Lang nets overtime goal as Solar Bears win 9th straight

KALAMAZOO, Mich. — Mickey Lang notched his second overtime goal in four games and F Taylor Matson picked up a goal and three assists as the Solar Bears extended their winning streak to eight games with a 4-3 overtime victory over the Kalamazoo Wings at Wings Stadium on Sunday afternoon.



Kalamazoo collected the first goal of the game 8:46 into the contest. A penalty against Orlando gave the Wings a power play chance and F Matt Caria dove for the puck after it rebounded off the end boards, swiped a shot off the post, and then had the puck hit his skate and travel over the line to put Kalamazoo ahead 1-0. D Connor Goggin answered back for the Orlando Solar Bears at 13:01 when he gathered a loose puck at the right point, skated into the right circle, and wristed the shot inside the left post. 3:48 later, Matson put Orlando ahead when he grabbed a rebound after a shot from D Corey Fienhage as the Solar Bears took a 2-1 lead into the first intermission.

A second power play goal helped Kalamazoo tie up the contest at 13:30 of the second stanza. F Yannick Veilleux took a pass out of the left corner and wristed the puck from between the hash marks and past G Cody Reichard. Only 15 seconds later, the Wings grabbed the 3-2 lead when F Chris Lawrence placed a wrist shot into the top corner of the net. Orlando evened up the scoring with 49 seconds left in the period, as G Cody Reichard played a puck up to F Jacob Cepis and after a quick give-and-go with Matson he polished off the play with a wraparound goal to tie the contest at 3-3 after forty minutes of action.

Neither side struck in the third as the two sides headed to overtime. 1:04 into the sudden death period, Matson stole the puck in the right corner and sent it towards Lang in front of the net. After a few attempts to jam the puck home, Matson pulled it out of a pile of players and found Lang open in the slot, who whipped the puck just under the bar for his league-leading 31st goal of the season and granted the Solar Bears the 4-3 victory over Kalamazoo.

Three Stars: 1. M. Lang (ORL); 2. J. Cepis (ORL); 3. C. Lawrence (KAL)
Power Plays: ORL: 0/3; KAL: 2/5
Shots: ORL: 32; KAL: 29

Notes:
F Taylor Matson had four points in the game, tying a season high set by F Mickey Lang on February 11... G Cody Reichard has now won seven straight starts for the Solar Bears... Orlando improved to 7-1-0 on Sundays this season... Today's game was the first time this season that the Solar Bears have had a road game decided in overtime. They are 2-2 in shootouts on the road this year... Both of F Mickey Lang's game-winning goals with Orlando have come in overtime... Orlando improved to 18-4-3 when outshooting their opponent.

WFTV