Bourke, Windsor lead Solar Bears to shootout win

ESTERO, Fla. – Troy Bourke tallied the shootout-winner and Clint Windsor made 33 saves to lift the Orlando Solar Bears (36-23-4-1) to a 4-3 shootout win over the Florida Everblades (45-16-5-1) on Saturday night at Hertz Arena, moving Orlando to within two points of clinching its third consecutive trip to the postseason.

Click here for the box score.

The Solar Bears took a 1-0 lead at 9:43 of the first period seconds after Florida’s Riley Weselowski exited the penalty box. Michael Brodzinski fired a wrist shot from the left circle that beat Jeremy Helvig for the defenseman’s eighth goal of the season.

Grant Arnold evened the score at 15:08 for the hosts when he deflected a feed from Patrick McCarron past Clint Windsor.

Orlando pulled ahead again when Brent Pedersen knocked in a Tayler Thompson rebound at 2:40 of the second period.

The Everblades tied the game at 2-2 at 10:21 when Tommy Thompson collected the puck at the right side of the net and slid a shot inside the left post for a power-play goal.

The Solar Bears answered with a power-play strike at 11:42 when Dylan Fitze received the puck in the slot and snapped a shot past the glove of Helvig for his 11th of the season.

Florida tied the score at 3-3 at 3:08 of the third period with a Nathan Perkovich goal on the man advantage.

Each team secured a point as the score remained tied through the end of regulation, and Windsor and Helvig traded stops in overtime, sending the game to a shootout.

The Everblades took a 1-0 lead in the opening round of the shootout when Perkovich scored.

Otto Somppi and Bourke each lit the lamp for Orlando, leaving Windsor to make the game-deciding save on Sam Warning in the bottom of the third round to give the Solar Bears the win.

Windsor finished the night with 33 saves on 36 shots against; Helvig took he shootout loss as he went 32 for 35.

THREE STARS1) Troy Bourke – ORL2) Logan Roe – FLA3) Patrick McCarron – FLA

NOTABLES:

• Orlando’s magic number to clinch a berth in the 2019 Kelly Cup Playoffs has been reduced to two points with the win.
• The victory gives Orlando a 6-3-1-1 lead in the regular season series with the Everblades, with the 12th and final game of the series set for Friday, April 5 at Florida.
• Windsor improved to 4-0-0 in his last four starts dating back to Jan. 19.

NEXT GAMES: The Solar Bears continue their five-game road trip when the team visits the Atlanta Gladiators at Infinite Energy Arena on Wednesday, March 27, at 7:35 p.m. The Solar Bears return to the ARS.com Rink at Amway Center to host the Jacksonville Icemen on Tuesday, April 2 at 7 p.m. CLICK HERE to purchase tickets for this game.

2019-20 Season Ticket Memberships on Sale Now:

Upgrade to Solar Status and become a Season Ticket Member today. Season ticket memberships for the 2019-20 season are now on sale and start as little as $270 – CLICK HERE FOR MORE INFORMATION.

2018-19 Season Presented by XYMOPrint:

The Orlando Solar Bears are proud to have local digital printing experts XYMOPrint as the presenting sponsor of the 2018-19 season. As a special offer, fans who call XYMOPrint at (888) 223-9390 from now until June 15, 2019 and reference the Solar Bears will receive 30% off their first order of 500 business cards.

2018-19 Single-Game Tickets Now on Sale:

Single-game tickets for the Orlando Solar Bears 2018-19 regular season home schedule are now on sale. Fans can purchase single-game tickets for as little as $15 at the Amway Center box office, or online at Ticketmaster.com.

About the Orlando Solar Bears:

The Orlando Solar Bears are the proud affiliate of the NHL’s Tampa Bay Lightning and members of the ECHL, the premier “AA” hockey league in North America. In six seasons of operation, the team has qualified for the Kelly Cup Playoffs four times. The Solar Bears are owned and operated by the Orlando Magic and the DeVos Family, and play at the ARS.com Rink at Amway Center, the 2012 Street and Smith’s Sports Business Journal Sports Facility of the Year.

Officially licensed Orlando Solar Bears replica team jerseys, apparel, and headwear can be purchased at orlandosolarbearshockey.com/shop.