ECHL Orlando Solar Bears

Neal's Five Point Night Leads Solar Bears to 7-2 Win over Wheeling

Published on January 17, 2013 under ECHL (ECHL)
Orlando Solar Bears News Release


Orlando, FL - Forward Michael Neal notched two goals and five points in a 7-2 victory for Orlando over the Wheeling Nailers in front of 5,711 fans at the Amway Center on Thursday night.

The Solar Bears started off the scoring 5:28 in the period, as D Mike Liambas picked up a pass from Neal and slipped the puck behind Wheeling G Peter Delmas. Neal then added his first goal of the night 7:46 into the frame, after a nice give-and-go with Liambas to put Orlando ahead 2-0. Less than a minute later, RW Dan Gender found his way into the zone and snapped the puck into the left corner and increasing the Orlando lead to 3-0. However, D Zach Hansen fired home two power play goals before the end of the frame to reduce the Orlando lead to 3-2 by the end of the period.

D Ryan Blair put Orlando back up by two at 4:28 of the middle period, skating up the left wing and wristing a puck past Delmas. Neal struck for a second time at 9:10 of the frame after after picking up a rebound in the crease and knocking the puck home. Just under three minutes later, C Dale Mahovsky dumped a puck on goal and got his own rebound, pushing the puck into the back of the net for the final goal of the second frame, putting Orlando ahead 6-2 going into the third.

F Scott Tanski picked up the lone third period goal, intercepting a pass from G Scott Darling and depositing the puck on a wrap around for the final goal of the game, helping the Solar Bears to a 7-2 win. G John Curry turned aside 36 of 38 shots to earn the win.

Three Stars: 1. M. Neal (ORL); 2. M. Liambas (ORL); 3. R. Blair (ORL)

Power Plays: ORL: 0/0; WHL: 2/6

Shots: ORL: 36; WHL: 38

Notes:

The Solar Bears are expecting one of their largest crowds of the year on Saturday and encourage fans to get their tickets now. Good seats are still available, starting at $15. To get your tickets, visit www.OrlandoSolarBearsHockey.com or call 407-951-8200... F Michael Neal set a new Solar Bears season high for points in a game with five points tonight... D Alain Goulet and D Nicholas Kuqali made their Solar Bears debuts tonight... Orlando played an entire game without being awarded a single power play for the first time all year... The Solar Bears returned home after playing their last six games on the road.

Get Tickets:

The Solar Bears continue their series against the Wheeling Nailers on Saturday, January 19, at 7:00 p.m., and Monday, January 21, for a special holiday start time of 3:00 p.m. Good seats are still available. Visit www.OrlandoSolarBearsHockey.com.

The Orlando Solar Bears, the ECHL affiliate of the NHL's Minnesota Wild and AHL's Houston Aeros, play all of their home games at the 2012 Street and Smith's Sports Business Journal Sports Facility of the Year, the Amway Center.

Individual tickets for all regular season home games are on sale beginning as low as $15. To purchase your tickets, please visit www.OrlandoSolarBearsHockey.com or the Amway Center Box Office.

Check out the Orlando Solar Bears Statistics

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ECHL Stories from January 17, 2013


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