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ECHL Orlando Solar Bears

Neal's Hat Trick Not Enough as Everblades Power Past Solar Bears

March 26, 2013 - ECHL (ECHL)
Orlando Solar Bears News Release


Orlando, FL - F Michael Neal notched three goals for the Solar Bears but it wasn't enough as Orlando surrendered three power play goals in an 8-3 loss to the Florida Everblades in front of 6,701 fans at the Amway Center on Tuesday night.

The Solar Bears started the scoring 4:26 into the first period. F Nick McParland fired a centering pass from the boards finding F Michael Neal, who redirected the pass into the net for a 1-0 lead. The Everblades answered with a goal less than two minutes later. F Corey Trivino snapped a pass out of the right corner where it bounced off a Solar Bears defender and into the net. The contest remained tied 1-1 going into the first intermission.

At 5:30 in the second frame, the Everblades took their first lead of the night. LW Mathieu Roy fired a shot on goal and gathered the rebound to push the puck past G Patrick Killeen for a power play goal. Florida struck again at 8:23 in the period to widen their lead to 3-1 when F Adam Brace found his own rebound, and Florida held the lead through the remainder of the frame.

The third period saw the Everblades begin to widen their lead. 1:27 into the final stanza, Trivinio collected his second goal of the game. Neal answered for the Solar Bears at 7:11 when he fired home a one timer off a feed from C Dale Mahovsky. Just 12 seconds after that, F David Rutherford restored the three goal lead for Florida with a slap shot from the right wall. Neal collected his hat trick goal at 9:21 of the third when he poked home the puck on another feed from Mahovsky, but Florida answered with three straight goals, including Trivino's third of the game on a late period power play, to collect the final 8-3 victory.

Three Stars: 1. C. Trivino (FLA); 2. M. Neal (ORL); 3. M. Roy (FLA)

Power Plays: ORL: 0/1; FLA: 3/6

Shots: ORL: 25; FLA: 35

Notes:

The Solar Bears wore their third jerseys tonight... F Michael Neal became the third Solar Bear to collect a hat trick this season. He joins LW Nick Petersen and RW Dan Gendur as players who have scored three goals in a single game. All three Orlando hat tricks have come on home ice... Tonight's game marked the second time this season that the Solar Bears and Everblades have each had a player score a hat trick in the same game. Florida F David Rutherford notched a hat trick during the same game that RW Dan Gendur scored four times for the Solar Bears on December 28 in an 8-4 Orlando win... The Solar Bears play their final home game of the 2012-13 season tomorrow against the Florida Everblades.

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