ECHL Orlando Solar Bears

Bourke, Windsor Lead Solar Bears to Shootout Win

March 23, 2019 - ECHL (ECHL)
Orlando Solar Bears News Release


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.

The Solar Bears took a 1-0 lead at 9:43 of the first period shortly 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 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 STARS

1) Troy Bourke - ORL

2) Logan Roe - FLA

3) 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.

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.

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.

Check out the Orlando Solar Bears Statistics



ECHL Stories from March 23, 2019


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