Though the thought of clinching a payoff berth for the 2007-2008 season has long since vanished for the Sharks, the idea of disrupting the powerful Milwaukee Wave’s season was at the top of every Orlando player's mind this Easter Sunday. The Sharks burst out with a vengeance, scoring their first two points on a line shot by forward Felipe Lawall. Just two minutes later the mammoth forward Shawn Boney dove headfirst to drive a rebound back into the Wave net with his shiny dome, providing a grand show for all those present in the Shark Tank. With less than two minutes left in the first, forward Damien Pottinger would finalize the impressive Shark start by driving home an Anthony Santiago assist to leave the score Orlando 6, Wave 0 after one quarter of play.
The second quarter would see a dozen minutes go by with relatively little action until the Wave unleashed a tidal onslaught with six minutes to go, scoring a half dozen points to match the Sharks total in under a minute. Milwaukee midfielder Marcio Leite would begin the attack with an unassisted two-point goal, followed thirty seconds later by Defender Joe Hammes, assisted by forward Warren Ukah. With 5:05 left, just 55 seconds after the first strike, Wave forward Guiliano Oliviero would cap the minute long blitz with a goal assisted by forward Gregg Howes. The Sharks briefly jumped back ahead on a two point goal by forward Xavier Delgado aided by Muricio Ruiz, only to have the Wave tie it back up twenty seconds later on a two point score by defender Lovelace Ackah. Before the half was over the Wave would inch ahead on a power play goal by midfielder Marcelo Fontana. The half ended with the Wave ahead 10 to 8.
By the third quarter the Milwaukee engine was warmed up and at operating temperature, as was evident by the eleven-point total they put on the board. It started three minutes in with Wave forward Warren Ukah scoring his first two points of the night. Fifteen seconds later Wave forward Anthony Maher would play off an assist by defender Jonathan Santos for an incredibly acrobatic two point score. Orlando midfielder Miki Djerisilo would score the Sharks' only two points of the third on a beautifully placed free kick into the upper corner of the Wave goal with six and a half left in the quarter. Shortly thereafter, Milwaukee defender Troy Dusosky assisted forward Gregg Howes for a three-point blast. The Wave would close out the final four minutes of the third with two goals by forward Brett Wiesner, one assisted by defenseman; the other assisted by midfielder Marcelo Fontana. When the dust settled, the Wave had increased thier lead to 21-10 over Orlando.
The final quarter of play saw the Sharks simply trying to minimize the damage inflicted by one of the league’s top two teams. The Wave would score three minutes in on a nifty pass and shoot goal by Wave midfielder Fontana and midfielder Leite respectively. Then, with two and a half minutes left, Milwaukee touched the quarter century mark on a goal by midfielder Fontana. The final score was Milwaukee 25, Orlando 10.
The Sharks were able to swim with the Wave a short while before getting overwhelmed by a playoff bound team. In their second to last home game of the season, Orlando showed grit and determination despite an Easter defeat. The final home game will be against Chicago on April 5th at 7:35 at the Amway Arena.
