Solar Bears fly past Mariners in 6-2 win

PORTLAND, Maine – Tristin Langan netted the second hat trick of his career and Tyler Bird recorded a career-high five points as the Orlando Solar Bears (19-13-2-0) picked up a 6-2 win, and their fifth consecutive road victory, in the opening game of their weekend set with the Maine Mariners (13-14-3-1) on Friday night at Cross Insurance Arena.

Langan opened the scoring with his fifth of the season midway through the first period, as Orlando blitzed the Mariners for three goals in the opening frame. He then assisted on Andrew McLean’s goal later in the stanza, then netted his second of the evening with just over a minute left in the period.

The Mariners responded with a second period goal from Ian McKinnon and an early third period power play score from Pascal Laberge to make it a one-goal contest, but Jake Transit knocked in a Bird rebound midway through the third to give Orlando some breathing room and kickstar another three-goal run.

Langan capped the hat trick with a redirect of Dmitry Semykin’s shot from the left point, and Bird sealed the game with a shorthanded empty-net tally.

Brad Barone picked up his 12th victory of the season with 22 saves.

BOX SCORE

1st PeriodORL Goal: Tristin Langan (5) at 11:00. Assisted by Tyler Bird and Jackson Keane.ORL Goal: Andrew McLean (2) at 17:14. Assisted by Tristin Langan.ORL Goal: Tristin Langan (6) [PP] at 18:55. Assisted by Hunter Fejes and Tyler Bird.SHOTS: ORL 9, MNE 8

2nd PeriodMNE Goal: Ian McKinnon (1) at 6:39. Assisted by Connor Doherty.SHOTS: ORL 11, MNE 11

3rd PeriodMNE Goal: Pascal Laberge (14) [PP] at 4:21. Assisted by Zach Malatesta and Cam Askew.ORL Goal: Jake Transit (3) at 9:18. Assisted by Tyler Bird and Chad Duchesne.ORL Goal: Tristin Langan (7) at 15:14. Assisted by Dmitry Semykin and Tyler Bird.ORL Goal: Tyler Bird (8) [SH-EN] at 19:39.SHOTS: ORL 12, MNE 5

GoaltendingORL: Brad Barone, 22-for-24MNE: Kyle Keyser, 26-for-31

NOTABLES:

• The Solar Bears improved to 7-1-1-0 when scoring at least three goals in road games this season.
• Orlando is also now 14-1-0-0 when scoring first.
• Bird enjoyed his first-ever multi-assist game, and shattered his previous single-game mark of two points. He is the fifth Solar Bears forward to record a five-point game.
• Langan’s performance was the fourth four-point night of his career, and his second this season. The forward extended his point streak to four games (5g-5a) since Jan. 14 vs. Wheeling. His third goal of the game was his 48th career goal with the Solar Bears and moved him past Chris LeBlanc for third in team history.  

NEXT GAMES: The Solar Bears resume their three-game set with the Maine Mariners on Saturday, Jan. 22 at 6 p.m. at Cross Insurance Arena. The Solar Bears return home to host the Utah Grizzlies on Thursday, Jan. 27 at 7 p.m. at the AdventHealth Rink at Amway Center, for Pink Whitney Night, featuring Spittin’ Chiclets host Paul Bissonnette – secure your seats in the Pink Whitney Party Section for only $20 – visit CLICK HERE to purchase this special ticket package.