Solar Bears upend Everblades in series opener

ORLANDO, Fla. — The Orlando Solar Bears scored twice in the first 10 minutes and Martin Ouellette stopped all 28 shots he faced in a 3-0 win over the Florida Everblades on Friday at Amway Center. In the first game of a home-and-home series with Orlando (3-3-0-0, 6 PTS), Florida (2-3-0-0, 4 PTS) received a 20-save effort from goaltender Jamie Phillips but couldn’t solve Oullette in the first meeting between the two teams this season. Brent Pedersen opened the scoring, providing the eventual game-winning goal six minutes, 47 seconds into the opening frame. After a turnover behind the Everblades goal line, Mathieu Foget found Pedersen at the top of the ‘Blades crease. Pedersen managed to stash the puck past Phillips to make it a 1-0 Orlando lead. The Solar Bears doubled their lead on a goal just 2:29 later from Brady Shaw. Mitch Hults started the play by winning a puck battle behind the goal line to the left of Phillips. Hults then dished to Shaw at the edge of the right circle, and he beat Phillips with 10:44 left in the first period. Neither team scored until the waning minutes of the game when Michael Brodzinski potted an empty-net goal with 1:34 to play in regulation. The Everblades outshot Orlando in both the first and third periods, including a 12-4 edge in shots on goal in the third, and held a 28-23 advantage in shots on goal in the game. But Ouellette turned aside every shot to earn his first shutout of the season. Phillips has yet to allow more than two goals in any of his three starts this season and didn’t yield a goal over the final two periods. Florida can split the home-and-home series with Orlando when they host the Solar Bears on Saturday night at Hertz Arena at 7 p.m. Single-game tickets start as low as $10. —Single-game tickets for all regular season games are on sale now!Ticket packages for the 2018-19 season are on sale now! Become part of the Everblades Family with a Full Season, Partial Season or a Flexible Voucher Package that fits your schedule and budget! All Ticket & Voucher Packages provide savings and special benefits! To view the Ticket & Voucher Package options CLICK HERE. Ask about the payment plan options too!SPECIAL OFFER! Purchase a new ticket package for the 2018-19 season and receive a $20 gift card to Ford’s Garage and an Everblades T-Shirt!Private Arena Tours are also available to select your 2018-19 season seats! Call the Everblades office at 239-948-7825 to schedule your tour today!

The Everblades are the proud ECHL affiliateof the NHL's Carolina Hurricanes