JACKSONVILLE, Fla. – Saturday night, the Jacksonville Icemen faced the Orlando Solar Bears, having won in overtime during their previous game on Tuesday in Orlando. This was also the first game with interim Head Coach Sean Teakle in charge after the shock announcement on Friday that the Icemen had parted ways with Brandon Mashinter. Video Coach Garrett Cockerill was also on the bench, serving as the interim Assistant Coach. The game needed overtime again after a game-tying goal by Orlando with 76 seconds left on the clock. Jacksonville took the 3-2 OT win, thanks to Noah Laaouan, who scored the game winning goal.
Orlando came into the game unbeaten in regulation in their last seven games, which was extended to eight after this game. They also came into the game with only two regulation losses in their last 18 games, so they continue to ride a hot streak. Jacksonville had several key players returning from the injured list, including Logan Cockerill, Noah Laaouan, and Chris Grando.
Orlando’s Jack Adams netted the game’s first goal at 10:04 of the first period. Justen Close blocked the first two shots but was unable to sweep the puck away on the third attempt. Jacksonville’s Chris Grando tied the game up with just two seconds left in the first on a drop pass from Noah Laaouan, who by crashing the net enabled Grando to fire the puck past Ryan Fanti to head to the locker room tied 1-1.
After a scoreless second period, Chase Lang scored a shorthanded goal for the Icemen to make it 2-1. Jacksonville now leads the league with nine shorthanded goals on the season. With less than two minutes left in the game, Orlando pulled Fanti from the net for the extra attacker. A shot block by Close sent the puck right onto the stick of Tyler Bird, who scored at 18:44 to send the game to OT. This was also a milestone game for Bird, as this was his 400th professional career game. A slapshot from Noah Laaouan at 2:51 of OT gave Jacksonville the victory and a 5-0 record in overtime against Orlando.
Check out this photo gallery from Inside The Rink’s Andrew Fielder for highlights from the game.
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