ECHL Desk · Solar Bears Game Breakdown · October 25, 2026

Four Power-Play Goals Bury the Bears: South Carolina 5, Orlando 3

The Orlando Solar Bears outshot South Carolina 30–26, tied the game in the second period, and pulled within one goal twice in the third. None of it mattered. The Stingrays scored four times on the power play, Orlando's own power play went 0-for-5, and the Bears' winless start stretched to 0-3-0-0 on Saturday night at the Kia Center.

The game, period by period

First period — the hole. The night turned early and it turned on discipline. Jack Dougherty's roughing minor at 7:47 gave South Carolina its first power play, and Tyler Weiss beat Ryan Bednard with a one-timer from the slot at 9:44 — with three seconds left on the man advantage. Less than two minutes later the Stingrays were back on the power play, and Weiss did it again at 10:58. Down 2–0 before the game was eleven minutes old, Orlando got its lifeline from speed: Connor Eddy broke in alone at 16:51 and scored — notably, the Solar Bears' first even-strength goal of the season, after power-play goals in each of their first two games.

Second period — the tie, and the answer. Orlando carried the play and finally cashed at 14:33, Connor Kurth finishing a centering feed from Aaron Luchuk to tie it 2–2. The building was in it. Then Colton Kammerer took a slashing minor at 16:16, and South Carolina's power play struck for the third time — Jalen Luypen at 17:45, 3–2 Stingrays. Orlando even pulled Bednard for an extra attacker on a delayed call in the final minute of the period; the aggression produced a power play, not a goal.

Third period — close, twice, and closed out. Milo Roelens' delay-of-game minor at 6:32 handed South Carolina its fourth power-play goal 20 seconds later, Zack Andrusiak sniping his first as a Stingray at 6:52 for 4–2. Orlando answered at 9:00 — Luchuk's point shot tipped home by Kammerer, the same Kammerer whose penalty had set up the go-ahead goal — and the Bears were one shot from tying it for the last ten minutes. The ending wrote itself: Brennan Saulnier's high-sticking minor with 2:36 left froze Orlando's goalie pull until the final minute, and Cam Morrison hit the empty net at 19:40. Ballgame.

The breakdown — why it happened

Special teams were the whole game. South Carolina: 4-for-6 on the power play, perfect on five penalty kills. The Stingrays have scored a power-play goal in all four games of their 4-0-0-0 start — their first 4–0 opening since 2017-18 — and three of the four goals Saturday came within 90 seconds of the penalty being called. Orlando's penalty kill never got set, and its power play never got going. At even strength, the Bears arguably won the night. Hockey doesn't grade on arguments.

The goaltending line flatters no one and condemns no one. Ben Kraws, in his third straight start, stopped 27 of 30 for South Carolina and was busiest in the second period, when Orlando outshot the Stingrays 11–7 and tied the game. Bednard (21 saves on 25 shots, plus the empty-netter) was hung out on four power plays — Weiss alone beat him twice from the slot with the kill in front of him.

The multi-point nights. Weiss finished with two goals and an assist for South Carolina; Luke Prokop had two assists. For Orlando, Luchuk assisted on both the tying and the 4–3 goal — he now has points in all three games this season.

The context. This was Orlando's third loss in eight days to open the season — swept by the defending Kelly Cup champion Florida Everblades last weekend (3–1 in Estero, 5–1 in the home opener) before Saturday's ASL Awareness Night at the Kia Center. The encouraging truth is in the shot counter and the comeback: this team has been in every game at even strength. The fix is equally plain: stay out of the box, and get a power play that has produced in spurts (a goal in each of the first two games) to produce on schedule. The homestand rolls on — three more at the Kia Center to find the season's first win.

The box score

Goaltenders: Ben Kraws (SC) — 27 saves on 30 shots, win. Ryan Bednard (ORL) — 21 saves on 25 shots. Venue: Kia Center, Orlando. South Carolina improves to 4-0-0-0; Orlando falls to 0-3-0-0.

Sources: ECHL official game sheet (echl.com), Orlando Solar Bears and South Carolina Stingrays game reports. Every goal, assist, penalty and save in this breakdown is drawn from the official record. Front Office Blueprint's ECHL desk breaks down every Solar Bears game this season.