Fucale Shines Again for Solar Bears in Win over Steelheads
November 21, 2019 - ECHL (ECHL) - Orlando Solar Bears News Release
BOISE, Idaho - Zachary Fucale turned aside all 44 shots he faced for his second consecutive shutout win, as the Orlando Solar Bears (5-7-1-1) picked up a 3-0 victory over the Idaho Steelehads (8-5-2-2) on Wednesday night at CenturyLink Arena.
The Solar Bears took a 1-0 lead in the first period when Hunter Fejes directed the puck back to the blue line, where defenseman Rich Boyd stepped into a shot that beat goaltender Colton Point to the glove side at 4:18 for his first professional goal.
A late second-period penalty to Idaho's Joe Basaraba resulted in Orlando entering the third period with a 5-on-4 man advantage.
The Solar Bears capitalized on the power play just 27 seconds into the third stanza when Alexey Lipanov sent a tape-to-tape pass across the slot to Mikhail Shalagin, who snapped a shot past Point for his second goal of the season.
The Steelheads pulled Point for an extra attacker in the final two minutes of regulation, and Trevor Olson sealed the game with an empty-net tally at 19:59 for his third goal of the season.
Fucale's second victory of the season was made possible by a season-high 44 saves, including a game-high 16 in the third period; Point took the loss with 19 stops on 21 shots against.
THREE STARS:
1) Zachary Fucale - ORL
2) Hunter Fejes - ORL
3) Rich Boyd - ORL
NOTABLES:
Fucale's 44 saves set a new club record for saves by a goaltender in a shutout, breaking the record of 43 set by Patrick Killeen on March 20, 2013 vs. Greenville; Fucale is also the first Solar Bears goaltender to record back-to-back shutouts since Maxime Clermont managed the feat on March 9, 2015 vs. Cincinnati and March 11, 2015 at Toledo
The Solar Bears went 3-for-3 on the penalty kill, pushing their streak of not surrendering a power-play goal to 11 games since Oct. 25; The Solar Bears have gone 42-for-42 with the PK over that span and lead the ECHL on the season with a PK rate of 93.4%
Fejes' assists gives him a three-game point streak (2g-2a)
Lipanov's assist on Shalagin's goal gives the forward a two-game point streak (1g-1a)
Olson's goal gives the forward a two-game goal-scoring streak (2g)
Olson and Cody Donaghey tied for the team lead with three shots on goal
NEXT GAMES:
The Solar Bears continue their road trip when they visit the Utah Grizzlies on Friday, Nov. 22 at 9:10 p.m. ET at Maverik Center. The Solar Bears return home to host the Norfolk Admirals on Tuesday, Nov. 26 at 7 p.m.
• Discuss this story on the ECHL message board...
ECHL Stories from November 21, 2019
- Greenville Edges Jacksonville on Thursday - Greenville Swamp Rabbits
- Gomes and Sparks Electric as Beast Down Thunder - Brampton Beast
- Thunder Comeback Falls Short in Loss to Beast - Adirondack Thunder
- Conner Bleackley Returns from PTO, Colton Point Assigned to Texas - Idaho Steelheads
- Goalie Hunter Miska Returns to Grizzlies Roster - Utah Grizzlies
- ECHL Transactions - November 21 - ECHL
- Parisi Signs PTO with Belleville Senators - South Carolina Stingrays
- Swavely Recalled from Loan by Lehigh Valley - Reading Royals
- Elmer Reassigned to Mariners, Savage Recalled to Milwaukee - Maine Mariners
- Messner recalled to Providence - Atlanta Gladiators
- Marly Quince Agrees to ECHL Deal with Royals - Reading Royals
- Admirals Snap out of Skid, Crush Mariners, 6-1 - Norfolk Admirals
- Fucale Shines Again for Solar Bears in Win over Steelheads - Orlando Solar Bears
- Quennevile's Late Tally Helps Rush Grease out Win against Oilers - Rapid City Rush
- Oilers Drop First of Three Games in Rapid City - Tulsa Oilers
- Steelheads Fall 3-0 to Solar Bears - Idaho Steelheads
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
