Thunderbolts Shutout 2-0 at Huntsville

Huntsville, Ala.:  The Thunderbolts were again victimized by strong opposing goaltending and rotten offensive luck, as they were shut out 2-0 at Huntsville on Friday night.  The Thunderbolts’ next home game at Ford Center will be on Saturday, December 20th against the Peoria Rivermen at 7:00pm CT.

The first period was nearly scoreless, with Kristian Stead making several strong stops to keep Huntsville off the board.  The Havoc did manage to take a 1-0 lead in the period’s final minute with a cross-crease pass and goal for Ben Schultheis.  After a power play opportunity for Evansville went without a goal midway through the second period, the Havoc countered to make it 2-0 as Frank Trazzera scored with a shot that went off the post and into the net.  Despite pulling Stead, the Thunderbolts were held scoreless down the stretch, 2-0 the final score.  Stead did his best to keep Evansville in the game,  stopping 28 of 30 shots.  The Thunderbolts and Havoc meet again on Friday, January 9th in Huntsville, with Huntsville leading the regular season series 2-1.

Season tickets, Individual game tickets and group packages are on sale for the 2025-26 season.  Call 812-422-BOLT(2658) or visit our website (www.evansvillethunderbolts.com) for details.

About Evansville Thunderbolts: The Evansville Thunderbolts is the area’s only professional hockey team. The Thunderbolts are a proud member of the SPHL.  The team is owned and operated by VW Sports, L.L.C, a subsidiary of VenuWorks, Inc. www.evansvillethunderbolts.com

Thunderbolts Shutout 2-0 at Peoria

Peoria, Ill.:  Thursday morning’s game in Peoria was a low-scoring one, in which Evansville could not build off a strong start with a goal, as the Thunderbolts were defeated 2-0 by the Rivermen.  The Thunderbolts’ next home game at Ford Center will be on Saturday, December 20th against the Peoria Rivermen at 7:00pm CT.

Evansville out-chanced the Rivermen heavily in the first period, with the closest opportunity being a near-breakaway for Isaac Chapman as he hit the post.  Peoria capitalized on a 5-on-3 power play 12:00 into the second period as Michael McChesney scored to give the Rivermen the lead.  It was very low-event on both ends the rest of the way, with the Rivermen adding another goal with just over 2 minutes remaining, scored by Daniel Chartrand.  Despite pulling Adam Manji, the Thunderbolts were held scoreless down the stretch, 2-0 the final score.  Manji played very well in his first start as an Evansville Thunderbolt, stopping 24 of 26 shots.  The Thunderbolts and Rivermen meet again on Saturday, December 20th in Peoria, with Evansville leading the regular season series 3-2.

Season tickets, Individual game tickets and group packages are on sale for the 2025-26 season.  Call 812-422-BOLT(2658) or visit our website (www.evansvillethunderbolts.com) for details.

About Evansville Thunderbolts: The Evansville Thunderbolts is the area’s only professional hockey team. The Thunderbolts are a proud member of the SPHL.  The team is owned and operated by VW Sports, L.L.C, a subsidiary of VenuWorks, Inc. www.evansvillethunderbolts.com

Thunderbolts Sign Forward Evan Miller; van der Veen returns from ECHL

Prior to Sunday's game at Quad City, Head Coach/Director of Hockey Operations Jeff Bes announced a pair of transactions, the signing of forward Evan Miller and the return of defenseman Will van der Veen from call-up to Tulsa (ECHL).

Miller joins the Thunderbolts in the midst of his first professional season, having started the year with the Ratinger Ice Aliens of the Germany4 pro circuit, registering 2 goals and 12 points in only 8 games.  Prior to this season, Miller played four seasons of NCAA Division 1 hockey with RIT (Rochester Institute of Tech.), scoring 2 goals and 11 points in 65 regular season games.  The native of Niagara-on-the-Lake, Ontario played several seasons of junior hockey in his home province prior to college, first in the GOJHL with St. Catharines, Fort Erie, and Thorold between 2017-2019, and the Wellington Dukes of the OJHL in 2019-20, where he scored 8 goals and 21 points in 22 games.

Van der Veen rejoins the Thunderbolts following a call-up with the ECHL's Tulsa Oilers, where he played four games while on loan.  So far this season with Evansville, van der Veen has scored 2 goals and 4 points along with a +5 rating in 14 games.

Aidan Litke receives D1 Scholarship from Niagara University

Evansville, In.: The Evansville Thunderbolts and Head Coach/Director of Hockey Operations Jeff Bes are proud to announce that forward Aidan Litke has received a scholarship to attend Niagara University and play NCAA hockey at the Division 1 level, the first SPHL player ever to receive the opportunity.

Litke joined the Thunderbolts in the 2024-25 season in a trade from the Birmingham Bulls and immediately provided a boost in offense, scoring 6 goals and 9 points in 20 regular season games before adding 3 goals and 4 points in 7 playoff games, including the President’s Cup-winning overtime goal against the Knoxville Ice Bears. The Winnipeg, Manitoba native continued where he left off going into this season, scoring 6 goals and 11 points in 16 games, while also drawing many penalties with his persistence in getting under the skin of opposing players.

“I’m so excited for the opportunity to play (NCAA Division 1 hockey), it was an opportunity I could not turn down” commented Litke on accepting the scholarship. Litke continued: “I had a great experience in my time with Evansville; our captain Matt Hobbs made the transition joining the Thunderbolts so easy and the whole team was very welcoming. The Thunderbolts organization and the Evansville community has provided a huge support system and that helped lead us to so many wins, including winning the President’s Cup. I can’t wait for this new opportunity and to bring my experience from Evansville into it!”

Head Coach Jeff Bes commented: “Opportunities like these do not come along very often, so this news is exciting for Aidan as well as for our organization, as this opens a new road for developing players through Evansville. This will be a great opportunity for Aidan to continue to grow in his hockey career as well as academically for his career after hockey.”

Per SPHL guidelines for a corresponding transaction, Litke has been placed on team suspension while he embarks on his collegiate career.

Season tickets and single game tickets for the 2025-26 season are on sale now. Call 812-422-BOLT(2658) or visit our website (www.evansvillethunderbolts.com) for details.

About Evansville Thunderbolts: The Evansville Thunderbolts is the area’s only professional hockey team. The Thunderbolts are a proud member of the SPHL. The team is owned and operated by VW Sports, L.L.C, a subsidiary of VenuWorks, Inc. www.evansvillethunderbolts.com

Thunderbolts Dominate Bulls in 5-1 Victory

Evansville, In.:  After Friday’s tough loss to Macon, the Thunderbolts responded well, soundly defeating the Birmingham Bulls 5-1 at Ford Center on Saturday night and taking 3 out of 4 possible points on the weekend.  The Thunderbolts’ next home game at Ford Center will be on Saturday, December 20th against the Peoria Rivermen at 7:00pm CT.

                Evansville took control early and took the game’s first lead 6:36 into the game, with Jordan Simoneau scoring on a takeaway in the Birmingham zone, assisted by Myles Abbate and Matthew Hobbs.  At 13:08, Connor Federkow broke to the net off the right side boards and scored to extend Evansville’s lead to 2-0, assisted by Scott Kirton and Tyson Gilmour.  In the second period, Gilmour ended a long goal-scoring drought to make it 3-0, scoring on a rebound from Kirton and Joey Berkopec at 12:39.  The Bulls’ last gasp came early in the third period as Shawn Kennedy scored at 2:59 off a 3-on-1 rush immediately following a Birmingham penalty kill, briefly shortening the Thunderbolts lead to 3-1.  The Thunderbolts brushed the Bulls’ comeback attempt aside in short order, with Isaac Chapman scoring on a 2-on-1 just over three minutes later at 6:19 from Aidan Litke to make it a 4-1 game.  At 12:48, the final dagger came from Keanan Stewart, scoring unassisted after stealing the puck in the Birmingham zone to finish the scoring at 5-1 Evansville.

Gilmour finished with one goal and one assist while Chapman, Simoneau, Federkow and Stewart scored one goal each.  Kirton tallied a pair of assists, while Kristian Stead finished with 15 saves on 16 shots on goal for his 11th win of the season.  The Thunderbolts and Bulls meet again on Wednesday, December 31stat Ford Center, with Evansville leading the season series 2-0.

Season tickets, Individual game tickets and group packages are on sale for the 2025-26 season.  Call 812-422-BOLT(2658) or visit our website (www.evansvillethunderbolts.com) for details.

About Evansville Thunderbolts: The Evansville Thunderbolts is the area’s only professional hockey team. The Thunderbolts are a proud member of the SPHL.  The team is owned and operated by VW Sports, L.L.C, a subsidiary of VenuWorks, Inc. www.evansvillethunderbolts.com