Thunderbolts Advance Back to President's Cup Final

Evansville, In.:  In another nailbiter of a game on Thursday night at Ford Center, the Evansville Thunderbolts persevered to win 4-1 and defeat the Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs in the semifinals three games to one, becoming the first defending President’s Cup champion to advance back to the Final since 2019.  Details on the next Thunderbolts’ home game at Ford Center will be announced at the conclusion of the Peoria and Knoxville series.

The first period went scoreless, although Roanoke nearly took the opening lead as Tim Manning was awarded a penalty shot at 14:53, with Kristian Stead making the save to keep the game scoreless.  The Thunderbolts’ power play once again came through to open the scoring at 13:07 of the second period, as Scott Kirton scored from Aiden MacIntosh and Evan Miller to give Evansville a 1-0 lead.  10:49 into the third period, Evansville gained insurance as Myles Abbate scored on a two-on-one rush to make it 2-0, assisted by Jordan Simoneau and Matthew Hobbs.  Roanoke’s last gasp came on a power play chance that saw them pull to within a 2-1 deficit as Gustav Muller scored at 11:56.  Weathering the ensuing storm, Evansville counterattacked and again made it a two-goal game as Miller scored on an odd-man rush into the Roanoke end, assisted by Will van der Veen with 3:25 remaining.  Simoneau added an unassisted empty net goal 15 seconds later at 16:50 to put the game away at 4-1, sending Evansville back to the President’s Cup Final for the second season in a row, where they will face either the Peoria Rivermen or the Knoxville Ice Bears.    

Miller and Simoneau scored one goal and one assist each, Abbate scored the game-winning goal, and Kirton scored one goal.  In goal, Kristian Stead finished with 32 saves on 33 shots on goal for his 5th win of the playoffs.

Season tickets for the 2026-27 season are on sale now. Individual game tickets and group packages are on sale for the remainder of this 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

Abbate’s Late Goal Leads Thunderbolts to Game 3 Victory

Evansville, In.:  Tied 1-1 late in the third period, the Thunderbolts capitalized on late Roanoke penalties, as Myles Abbate’s power play goal with 2:47 remaining broke the tie in a 4-1 win over Roanoke at Ford Center on Wednesday night.  Game four in this best-of-five semifinal series against the Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs at Ford Center will be on Thursday, April 23rd, face-off at 7:00pm CT.

Following a scoreless first period, the Thunderbolts took the first lead of the second period as Evan Miller scored on the power play off a rebound from Jordan Simoneau and Scott Kirton at 5:13.  Bad penalties by Evansville reared their ugly head six minutes later, as Roanoke tied the game back up at the 11:13 with a power play goal from Gustav Muller.  The atmosphere was tense in the third period with close chances at both ends, before the Rail Yard Dawgs took two careless penalties in the final five minutes to present a golden opportunity for Evansville, as the Thunderbolts did not take a single penalty in the third period, and were rewarded with the opportunity.  With 2:47 remaining, Aaron Huffnagle’s cross ice pass connected with Abbate, who in one fell swoop shoveled the puck past Austyn Roudebush to give Evansville a 2-1 lead, Matthew Hobbs picking up the secondary assist.  An empty net goal shot from the Evansville zone by Jordan Simoneau made it 3-1 Evansville with 1:53 remaining, before Kirton set up one more empty net goal for Miller to make it 4-1 at 19:02. 

Miller scored two goals, Simoneau scored one goal and one assist, while Abbate scored the game-winning goal.  Kirton tallied a pair of assists, while Kristian Stead finished with 38 saves on 39 shots on goal for his 4th win of the playoffs.  Game four will be played at Ford Center this Thursday, April 23rd at 7:00pm CT, and if Evansville is unable to close out the series in game four, game five would be at Berglund Center on Saturday, April 25th at 6:05pm CT.

Season tickets for the 2026-27 season are on sale now. Individual game tickets and group packages are on sale for the remainder of this 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

Kristian Stead Named to All-SPHL Second Team

On Monday, the SPHL announced the All-SPHL First and Second Team. The Evansville Thunderbolts Goaltender Kristian Stead has been named to the All-SPHL Second Team. Here is who has been named alongside him:

Second Team

Goaltender - Kristian Stead (EVV)

Defensemen - Carson Vance (KNX), Cooper Jones (PEN)

Forwards - Austin Alger (HSV), Leif Mattson (QC), Travis Broughman (RNK)

Kristian Stead of the Evansville Thunderbolts was second in the SPHL in wins (23) and minutes played, third in goals against average (2.11), and fourth in saves. Stead also finished fifth among goaltenders with three shutouts and was sixth with a 0.923 save percentage.

Thunderbolts Fall Just Short as Roanoke Evens Series 1-1

Roanoke, Va.:  Although the Thunderbolts have successfully taken home ice advantage with their game one victory, Evansville fell just short of taking a 2-0 series lead as Roanoke won off a late go-ahead goal in the third period to even the series at one win apiece, 4-3 the score at Berglund Center on Saturday.  Game three in this best-of-five semifinal series against the Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs at Ford Center will be on Wednesday, April 22nd, face-off at 7:00pm CT.

                Roanoke scored the opening goal at the 5:56 mark of the first period, with Matt Dorsey scoring on a net-front scramble.  Evansville’s power play came through to tie the game late in the first period as Tyson Gilmour scored at 18:07, assisted by Aaron Huffnagle.  Penalties proved very costly on Evansville as Roanoke gained six consecutive power plays in the second period, scoring on two of them as Ryan Reifler scored at 10:30 and Gustav Muller scored at 15:17 to give Roanoke a 3-1 lead.  Despite the setback, Evansville had a fantastic start to the third period, as Tyson Gilmour scored at 1:57 followed by Isaac Chapman at 3:31, to tie the game once again at 3-3, forcing a goaltending change for Roanoke as Austyn Roudebush was pulled in favor of Gabe Rosek.  The gamble for Roanoke proved worthwhile, as Evansville was robbed on several great chances to take a lead, and with 6:32 remaining, Noah Finstrom scored on one of the few chances Roanoke had all third period, which proved to be the game-winning goal.  The series now shifts to Evansville as the Thunderbolts have turned the series from a best-of-five series with Roanoke holding home ice advantage to a best-of-three with Evansville now holding home-ice advantage.

Gilmour scored two goals, while Chapman scored one goal.  In goal, Kristian Stead finished with 31 saves on 35 shots on goal.  Games three and four will be played at Ford Center on Wednesday, April 22nd and Thursday, April 23rd at 7:00pm CT, and if necessary, game five would be at Berglund Center on Saturday, April 25th at 6:05pm CT.

Season tickets for the 2026-27 season are on sale now. Individual game tickets and group packages are on sale for the remainder of this 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 Rally in Third Period to Win Series Opener in Roanoke

Roanoke, Va.:  For the second consecutive game, the Thunderbolts rallied when trailing after two periods, scoring three power play goals in the third period to take game one of the President’s Cup Semifinals by a 3-1 score in Roanoke on Friday night.  Game three in the best-of-five semifinal series against the Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs at Ford Center will be on Wednesday, April 22nd, face-off at 7:00pm CT.

The Thunderbolts were dominant in the first period, outshooting Roanoke 16-9 in what quickly became a very nasty and physical game, but Evansville was unable to beat Roanoke goaltender Austyn Roudebush early on.  In the second period, as the power plays piled up for both sides, and as the Thunderbolts were unable to convert on an extended 5-on-3 power play, Matt O’Dea got out of the penalty box and scored a shorthanded goal on a breakaway to give Roanoke the first lead of the game with only 6 seconds remaining in the second period.  That lead for Roanoke lasted only 39 seconds, as the Thunderbolts hit the reset button in the intermission and scored on the same power play to tie the game 1-1 only 33 seconds into the third period, with Myles Abbate scoring the goal, assisted by Anthony Mollica and Tyson Gilmour.  On their very next power play, Evansville took their first lead at 9:42 as Gilmour scored from Aaron Huffnagle and Mollica.  With one more power play in the final minutes of regulation, Evansville scored once again on the man advantage with 1:31 remaining to make it a 3-1 game, as Huffnagle scored from Cameron MacPhee and Matthew Hobbs.  With a power play in the final minute, Roanoke pulled Roudebush, and Evansville goaltender Kristian Stead made his play for the rare goalie goal from his own crease towards the empty Roanoke net, just missing by a couple of inches from 200 feet down the ice.  The two teams combined for 18 power play chances, with Evansville scoring on each of their final 3 of 8 chances, and Roanoke denied on their 10 power plays.  Unsurprisingly, these two teams, being the two most physical teams in the SPHL, have very quickly decided not to like one another. With the 3-1 win, Evansville steals home ice advantage from Roanoke and have guaranteed at least two more games at Ford Center in these playoffs.

Huffnagle and Gilmour each scored one goal and one assist, Abbate scored one goal, and Mollica tallied a pair of assists.  In goal, Kristian Stead finished with 27 saves on 28 shots on goal for his 3rd win of the playoffs.  Game two against the Rail Yard Dawgs will be played at Berglund Center in Roanoke this Saturday, April 18th, face-off set for at 6:05pm CT.  Games three and four (if necessary) will be played at Ford Center on Wednesday, April 22nd and Thursday, April 23rd at 7:00pm CT, and if necessary, game five would be at Berglund Center on Saturday, April 25th at 6:05pm CT.

Season tickets for the 2026-27 season are on sale now. Individual game tickets and group packages are on sale for the remainder of this 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