The Trick was getting the Hat...Or the Puck.

Don't know if video replay was too bright or memory replay looked so much better since he envisioned hats be thrown for Nick Petersen after recording the Solar Bears first ever hat trick in the ECHL.

A moment everyone who has ever played the game of hockey dreams of short of lifting the Cup is scoring a hat trick. To those who never took hockey 101, a hat trick is when a player scores 3 goals in a single game. GOALS, not points, an assist counts as point. It is also customary to throw your hat into the ice when that magic third goal is scored. I guess none of us wanted to be the lone guy to get thrown out. Anyway, that is what Nick Petersen did on Thursday night as the Solar Bear beat the South Carolina Stingrays 5-3. With that game, he becomes the ECHL scoring leader with 6 goals.

The game on Thursday had a blazing fast start for the Solar Bears as they score two quick power play goals by Ryan Cruthers and Olivier Fortier. Nick Petersen tacked on a goal in each of the three periods. South Carolina crept back in a couple times, but Petersen was just too much. The win also got them in sole possession of first place in the South Division. Power play once again, was a key factor on the Solar Bears scoring. 

On Saturday, Petersen was called up by Houston to suit up for the Aeros for that night's game. He did not play and was assigned back to Orlando hours before Sunday's game.

The game on Sunday, well not so much the same happy rainbow sunshine game, but more of a "what the hell?" Let me just reiterate something before I go all defense, Coach Drake Berehowsky has been quoted that he would like to rotate both John Curry and Mike Brodeur in the net to keep each other fresh. On Sunday, Berehowsky did just that, he gave Curry the day off to get some playing time for Brodeur. Brodeur seem to look ready during warmups, instead he showed his rust. Having not played since the Calder Cup playoffs with the Houston Aeros and coming off a jaw injury from Aeros camp, quickly let two goals slip by him in the first period. As rusty as Brodeur was on Sunday, so were the Solar Bears. From what I have noticed, the Solar Bears seem to get progressively worse when it comes transitioning from defense to offense. The defense would get a stop on Greenville, however, they would immediately turn it over, which added more pressure to Brodeur, as did Curry on Thursday. If it weren't for the power plays, this would not have even been a game. This showed greatly with the Road Warriors were able to squeak a goal in the final 11 seconds of regulation after stopping the puck, but turned it over to allow the easy goal to send it into overtime. The game later went to a shootout. There, it was all Greenville, sweeping the Solar Bears 3-0 after Lieuwen stopped all three Solar Bears shots. 

So as the Solar Bears take on the Stingrays tonight on the road, we can only hope and see how the team corrects that problem, because no matter who's guarding the net (give Brodeur some time before making final conculsions, because I'm sure I'm not the only one who thought Curry would be bad coming into the season) you won't win a lot of games relying on power plays alone.

Mike Brodeur should only get a small amount of blame. If the Solar Bears keep giving up the puck like they are, you can have Patrick Roy or Dominik Hasek during their primes in the net and it still wouldn't be enough.