Sparks comes up big for Solar Bears

A day after arriving via reassignment, goalie Garrett Sparks made 25 saves to lead the Solar Bears to a 4-1 win over the division-leading Florida Everblades Wednesday night.

In his return to the Orlando Solar Bears, Garret Sparks allowed one goal.

Thanks to Zach Bell and Jack Rodewald, it was not one too many.

They scored during a 21-second span midway through the third period Wednesday night, giving the Solar Bears (19-19-2-4, 44 points) the lead en route to a 4-1 victory against the host Florida Everblades (31-14-0-1, 63 points) in an ECHL game at Germain Arena. The game drew an announced crowd of 5,122.

The Solar Bears sealed the victory with emptynet goals by Rodewald and Eric Faille in the final minute. Faille leads Orlando with 19 goals.

Sparks, reassigned by the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League on Tuesday, made 25 saves and recovered nicely after Brant Harris scored 3:02 into the first period.

The Everblades, leaders of the South Division, maintained that one-goal advantage until Erik Bradford and Nicklas Lindberg assisted Bell on his goal at 10:22 of the third.

Less than a half-minute later, Rodewald collected his eighth goal of the season to give Orlando the lead. Brady Vail assisted

Sparks became the first goalie to appear in net for Orlando this season besides Rob Madore and Ryan Massa. Sparks spent parts of the past two seasons with the Solar Bears, but the return trip may be a cameo appearance. The Marlies are in the midst of a weeklong break and will not return to the ice until Saturday.

Earlier this season, Sparks became the first goalie in Toronto Maple Leafs history to earn a shutout in his NHL debut.

The Solar Bears, who led 36-26 in shots, improved to 3-6 against the Everblades. The teams have five regular-season meetings left but won’t face each other again until March 30 in Orlando.

The Solar Bears will begin a nine-game homestand with a matchup against the Atlanta Gladiators at 7 Friday night at Amway Center.