Thunderbolts Win Home Opener in Front of 6,000+ Fans

Evansville, In.:  Playing under a shiny new President’s Cup Championship banner in front of a crowd of 6,364, the Thunderbolts showcased a massive bounce-back performance, defeating the Knoxville Ice Bears 5-1 at Ford Center on Saturday night.  The Thunderbolts’ next home game at Ford Center will be on Saturday, October 24th against the Quad City Storm, opening face-off at 7:00pm CT.

With the energy in the building already at a high level following the raising of the new championship banner before puck drop, the Thunderbolts channeled the boost from the crowd into an early 1-0 lead only 38 seconds into the game, as Logan vande Meerakker redirected a shot from Trevor LeDonne and Max Thiessen to put Evansville ahead.  The Ice Bears managed to tie at 2:02, as a shot by Davide Gaeta deflected off a Thunderbolt and past Sebastian Resar to tie the game 1-1.  Unphased, the Thunderbolts continued their strong first period in which they outshot Knoxville 18-10, punctuated by a goal by Seth Bernard at 10:15 from Jordan Simoneau to put Evansville back ahead.  2:37 into the second period, Bernard struck again on a turnaround shot from the right circle, assisted by Killian Rowlee to extend Evansville’s lead to 3-1.  The Ice Bears presented their largest push in the first half of the second period, but Resar was unyielding with several key saves to maintain Evansville’s two-goal cushion.

Past the halfway point of the third period,  a pair of Thunderbolts rookies scored their first professional goals only 34 seconds apart to further increase their lead to 5-1;  first by Blake Frost unassisted on a rush to the net at 13:09, followed by Dustin Hutton off a setup from Caleb Huffman at 13:43.  In the third period, the Thunderbolts outshot Knoxville 14-9, but the final frame presented no additional goal scoring, with Evansville winning by a 5-1 final score.  The attendance of 6,364 broke the Thunderbolts’ franchise record for single-game attendance excluding Education Day morning games, as a portion of the Ford Center’s upper bowl was used for an evening game for the first time in franchise history.

Bernard scored two goals, while Vande Meerakker, Hutton and Frost finished with one goal each.  In goal, Sebastian Resar finished with 25 saves on 26 shots in his Thunderbolts debut.  The Thunderbolts and Ice Bears meet once again on Saturday, December 26th at Knoxville Civic Coliseum, with the season series tied 1-1.

Single game and season tickets for the 2026-27 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 are 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 Defeated 6-3 in Season Opener against Knoxville

Knoxville, Tn.:  Down 3-0, the Thunderbolts rallied to get back to within a goal, but fell short in a back-and-forth season opener, 6-3 Knoxville the final score at Knoxville Civic Coliseum on Friday night.  The Thunderbolts home opener at Ford Center will be on Saturday, October 17th against the Knoxville Ice Bears, opening face-off at 7:00pm CT.

The Thunderbolts simply could not get a bounce, or a goal, in the first period, as several great opportunities were thwarted, including an Evan Miller shot that hit the post, while the Ice Bears struck twice as Davide Gaeta picked up a pair of first period goals to give Knoxville a 2-0 lead through 20 minutes.  Knoxville pushed hard in the start of the second period, and Mike Mercurio scored on a home-ice bounce to make it 3-0 at 4:25.  Evansville began a strong stretch in the second half of the second period, beginning with a great penalty kill before drawing a power play chance, with Trevor LeDonne scoring at 15:19 from Logan vande Meerakker and Jordan Simoneau to get Evansville on the scoreboard.  Knoxville again pressed in the first half of the third period, but could not expand their lead, before Shane Prifrel scored off the rush for his first professional goal at 13:14, assisted by Seth Bernard and Joey Berkopec to trim the Knoxville lead to 3-2.  Just seconds later however, a fortunate shot from the blue line by Knoxville’s Ranon Joseph somehow snuck off the post and into the net to make it 4-2.  At 15:20, Paxton Leroux scored at the Evansville net front to re-establish the three goal lead at 5-2.  With a late 5-on-3 power play, Evansville again found life and scored as Derek Contessa cashed in from Matt Koethe and Vande Meerakker, before an empty net goal in the final minute by Kolten Olynek capped the scoring at 6-3 Knoxville.

                LeDonne, Prifrel, and Contessa scored one goal each, while Vande Meerakker finished with a pair of assists.  In goal, Cody Karpinski finished with 26 saves on 31 shots.  The Thunderbolts and Ice Bears meet once again on Saturday, October 17th at Ford Center, with Knoxville leading the season series 1-0.

Single game and season tickets for the 2026-27 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 are 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 Matt Koethe; Waive Blake Frost

On Friday, Head Coach/Director of Hockey Operations Jeff Bes announced the signing of forward Matt Koethe ahead of tonight's matchup against the Knoxville Ice Bears to open the 2026-27 season.

Koethe is joining the Thunderbolts after playing in 51 games in the ECHL between the Tulsa Oilers and the Iowa Heartlanders. In those 51 games played, he recorded 8 points and only 10 penalty minutes. Before making his way to the ECHL, the Minnetonka, Minnesota native spent four full seasons with the University of Alaska-Fairbanks NCAA hockey team. During his time with the Nanooks, Koethe tallied 15 goals and 48 points in 127 total games.

In other transaction news, forward Blake Frost has been placed on waivers.

Thunderbolts Re-Sign Forward Derek Contessa for 2026-27 Season

Evansville, In.: The Evansville Thunderbolts and Head Coach/Director of Hockey Operations Jeff Bes are pleased to announce the re-signing of forward Derek Contessa for the 2026-27 season. The Thunderbolts return to Ford Center ice for the 2026-27 season on Saturday, October 17th against the Knoxville Ice Bears.

Contessa returns to Evansville for his third season as a Thunderbolt and fourth season overall in the SPHL. In 2025-26, Contessa scored a career-high 15 goals and 27 points, ranking 3rd amongst all Thunderbolts in goal scoring, as one of three Evansville skaters to play in all 58 regular season games and one of only 11 players to ever accomplish the feat in Thunderbolts franchise history. In the playoffs, Contessa played in all 12 games and added two goals along with 3 points, with one goal in each of games four and five of the President’s Cup Final against the Peoria Rivermen, as Contessa became one of the nine members of both President’s Cup-winning Thunderbolts teams of 2025 and 2026. In 151 regular season SPHL games with Evansville since 2024-25 and the Macon Mayhem in 2023-24, the Freehold, New Jersey native has scored 28 goals and 32 assists for 60 total points.

“I always love being in Evansville; between the team, fans, and city, it really makes my time there a pleasure,” commented Contessa on his experience through two years in Evansville. “Last year was a great season, the team really connected and it showed with how the season ended. I consider (my teammates) brothers for life.” Looking ahead to 2026-27, Contessa continued: “I feel my game has evolved in the way of me becoming more confident with the puck and with shooting. This year, I think I can become even more of an impactful player; my goal is to score at least 20 goals while leading our team not only to another championship but also finish in the top two regular season spots going into the playoffs. I feel that I have one more year left in the tank, and I want to leave it all in Evansville and achieve something that has never been done in the SPHL before, becoming a back-to-back-to-back champion. I am extremely excited to get back to Evansville and see the fans and my teammates, they have been such a big part of my life the past two years, and I am excited to see them again in October!”

On re-signing Contessa, Head Coach/Director of Hockey Operations Jeff Bes commented: “Derek's game has definitely evolved over the two years he's been here. 
He is versatile and can play center and wing, and his confidence has grown with the last two playoffs. He's worked on his consistency and he's ready to go for this upcoming season. With a little bit more experience and with the confidence that he's gained over the past two years, I feel Derek's going to be a huge asset to our team. 
I know I can put him out there for penalty killing, for defensive zone faceoffs, he's big, he's strong, he goes to the net, and he scores timely goals. 
He's going to be a leader for us this season, and I think with a little bit more added responsibility, his game's going to grow to the next level.”

Single game and season tickets for the 2026-27 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 Sign Defenseman Antonio Baldassarre for 2026-27 Season

Evansville, In.: The Evansville Thunderbolts and Head Coach/Director of Hockey Operations Jeff Bes are pleased to announce the signings of forwards Manny Cabral and Shane Prifrel as well as defenseman Antonio Baldassarre for the 2026-27 season.  The Thunderbolts return to Ford Center ice for the 2026-27 season on Saturday, October 17^th against the Knoxville Ice Bears.

Baldassarre joins the Thunderbolts after spending a season overseas with KHL Sisak in the AlpsHL and Croatia. During his time overseas, he added 4 points to the stat sheet in 25 games played. Between his time in the KHL, he signed with Nipissing University and played 3 games for the team. The Toronto, Ontario native spent the three seasons prior to 2025-26 between the Ontario Junior Hockey League (OJHL) and the Manitoba Junior Hockey League (MJHL).

As Antonio Baldassarre begins his time in Evansville, he is excited to become part of the Thunderbolts organization and community. “I’m most excited about getting down to Evansville, meeting the guys, coaching staff, and becoming a part of the Thunderbolts organization and community. I’ve heard great things about the fans and the atmosphere there, so I’m really looking forward to playing in front of them and doing everything I can to help the team win this season”. Baldassarre also believes his skating, compete level, and puck-moving ability will be key strengths as he joins the Thunderbolts. “I’d say some of my biggest strengths are my skating, compete level, and ability to move the puck. I like to play a fast, responsible game, be hard to play against defensively, and help create offense when the opportunity is there. Thunderbolts fans can expect a lot of energy, physicality, and someone who competes every night and does whatever it takes to help the team win.”

On signing Baldassarre, Head Coach/Director of Hockey Operations Jeff Bes commented: “Antonio is a great skater who brings a lot of energy to the game. He has the ability to move the puck well and uses his skating to create plays and keep the game moving at a high pace. He plays a fast, responsible game and can be relied on to make smart decisions in all areas of the ice. We’re excited to have him join our group.”

Season and single game tickets for the 2026-27 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