Thunderbolts Sign Goalies Outen/Torchia; Waive Karpinski/Resar

On Monday, Head Coach/Director of Hockey Operations Jeff Bes announced numerous transactions beginning with the signings of goaltenders Tyriq Outen and Nathan Torchia.

Outen joins the Thunderbolts after 8 games in the ECHL last season with the Wichita Thunder and the Kalamazoo Wings. During his time with the Thunder, he posted a .875 SV% and a 3.53 GAA in 4 games played. While finishing out his ECHL season with the Wings, he had a .883 SV% and a 3.83 GAA. With Outen’s experience in the ECHL, he spent the first few games of last season in the SPHL with the Knoxville Ice Bears before getting the call up. In 5 games with the Ice Bears, Outen had a 2.27 GAA and a .914 SV%.

Torchia joins the Thunderbolts after 13 games played with the Rapid City Rush between the 2024-25 season and the 2025-26 season. During his time with the Rush in the ECHL, he posted a 4.10 GAA and a .897 SV%. Before getting the call up to the coast, Torchia played 78 games with the University of Windsor USports team from 2021-2025. He finished his time with the University of Windsor with a 45-27-4 record.

In addition, Cody Karpinski and Sebastian Resar have been waived and Seth Bernard has been called up to the Bloomington Bison of the ECHL.

Thunderbolts Sign Forward Noah Aboflan to SPC

On Friday, Head Coach/Director of Hockey Operations Jeff Bes announced the signing of forward Noah Aboflan to a standard contract.

Aboflan joins the Thunderbolts in his first professional season after attending Indy Fuel training camp as well as participating in Chicago Blackhawks prospect camp.  The native of Elliot Lake, Ontario last played a full season in the OHL with the London Knights in 2024-25, scoring 4 goals and 8 points in 33 regular season games before winning the OHL Championship along with the Memorial Cup, junior hockey's most prestigious championship trophy, with the Knights in the postseason.  Sidelined by injury in the 2025-26 regular season, Aboflan returned to the ice in the NOJHL playoffs with the Greater Sudbury Cubs and continued his championship pedigree by scoring 3 goals and 7 points in 10 games to help lead the Cubs to the NOJHL title.

In addition, Antonio Baldassarre has been waived. 

Thunderbolts 11-Game Home Win Streak Ends In Loss to Storm

Evansville, In.:  It’s been a long time since the Thunderbolts went through a weekend without earning any standings points, the last time being in late January, but such a weekend has concluded with a 5-2 loss to the Quad City Storm at Ford Center on Saturday night.  The Thunderbolts’ next home game at Ford Center will be on Friday, October 30th against the Huntsville Havoc, opening face-off at 7:00pm CT.

The night started off well for Evansville, as Matt Koethe scored off a Storm giveaway which led to a breakaway and the goal only 2:38 into the game.  The Storm answered at 5:49, as Stefan Diezi tied the game back up for the Storm.  On a power play, Nolan Dion scored to give Quad City a 2-1 lead at the 9:13 mark, followed by Diezi’s second goal of the game at 15:57 to put the Storm ahead 3-1 through one period, a period that ended with a pair of fights as Cameron MacPhee engaged Max Hartwell, followed by a one-sided fight for Jordan Simoneau against Hlib Varava.  In the second period, Landyn Greatorex scored to make it a 4-1 Storm lead, but the Thunderbolts got some momentum back and got back within two goals as Max Thiessen scored his first professional goal at 14:31, assisted by Evan Miller and MacPhee.  Evansville outshot Quad City in the third period 13-9, and had multiple high-danger chances, but could not chip away any further at the Storm lead, with Tommy Tsicos adding an empty net goal late to seal the 5-2 win for Quad City.  It was the first time the Thunderbolts lost on Ford Center ice since March 15th of last season, that loss followed by four wins in the final four regular season home games and six more in the postseason, capped off with a win in Evansville’s home opener last Saturday before tonight’s loss.

                Koethe and Thiessen scored Evansville’s goals on the night, while Sebastian Resar finished with 29 saves on 33 shots.  The Thunderbolts and Storm meet once again on Friday, November 6th at Vibrant Arena at the MARK, with the Storm 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

Tremendous Thunderbolts Rally Falls Just Short in Birmingham

Pelham, Ala.:  The Thunderbolts showed no quit despite trailing 5-0 going into the third period, rallying for four unanswered goals albeit falling just short by a 5-4 score in Pelham on Friday 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.

Evansville outshot the Bulls 11-8 in a close first period but fell behind 1-0 as Ashton Paul scored for the Bulls at 11:08.  In the second period, the Thunderbolts were under siege as the Bulls scored three power play goals, and one goal after a power play, to take a 5-0 lead with goals by Brady Lynn at 5:17, Aiden Wagner at 9:17, Matt Wiesner at 10:14, and Kyren Gronick at 12:04.  Instead of throwing in the towel, the Thunderbolts went to work in the third period, starting 24 seconds into play as Dustin Hutton scored off a set-up from Jordan Simoneau to make it 5-1.  On the power play, Will van der Veen sniped home a shot from Hutton and Seth Bernard to make it a 5-2 game at 2:38.  On another power play at 7:54, Hutton scored once again from Derek Contessa and Caleb Huffman to trim the deficit to two goals, before Bernard’s goal off a face-off from Contessa at 8:53 suddenly put Evansville right back to within a goal.  Despite several great chances, Evansville’s luck ran out the rest of the way, falling just short 5-4 in a spirited effort that will hopefully follow them home for Saturday night’s home game against Quad City.

                Hutton led the way with two goals and an assist, Bernard scored one goal and one assist, Van der Veen added one goal, and Contessa tallied a pair of assists.  In goal, Sebastian Resar finished with 26 saves on 31 shots.  The Thunderbolts and Bulls meet once again on Friday, November 20th at Pelham Civic Complex, with the Bulls 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

Jordan Simoneau Named Thunderbolts Team Captain

Evansville, In.:  The Evansville Thunderbolts and Head Coach/Director of Hockey Operations Jeff Bes are pleased to announce the appointment of Jordan Simoneau to the position of team captain, the 10^th captain in franchise history.

Since joining the Thunderbolts late in the 2023-24 season, Simoneau has amassed 20 goals and 36 points in 107 regular season games.  His 107 career games played is currently tied for 12^th in team history, the most amongst all active Thunderbolts players, and is poised to rise as high as 4^th later this season.  In the 2026 President’s Cup Playoffs, Simoneau carried a strong finish to the regular season into the postseason, scoring four goals and six points in the 12 playoff games, including the goal that forced overtime in game three of the opening round against Pensacola, and several victory-clinching goals in the final two rounds.  Prior to joining Evansville, the Tisdale, Saskatchewan native played three seasons at Marian University from 2021-2024, and prior to college played three seasons of Junior A hockey in his home province with the Nipawin Hawks of the SJHL between 2017-2020, winning an SJHL championship in the 2017-18 season.  So far in the 2026-27 season, Simoneau has tallied two assists in two games. 

On being named captain, Simoneau commented: “I’m extremely honored to be named captain of the Thunderbolts.  It has been such a special privilege to be a part of this team and this city. I would like to thank Coach Bes, my teammates, the staff, and the Thunderbolts organization for believing in me, as well as to the previous captains and former players for creating a top-tiered winning culture here in Evansville.  I’m excited to expand my role and build off our success that we’ve had here the last couple of years.  I’m stoked about this season and ready to put the work in to create something special here in Evansville.”

On naming Simoneau captain, Head Coach/Director of Hockey Operations Jeff Bes commented: “Naming Jordan the captain of the Thunderbolts was an easy decision.  Over the past three seasons I’ve watched him mature and grow into a leader and a consummate professional while learning about what it takes to be a Thunderbolt both on and off the ice.  His dedication to the game has helped him maintain a high standard for himself as well as everyone around him.  I know he is ready for this role, to continue to help build our culture, and to maintain our success.”

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