ESTERO, Fla. – Kyle Penney brought thousands of stuffed animals at the Swamp as the Florida Everblades sent a sellout crowd of 7,544 crowd home happy with a 3-2 overtime win against the Orlando Solar Bears at Hertz Arena Friday night.
 
Penney’s first-period teddy bear toss goal was set up by Oliver Cooper and Logan Will on a three-on-two rush, and was declared good after a review during the deluge of teddy bears. Once play resumed, Orlando quickly evened the score with a power play goal from Milo Roelens, assisted by Jack Adams and Spencer Kersten.
 
In the second frame, the Solar Bears were awarded am early penalty shot. Tyler Drevitch took the penalty shot but rang the puck off the post, keeping the game tied. At the 14:34 mark, Ben Brar potted the rebound from Gianfranco Cassaro, which gave the Blades the lead once again. Florida outshot Orlando 18-5 in the second frame.
 
For the second time in the night, the Solar Bears’ capitalized on the power play to find the equalizer early in the third. Kersten scored his team-leading tenth goal to even it up. The game remained tied all the way through the third period, forcing overtime for the fourth time this  year for Florida.
 
Only 30 seconds into overtime, and ECHL player of the week Hudson Elynuik forced a turnover in the neutral zone, leading to a breakaway. Elynuik scored a backhanded goal to take the win for the Blades and cap off Teddy Bear Toss night at the Swamp.
 
The Florida Everblades will be back at Hertz Arena tomorrow night at 7 p.m. for the second game in a two-game series against the Orlando Solar Bears.
 
 
BLADES BITS

 

• Elynuik extends to an eight-game point streak, amassing 15 points.
• Cam Johnson had a season-high record of 30 saves tonight.
• The Florida Everblades had not seen a penalty shot yet this season until tonights.

 
 
Friday’s Gamesheet

 
JOIN THE FUN
Season ticket plans for the 2025-26 campaign are on sale now! Become a Blades 365 Member for the 2025-26 season and enjoy incredible savings and benefits! To view the Blades 365 Membership savings, benefits, and options click HERE.

Group Packages are available for a group of 10 or more! Everblades put FUN in FUNdraising! There is no handling of money or tickets and no limit to the amount of money your group can make with the Everblades' easy-to-run online Fundraiser! For more information, or to reserve a Fundraiser Night at an Everblades regular-season home game, call or text (239) 948-7825.
 
Grab the newest and hottest Everblades merchandise by checking out the entire collection that is available online by visiting shop.floridaeverblades.com or at the Hertz Arena Pro Shop!
 
JOIN THE CONVERSATION
Watch every Florida Everblades game on FloHockey.TV. Listen to the exciting game action on ESPN Southwest Florida on 770 AM, 98.1 FM, 104.3 FM, or online at espnswfl.com. Stay up to date by following the Blades on social media with all the latest news, scores, and promotions on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, TikTok and Twitter.