Glads Fall to Solar Bears SAT

Hoping to spoil Orlando’s Teddy Bear Toss Night, it was the Gladiators who found themselves shutout on Saturday night. After skating to a scoreless first period, the Solar Bears found the back of the net halfway through the 2nd period and never looked back. Orlando got the game’s first goal for the first time in their last five games after a scoreless first 9:09 into the second period on a Chris Clapperton tally. The Solar Bear’s rookie forward took advantage of a two-on-one rush and sent the puck in the top shelf of the net over the shoulder of Atlanta’s starting goalie Matt Ginn. T.J. Foster got the main assist on Clapperton’s second goal of his professional career. It took only 11 seconds for the Solar Bears to increase their lead to two. Ryan Rupert picked off a Ginn clearing attempt from behind the Gladiator’s goal and sent the puck into a wide-open net. The notch would mark the first goal for Rupert as a Solar Bear after starting the season with the Toronto Marlies of the AHL. Jack Rodewald received credit for the lone assist on the second Orlando marker. Orlando would add two more goals in the third period against Atlanta. First, Rupert collected his second tally of the game on a penalty shot two minutes into the period followed by Eric Faille’s 11th of the season on a wrist shot from the slot at the 7:59 mark. The Solar Bear’s goaltender Ryan Massa would stop the rest of the shots sent his way by Atlanta in the final period to get his first shutout of the season and give Orlando the 4-0 victory. The Solar Bears home ice win now gives them 22 points on the season and improved their record to 9-6-1-3 on the year. Atlanta falls to 10-8-1-0 on the campaign in the defeat as they remain at 21 points thus far.