Thunderbolts Re-Sign Forward Jordan Simoneau

Evansville, In.: The Evansville Thunderbolts and Head Coach/Director of Hockey Operations Jeff Bes are pleased to announce the re-signing of forward Jordan Simoneau 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.

Simoneau returns to the Thunderbolts for his third full professional season, the entirety spent with Evansville. The native of Tisdale, Saskatchewan took a significant step forward in 2025-26, scoring 14 goals and 20 points in 56 regular season games, his 14 goals ranking fourth amongst all Thunderbolts skaters. After finishing the regular season with four goals in the final four games, Simoneau continued his elevated play in the postseason, where he scored 4 goals and 6 points in 12 games, including the goal that forced overtime in Evansville’s dramatic game three comeback victory against Pensacola in the opening round. Since joining the Thunderbolts late in the 2023-24 season from Marian University, Simoneau has scored 20 goals and 34 points in 105 regular season games and is one of the nine members of both President’s Cup-winning Thunderbolts teams of 2025 and 2026.

“It was an easy decision to come back for another season,” commented Simoneau on continuing his career in Evansville. “Last season was special, coming back to Evansville after winning our first championship, the banner raising, and luckily enough being able to run it back and go on another championship run. The culture that Coach Bes has created in Evansville is top-tier, and we are treated so well by the Thunderbolts organization, we couldn’t win without that, or without the support of our fans at Ford Center or on the road; Game 5 in Peoria is a prime example of that, we couldn’t have won without the support they gave us.” Reflecting on his growing role as a veteran, Simoneau said: “I feel I can grow into a larger leadership role and share my knowledge and experience with the newer, younger players, especially in the playoffs. I feel like I’m playing some of the best hockey of my life and still have room to grow, so I’m excited to get back to work and be relied on further in the big moments of the game and be a top power forward in the league. I’m super excited to get the season going and see the fans again at Ford Center; Raising another banner will be a great way to cap off last season’s success, kickstart the new season, and have a chance at being the first team in SPHL history to win three (President’s Cup titles) in a row. The last two seasons have set the bar for success, anything below that isn’t acceptable.”

On re-signing Simoneau, Head Coach/Director of Hockey Operations Jeff Bes commented: “We couldn’t be more thrilled to announce Jordan coming back this season. His leadership and experience will be counted on as an integral part of our team’s continued success. He is a powerful presence both on and off the ice, a fan favorite, and an excellent presence in the Evansville community. I have had the pleasure of watching him grow and mature over the past 2 years and I know he has only scratched the surface, the sky is the limit for him, and I am excited to get going.”

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 Announce Home Dates for 2026-27 Season

On Wednesday, the Thunderbolts announce their upcoming home schedule for the 2026-27 season. Times, opponents, and theme nights will be announced at a later date. Here are the dates:

Saturday October 17^th

Friday October 30th

Tuesday November 10^th

Friday November 13^th

Saturday November 21^st

Sunday November 22^nd 

Saturday December 5^th

Friday December 11^th 

Saturday December 12^th 

Friday December 18^th

Wednesday December 23^rd 

Thursday December 31^st

Friday January 1^st

Saturday January 2^nd

Friday January 22^nd

Saturday January 23^rd

Friday January 29^th  

Saturday January 30^th 

Friday February 5^th 

Saturday February 6^th

Thursday February 11^th 

Friday February 12^th 

Sunday February 21^st

Friday February 26^th

Sunday March 7^th

Friday March 19^th 

Saturday March 20^th

Friday March 26^th 

Saturday March 27^th 

Saturday April 3^rd

Thunderbolts Re-Sign Captain Matthew Hobbs 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 captain Matthew Hobbs, who will take on an expanded role with the team in 2026-27.   

Hobbs, the longest-tenured captain in Thunderbolts team history, led the Thunderbolts to their second consecutive President’s Cup title in the 2025-26 season, his fourth full season with Evansville and second as team captain. Hobbs will take on added responsibility in the upcoming year, including assisting in practice, video breakdown, and more. Hobbs scored 8 goals and 23 points in 57 regular season games before a very strong showing in the playoffs, where he scored 1 goal and 9 points to go with a +10 rating to earn Playoff MVP honors. 4 of his 8 goals in 2025-26 were scored on the power play, tied for most on the Thunderbolts, his +13 rating also tied for the team lead.  Since the 2021-22 season, when he was acquired late in his first full professional season from the Birmingham Bulls, the Burlington, Ontario native has scored 36 goals and 90 points in 208 regular season games with Evansville, along with 2 goals and 17 points in 28 career playoff games.  Hobbs’ current total of 208 regular season games played ranks second most all-time in franchise history, and his 28 playoff games played are tied for the franchise record.   

“Going back to back was a surreal experience,” replied Hobbs when asked to reflect on the Thunderbolts’ second consecutive President’s Cup victory. “It was an amazing group of guys to do it with. Winning the second (President’s Cup Title) was extra special just to prove that the first (in 2025) was no fluke, and that we have built a winning culture in Evansville.”  Looking ahead to 2026-27, Hobbs continued: “My goals for the upcoming season are to continue getting better every day with the guys in the room and work to give our fans the best product on the ice that they’ve seen yet by continuing to play tough Evansville Thunderbolt hockey.  I’m so pumped for next season, and the opportunity to fight for the opportunity to lift that Cup again, it’s an amazing feeling that I want to experience again.  Our eyes are back on building this squad back up to get number three.”  

On the return of Hobbs, Head Coach/Director of Hockey Operations Jeff Bes commented: “Matt has continued to grow and mature as a captain and leader on this team over the past three seasons.  His ability to come to work and work hard every day makes everyone else accountable as well, which leads to our team’s success.”  Coach Bes continued by highlighting the heightened role for Hobbs in the upcoming season: "It is evident that taking the next step by assisting in coaching and learning the daily responsibilities will benefit our team this season.  I look forward to working with Matt and mentoring him this season as we look to sustain a winning culture in Evansville.” 

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 Defeat Rivermen in Five Games; Successfully Repeat as SPHL Champions

Peoria, Ill.:  Rallying from 2-0 down in the best-of-five series, the Thunderbolts completed the historic comeback with a 6-4 game five victory in Peoria on Saturday night, becoming the fourth team in SPHL history to win back-to-back President’s Cup titles.  

It was Peoria who struck first, with Alec Baer scoring at 7:01to give the Rivermen a 1-0 lead.  Only 39 seconds later, Evansville struck back as a dump-in bounced off Rivermen goaltender Nick Latinovich, the fumble tapped in by Isaac Chapman at 7:40 to tie the game 1-1, assisted by Matthew Hobbs and Anthony Mollica.  Riding the momentum and outshooting Peoria 12-5 in the first period, Evansville grabbed a 2-1 lead at 17:07 as Cameron MacPhee scored off a behind-the-net pass from Myles Abbate and Hobbs.  Peoria struck back early in the second period, as Jordan Ernst tied the game at the 2:56 mark, before the Thunderbolts rattled off two quick goals to take a 4-2 lead and chase Latinovich with four goals on 16 shots; Scott Kirton scored at 4:14 off a setup from Evan Miller, followed 38 seconds by Hobbs at 4:52 as he banked in a wrap-around attempt, assisted by Kirton.  Latinovich was replaced by Jack Bostedt, but that did not immediately stop the scoring as Chapman scored once again on a rush to the net from Aaron Huffnagle at 10:18 to give Evansville a 5-2 lead after two periods.

The Rivermen made their last stand in the third period as they had done in the last two games in Evansville and scored twice to tighten the Thunderbolts’ lead to only 5-4 as Mike Gelatt scored at 5:46, followed by Ernst on the game’s only power play at 14:54.  However, before the Rivermen could go for the tie by pulling Bostedt, the Rivermen gave up the puck right by their own net, with Derek Contessa scoring to give Evansville a 6-4 lead with 1:58 remaining, assisted by Abbate and Miller to allow the Evansville bench as well as the hundreds of Thunderbolts fans who made the trip to breathe a sigh of relief.  The Rivermen finally pulled Bostedt, but it was too little too late as the Thunderbolts completed the reverse sweep, coming back from a 2-0 series deficit to become the fourth SPHL team in history to win back-to-back President’s Cup Titles, joining the Knoxville Ice Bears of 2008 and 2009, the Pensacola Ice Flyers of 2013 and 2014, and most recently the Huntsville Havoc of 2018 and 2019.  Captain Matthew Hobbs was awarded Playoff MVP honors, scoring 1 goal and 9 assists for 10 points along with a +10 rating in 12 playoff games.

Chapman finished with two goals including the game-winning goal, Hobbs finished with one goal and two assists, Kirton scored one goal and one assist, while MacPhee and Contessa scored one goal each.  Miller and Abbate tallied a pair of assists, while Kristian Stead finished with 24 saves on 28 shots on goal, in net for every game and all eight Thunderbolts wins of the playoffs.

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 Defeat Rivermen 3-1, Force Game 5 in Peoria

Evansville, In.:  The Thunderbolts capped off their home ice supremacy in the postseason with a 3-1 victory over the Rivermen on Thursday night at Ford Center, finishing 6-0 at home in these playoffs, and now it will come down to a winner-take-all game five in Peoria on Saturday to determine this year’s President’s Cup champion.  

In a low-shot first period in which Evansville only had four shots on goal while allowing five, the Thunderbolts managed to strike first at 9:17 as Derek Contessa was set up at the net-front from Scott Kirton, also assisted by Caleb Huffman, to give Evansville the opening lead.  1:07 into the second period, Evansville made it a 2-0 game as Tyson Gilmour scored off a cross-ice feed from Aaron Huffnagle and Isaac Chapman.  The two-goal lead did not last long, as Michael McChesney scored on a net-front redirection for Peoria to trim the lead to 2-1 at 2:41.  Great saves by both Kristian Stead and Nick Latinovich, as well as some divine intervention of two shots hitting the crossbar behind Stead in the third period instead of going in, kept the score at 2-1 Evansville, before Jordan Simoneau added an empty net goal with 45 seconds remaining in the third period, assisted by Matthew Hobbs at 19:15 to make it a 3-1 final score.  With the victory, Evansville goes perfect on Ford Center ice in the playoffs two years in a row, 6-0 this year after going 3-0 at Ford Center in Evansville’s 2025 run to the Cup.  Now the Thunderbolts must bring that mojo on the road in order to return from Peoria with the President’s Cup on Saturday night.

Contessa, Gilmour, and Simoneau scored one goal each, while Kristian Stead finished with 26 saves on 27 shots on goal for his 7th win of the playoffs.  Game five will be in Peoria on Saturday, May 9th at 7:15pm CT.

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