Solar Bears Out Of Hibernation

The Renegade Reps love 'em some hockey.  Woefully, being fans of northeastern sports - none of us have had a team to pull for in the state of Florida.  That all changed when the Orlando Solar Bears announced they would return to the ice.  I myself have seen the Solar Bears live some years ago before their league folded.  I dug the vibe of the Home Team and was not at all happy when the league went under.

Well, earlier this year the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL) announced they had approved the Minnesota Wild affiliate Orlando Solar Bears to "come out of hibernation."  Season tickets?  Oooooh yeah!

Game 1 finally comes around on Friday, October 20 and off to the game we go.

First of all, the Arena was sold out and the crowd was abuzz over the new team.  The food vending has improved from hot dogs and popcorn to all types of adventurous food (for a stadium) and they have installed a Gentleman Jack Lounge and lots of Jack Daniels at the bars.  This makes me personally very happy, being a lover of Jack, but they threw in an extra bonus that I did not even know - they charge the same price for Jack, Single Barrel Jack, and Gentleman Jack!  Not that a $9.00 pour makes you feel great, but at an arena, nine bucks for Gentleman Jack does not sting so much.

On that front, the arena has also brought in some craft beers from Craft Brewers Alliance (Kona, Widmer, Red Hook, etc.) and have picked up Guinness and Heineken.  Not so bad for Florida.

When the team announcements began and the crowd was fully seated, the energy was insane.  When the players came onto the ice, being introduced one-by-one it was easily apparent that this team was here to stay.  There was an immediate love between these fans and this new franchise.  The biggest cheers came for team captain Ryan Cruthers, in part due to the simple fact that he is captain, but he had also been the team's top goal scorer thus far and had led the team to an 8-2 win the previous night at the Florida Everblades out of Estero.

The visiting team jumped out to a 1-0 lead and that was quite a buzz kill.  However, when the Solar Bear Mathew Siska netted the next goal, the place went total bat-shit.  It was incredible.  The sirens, the lights, the cheers and whistles of the crowd - unreal.

This Solar Bears team is very soft on the boards, but is certainly not afraid to throw off the gloves and get down.  They are also not afraid to use their bodies to block shots.  Patiently aggressive, watching this team is gonna rock.

The game continued on with the teams swapping goals and tying 3-3 going into overtime.  After a 5 minute overtime, it was shootout time.  The first 5 scorers did not hit the back of the net, so it became and goal-for-goal situation with the Everblades shooting last.  Scary to watch.  The Bears finally took a lead when the 6'5" Kyle Medvec skated toward the net and just let loose a massive slapshot over the goalie's stick side.  That score was met, unfortunately by the next Everblades skater and the shootout continued until Sean Lorenz hit the back of the net, leaving goalie John Curry to save the day.

When the Everblades skater tried to put the puck to the blocker side, he was stuffed and the crowd once again blew the roof off the arena.  An unbelievable way to bring a team back to their home crowd.

This game had it all - tons of fights, awesome goal scoring, and a shootout victory to ice the cake.  This year is gonna be great.  Cheers!