It's Ours! Thunderbolts Defeat Knoxville in Overtime to Win the President's Cup

Evansville, In.: The Thunderbolts’ incredible run through the President’s Cup Playoffs came to a victorious end on Thursday night at Ford Center, with Aidan Litke’s overtime goal completing the sweep of the Knoxville Ice Bears in the final series, as the Thunderbolts captured their first-ever President’s Cup Championship.

Late in the first period, the Thunderbolts grabbed the game’s first lead as Logan vande Meerakker scored on the rush on a power play at 19:14 from Nolan McElhaney.  Following a relatively low-event second period, the Ice Bears tied the game 1-1 as Brendan Dowler scored 2:25 into the third period of play.  In overtime, unlike Wednesday night’s Game One in Knoxville which required double overtime, it took only 1:30 for Litke to score the golden goal, as Ethan Price fed Litke with a pass from the near corner to the net-front, where Litke sniped the puck over Knoxville goaltender Stephen Mundinger to finish the climb to the top of the mountain, with captain Matthew Hobbs fittingly earning a secondary assist on the goal as well.  After losing Game One of the first round of the playoffs at Huntsville in overtime, the Thunderbolts did not lose again, finishing the postseason with an astounding 6-0-1 record, the 6-game win streak also being their first since 2019-20, coming in the best possible time of the year.  In goal for every game of the playoffs and finishing with an astronomical .962% save percentage, Cole Ceci was awarded Playoff MVP Honors. 

Vande Meerakker and Litke finished with one goal each, while Ceci finished with 29 saves on 30 shots.  There will be a special rally on the Ford Center Plaza on Tuesday, April 29th from 6:00pm to 8:00pm to celebrate the Thunderbolts’ President’s Cup Championship.

Season 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

Contessa’s Double OT Goal leads Thunderbolts Over Ice Bears in Finals Opener

Knoxville, Tn.:  Coming back from a 3-2 deficit late in regulation, Scott Kirton scored to force overtime, where Derek Contessa scored 7:07 into the second overtime to win Game One of the President’s Cup Final for Evansville on Wednesday night at Knoxville Civic Coliseum.  The Thunderbolts and Ice Bears will play Game Two at Ford Center on Thursday night at 7:00pm CT.

In the first period, the Thunderbolts opened the scoring at 6:27, as Tyson Gilmour scored on a rebound from Logan vande Meerakker and Kirton to give Evansville a 1-0 lead.  The Ice Bears came back minutes later to tie, as Dawson McKinney scored on a power play at 9:15.  The Thunderbolts got the lead back at 13:16, as Myles Abbate scored off a deflection of a Benjamin Lindberg shot to give Evansville the lead once again 2-1, also assisted by Isaac Chapman.  However, Knoxville again tied the game as Derek Raposo scored at 15:04 off a face-off, with the game tied 2-2 going into the first intermission.  Knoxville scored the lone goal of the second period despite being outshot 19-4, with McKinney scoring once again off a back-door pass at 4:28, giving the Ice Bears their first lead of the night.  The score remained the same through the second period and for most of the third period, before Scott Kirton scored on a turnaround shot from around the net on a power play with 5:06 remaining in regulation to tie the game 3-3, assisted by Matthew Hobbs and Vande Meerakker.  The Thunderbolts faced danger early in the first overtime, facing two penalties, which they successfully killed to get back to 5-on-5.  Finally, at 7:07 of the second overtime, Contessa scored on a rebound from Chapman and Abbate to win the game for Evansville 4-3, giving Evansville a 1-0 series lead going back to Ford Center on Thursday.

Kirton and Abbate each finished with a goal and assist, Gilmour and Contessa each scored one goal, while Chapman and Vande Meerakker each tallied a pair of assists.  In goal, Cole Ceci finished with 33 saves on 36 shots.  Game Two will be at Ford Center on Thursday at 7:00pm CT, and  Game Three, if necessary, will be played at Knoxville Civic Coliseum on Sunday afternoon, face-off at 2:00pm CT.

Individual game tickets and group packages are on sale for the 2024-25 season.  Season 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 Sweep Rivermen; Advance to President's Cup Final

Evansville, In.:  The Cinderella run continues for the Thunderbolts, as they came back from 1-0 down after one period to defeat the defending champions and #1-seeded Peoria Rivermen 3-1 on Friday night at Ford Center, completing the series sweep after winning Game One 2-0 at Peoria on Wednesday.  The Thunderbolts now await the winner of the Birmingham Bulls and Knoxville Ice Bears semifinal series.

The expected early storm from the Rivermen indeed materialized, as the Thunderbolts were challenged hard in the first period.  Amidst the pressure, the Rivermen grabbed the game’s first lead as a rebound from a wraparound shot found Josh Martin moving up the slot, and he fired the shot in to give Peoria a 1-0 lead at 11:36.  As they did in the second period of Game Three against the Havoc last weekend, the Thunderbolts found their game in the second period, outshooting Peoria 18-11 in the middle frame.  At 8:58, Evansville tied the game on a power play as Tyson Gilmour’s shot found the back of the net, assisted by Matthew Hobbs and Logan vande Meerakker.  Late in the second period, Vande Meerakker scored on a 2-on-1 rush at 18:45, assisted by Grayson Valente to give the Thunderbolts a 2-1 lead going into the third period. 

It was an absolute grind in the final 20 minutes of play, with the Rivermen outshooting Evansville 16-6, and they nearly tied the game with roughly 7 minutes remaining with a scoring chance that ended on the goal line behind Cole Ceci, but was confirmed to not have gone in upon official review.  As the clock slowly rolled down, the Rivermen pulled goaltender Nick Latinovich for an extra attacker, but the Thunderbolts held strong, and with 19 seconds remaining, Gilmour scored on an unopposed break to the Rivermen zone and into the empty net to make it a 3-1 game against the same Rivermen who placed him on waivers late last season, sending Ford Center into a frenzy that had never-before been seen to this extent for a hockey game in Evansville.  The final seconds ticked away afterward, and the celebration began in earnest, as the Thunderbolts completed the series sweep and earned their first-ever trip to the President’s Cup Final.

Gilmour scored two goals, Vande Meerakker scored one goal and one assist, and Ceci finished with 39 saves on 40 shots.  The Thunderbolts await the winner of the Knoxville Ice Bears and Birmingham Bulls, Game Three of that series will be played at Pelham Civic Complex on Saturday afternoon, face-off at 2:00pm CT, with schedule details for the President’s Cup Final available shortly after the conclusion of the game.  

Individual game tickets and group packages are on sale for the 2024-25 season.  Season 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 Shutout Rivermen 2-0, Take Series Lead Back to Evansville

Peoria, Ill.:  Following two scoreless periods of hockey, the Thunderbolts scored twice in the third period to defeat the Peoria Rivermen 2-0 in Peoria on Wednesday night, bringing a hard-fought 1-0 series lead back to Evansville for a chance to advance to the President’s Cup Final.  Game Two at Ford Center will be this Friday, April 18th, face-off at 7:00pm CT.

Defense and discipline were the two biggest aspects of Evansville’s game, only allowing the league’s top scoring team 15 total shots on goal and only giving up a single power play opportunity to the Rivermen in the entire game.  In the third period, Logan vande Meerakker opened the scoring as Peoria turned over the puck in the Evansville zone, allowing Vande Meerakker to score on a breakaway at 9:08 of the third period.  The score stayed the same until the final two minutes, when Aidan Litke scored from the red line into the empty Peoria net with 1:20 remaining to make it a 2-0 Thunderbolts lead, cinching Evansville’s first-ever victory in the President’s Cup Semifinals.

Vande Meerakker and Litke scored Evansville’s goals, while Ceci stopped all 15 Rivermen shots for the win and his 2nd shutout of the playoffs.  Game Two against the Rivermen at Ford Center will be this Friday, April 18th with opening face-off at 7:00pm CT.  Game Three, if necessary, will be back at the Peoria Civic Center on Saturday, April 19th at 7:15pm CT.  

Individual game tickets and group packages are on sale for the 2024-25 season.  Season 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 Complete the Series Comeback in 4-3 Win over #2 Havoc

Huntsville, Ala.:  For the second year in a row, the Thunderbolts have pulled off a comeback series victory against a Top-Two seeded team, defeating the Huntsville Havoc 4-3 at the Huntsville Ice Sports Center on Saturday night, winning the series 2-1.  The Thunderbolts will again face the Peoria Rivermen in the President’s Cup Semifinals, with Game Two at Ford Center next Friday, April 18th, face-off at 7:00pm CT.

The Havoc opened the scoring 6:24 into the game, as Austin Alger scored on a steeply angled rebound chance.  Despite heavy pressure, the Thunderbolts bent but did not break and got to the first intermission down only 1-0.  Evansville found their game in the second period, starting at 6:48 as Cameron MacPhee banked a shot in off Mike Robinson to tie the game 1-1, assisted by Scott Kirton and Isaac Chapman.  Three minutes later at 9:49, Aidan Litke scored on a fadeaway shot from the top of the near circle on the final second of a power play, assisted by Benjamin Lindberg and MacPhee to give Evansville their first lead of the night, the 2-1 lead holding to the second intermission.

Evansville faced adversity early in the third period, as Dylan Stewart scored by squeaking a puck barely through Cole Ceci and across the goal line, the goal confirmed following official review.  Evansville responded almost immediately, with Myles Abbate bursting from the neutral zone and scoring on a breakaway from Lindberg at 3:09 to give the Thunderbolts the lead once again, 3-2.  Later in the third period, Evansville got some insurance as Tyson Gilmour scored on a 4-on-2 rush, scoring on his own rebound while crashing the net, assisted by Chapman and Litke at 14:03.  In a last gasp for Huntsville, Sam Ruffin got a shot through on a 6-on-5 push at 18:46 to trim the lead to 4-3, but the Thunderbolts successfully held on the rest of the way to the buzzer to get back into the SPHL’s Final Four for the second consecutive year, Gilmour’s goal holding up as the game and series-winning goal.

MacPhee and Litke each scored a goal and assist, Abbate and Gilmour finished with one goal each, and Lindberg along with Chapman tallied two assists each.  In goal, Ceci stood tall once again, stopping 58  of 61 Havoc shots for the win.  The win was also the Thunderbolts’ first road regulation-time victory in franchise playoff history.  Game One of the President’s Cup Semifinals against the Rivermen at the Peoria Civic Center will be on Wednesday, April 16th at 7:15pm CT,  Game Two at Ford Center will be on Friday, April 18th with opening face-off at 7:00pm CT, and Game Three, if necessary, will be back at the Peoria Civic Center on Saturday, April 19th at 7:15pm CT.  

Individual game tickets and group packages are on sale for the 2024-25 season.  Season 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