Olson guides Solar Bears past Gladiators in 5-2 victory

ORLANDO, Fla. – The Orlando Solar Bears (24-21-5-1) entered the third period trailing to their opponent, and for the second consecutive game the Solar Bears rallied for a comeback win, prevailing over the Atlanta Gladiators (21-28-1-1) on Sunday afternoon at the Jewett Orthopaedic Rink at Amway Center. With the victory, Orlando (54 points) moves past idle Greenville (52 points) into third place in the South Division with two games in hand.

Box Score

Trevor Olson deflected Johno May’s shot from the right circle past Callum Booth just 1:19 into the game to give Orlando a 1-0 lead and Olson his team-leading 17th of the season.

The Gladiators answered at 12:35 when Avery Peterson knocked a loose puck past Clint Windsor.

Joel Messner gave Atlanta a 2-1 lead at the 5:50 mark of the second period when he one-timed a Derek Nesbitt feed past Windsor.

Jake Coughler tied the score at 2-2 one minute into the third period as he snapped a feed from May past Booth’s blocker for his 13th of the season.

The Solar Bears restored their lead when Rich Boyd’s wrist shot made its way past Booth for a power-play goal - and the eventual game-winner – at 4:29, giving Boyd his seventh of the season.

Dylan Fitze gave Orlando some breathing room when he took a pass from Olson in for a breakaway and faked out Booth for his fourth of the season at 13:35.

Michael Brodzinski capped the scoring with a shorthanded empty-net goal at 18:28 for his seventh of the season.

Windsor earned his 12th win of the season with 37 saves on 39 shots against; Booth took the loss for Atlanta going 32-for-36.

THREE STARS:

1. Trevor Olson – ORL
2. Johno May – ORL
3. Clint Windsor – ORL  

OTHER NOTABLES:

• The Solar Bears are now 4-0-2-0 against the Gladiators this season, with five games remaining in the head-to-head series
• The Solar Bears improved to 10-0-0-0 when scoring first at home
• Orlando recorded at least a power-play goal for the fourth consecutive game, establishing a new season-high; the Solar Bears are currently 5-for-18 (27.78%) with the man advantage during its present run
• Olson finished the day with three points (1g-2a) as he appeared in his 100th career game with the Solar Bears; the second-year pro is the 19th player in team history to reach the century mark for games with the club; he ranks 14th on the team’s all-time scorers list with 64 points (33g-31a)
• Brodzinski’s goal was Orlando’s league-leading 12th shorthanded goal of the season; the Solar Bears’ single-season record for shorthanded goals is 15 (2018-19)
• May collected two assists for the second consecutive match; he now has a three-game point streak (1g-5a)
• Tristin Langan’s assist on Brodzinski’s goal give the rookie forward a four-game point streak (1g-5a)  

NEXT GAMES:

The Solar Bears begin a three-game road trip on Wednesday, Feb. 19 when they visit the Florida Everblades at Hertz Arena at 7:30 p.m. Orlando returns home to host the Norfolk Admirals on Sunday, Feb. 23 for Faith and Family Night, presented by Auto Justice Attorney Michael T. Gibson. This game will also serve as a Fairwinds Solar Bears Sunday. CLICK HERE for tickets to this game.