CINCINNATI, Ohio — G Maxime Clermont stopped all 25 shots he faced and F Scott Tanski snapped a 0-0 score early in the third as the Solar Bears earned their first win of the series by a 2-0 score over the Cyclones at the US Bank Arena on Friday night.
Just as with Game 3, the two sides went scoreless into the first intermission. Orlando and Cincinnati traded scoring chances in a back-and-forth middle frame, but Clermont and G Rob Madore stood tall as the two netminders combined to stop 32 shots going into the final period.
Tanski put the Solar Bears on the board 1:57 into the third period. F Zach Harrison won the puck back to D Cody Wild on an offensive faceoff and Wild blasted the puck towards the front of the net. Tanski collected the rebound and put the puck past Madore to give the Solar Bears a 1-0. Clermont made the lead stand up in the final frame, stopping seven shots to allow F Wade MacLeod to pick up an empty net goal with 29 seconds to play as the Solar Bears took the 2-0 victory.
Three Stars: 1. M. Clermont (ORL); 2. S. Tanski (ORL); 3. R. Madore (CIN)
Power Plays: ORL: 0/3; CIN: 0/6
Shots: ORL: 21; CIN: 25
Notes:
The Solar Bears got their first ECHL Kelly Cup Playoff win in club history... G Maxime Clermont picked up the first postseason shutout in Solar Bears ECHL history... F Scott Tanski scored his first goal of the postseason... The Solar Bears surrendered six power plays in the game tonight. They had given up four total power plays in the previous three games combined... The Cyclones lead the Best-of-Seven series 3-1 over the Solar Bears.