles) to just one goal! You can watch the video recaps of both games here on the Solar Bears’ site!
The Orlando Solar Bears will once again host a rematch against the Greenville Swamp Rabbits Tuesday evening, Jan. 7, 2025, at the KIA Center. Puck drops at 7:00 PM! For tickets go to the Ticket tab on the Solar Bears’ website!
