Windsor shuts the door on Icemen in 4-0 victory

ORLANDO, Fla. – Tyler Bird scored twice and Clint Windsor made 24 saves for his second shutout of the month as the Orlando Solar Bears (13-12-4-1) rolled to a 4-0 win over the Jacksonville Icemen (9-14-4-0) on Thursday night at the Jewett Orthopaedic Rink at Amway Center.

Box Score

Bird opened the scoring with his second of the season at 4:59 of the first period when the forward pounced on a loose puck coughed up by the Icemen following a face-off in the Jacksonville zone. Bird pulled the puck to his forehand and snapped it past Michael McNiven, who had attempted to poke the puck out of the slot.

Johno May extended Orlando’s lead to two goals with his ninth of the season at 11:49 when Trevor Olson broke up a play in the defensive zone and sent the puck ahead to May, who skated up the left side of the ice and fired a wrist shot over the blocker of McNiven.

The offense continued into the second period as Chris LeBlanc intercepted a pass at the Orlando blue line while the Solar Bears were on the penalty kill and raced up the ice before beating McNiven at 4:38 for his 10th goal of the season.

Bird capped the scoring when he joined Dylan Fitze on a 2-on-1 and snapped his second of the night past McNiven at 10:28. The Icemen subsequently replaced McNiven with Adam Carlson for the remainder of the game.

Windsor stopped 12 shots in the third period to secure his sixth win of the season; McNiven took the loss with 10 stops on 14 shots against, while Carlson turned aside all eight shots he faced in relief.

THREE STARS:

Clint Windsor – ORL
Tyler Bird – ORL
Trevor Olson – ORL

NOTABLES:

The win improves Orlando’s record against Jacksonville this season to 6-0-0-0; the Solar Bears are now a lifetime 15-0-0-0 at home against the Icemen
May extended his point streak to six games since joining Orlando on Dec. 13– he has recorded a point in every game he has appeared in with Orlando, tallying nine points (5g-4a) over that span; his six-game point streak is also the longest point streak by a Solar Bears player this season
Windsor’s win gives him a 5-0-0 record in the month of December, with two shutouts, a 1.67 goals-against average and save percentage of .948.
Olson’s assist extends his assist streak to four games (4a)
LeBlanc’s goal extends his point streak to three games (4g-2a); his 10 goals also matches his previous career-highs from 2017-18 and 2018-19, and he joins Brett Findlay as just the second player in team history to record double-digit goals in three consecutive seasons

NEXT GAMES:

The Solar Bears visit the South Carolina Stingrays for a meeting at the North Charleston Coliseum on Saturday, Dec. 28 at 6:05 p.m. The Solar Bears then return home and face the Brampton Beast on Sunday, Jan. 5 at 3 p.m. for a FAIRWINDS Solar Bears Sunday – FAIRWINDS members can use their FAIRWINDS debit/credit card to score two free tickets to the game. Visit fairwinds.org/solarbears for more information. CLICK HERE to purchase tickets for this game.

Purchase Single-Game Tickets:

Single-game tickets for all Solar Bears home games are now on sale at the Amway Center box office and Ticketmaster. CLICK HERE to download the calendar for the 2019-20 season.

Order New Jerseys:

The Orlando Solar Bears will wear new jerseys for the 2019-20 season. Replica jerseys are available for purchase online, with adult sizes available for $149.95 and youth sizes available for $109.95. Fans can visit bit.ly/OSBJerseys to place their order today.

2019-20 Season Ticket Memberships on Sale Now:

Upgrade to Solar Status and become a Season Ticket Member today. Season ticket memberships for the 2019-20 season are now on sale and start as little as $270 – CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION.

2019-20 Season Presented by XYMOPrint:

The 2019-20 Orlando Solar Bears season is presented by XYMOPrint, Orlando’s digital printing experts. As a special offer, fans who call XYMOPrint at (888) 223-9390 from now until June 15, 2021 and reference the Solar Bears will receive 15% off their first order and a free Orlando Solar Bears poster!

About the Orlando Solar Bears:

The Orlando Solar Bears are the proud affiliate of the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning and members of the ECHL, the premier “AA” hockey league in North America. In seven seasons of operation, the team has qualified for the Kelly Cup Playoffs five times. The Solar Bears are owned and operated by the Orlando Magic and the DeVos Family, and play at Amway Center, the 2012 Street and Smith’s Sports Business Journal Sports Facility of the Year.

Officially licensed Orlando Solar Bears replica team jerseys, apparel, and headwear can be purchased at orlandosolarbearshockey.com/shop.