Thunderbolts Defeat Pee Dee in Front of Record Education Day Crowd

Evansville, In.:  Back on Ford Center ice for the annual Tuesday morning Education Day game, the Thunderbolts emerged victoriously in overtime over the Pee Dee IceCats in front of a new-record crowd of 8,214 fans, 2-1 the final score.  The Thunderbolts’ next home game at Ford Center will be on Friday, November 13th against the Peoria Rivermen, opening face-off at 7:00pm CT.

Despite outshooting Pee Dee 27-23 through two periods, neither team managed to score a goal through the first 40 minutes of play.  The stalemate finally broke with a power play opportunity for Evansville, as Derek Contessa scored shortside-high at the 1:55 mark, assisted by Evan Miller and Matt Koethe.  The IceCats tied the game only 54 seconds later at 2:49, as Danil Federov scored off a rebound following a 2-on-1 rush to the Evansville zone.  In the final seconds of regulation, captain Jordan Simoneau nearly won it for Evansville at the buzzer, but was hauled down on the breakaway, leading to a power play for Evansville to start overtime.  Only 47 seconds into overtime, it was Trevor LeDonne who scored the winning goal, once again shortside-high, the goal unassisted to win the game for Evansville.  The win for Evansville came in the Thunderbolts’ first-ever contest against the Pee Dee IceCats of Florence, South Carolina.  The attendance of 8,214 broke the Thunderbolts franchise record for a single game, previously set at 7,758 on Education Day in 2024, and for the first time in franchise history, the upper bowl at Ford Center has now been used for multiple Thunderbolts games in a single season. 

Contessa and LeDonne scored Evansville’s goals, while Tyriq Outen finished with 30 saves on 31 shots for his first win as a Thunderbolt.  The Thunderbolts and IceCats meet once again on Thursday, November 26th at Florence Center, with Evansville 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 Defenseman Jamie Dorsey; Scott Kirton returns from ECHL Wheeling

On Tuesday, Head Coach/Director of Hockey Operations Jeff Bes announced several transactions, led by the additions of forward Scott Kirton and defenseman Jamie Dorsey.

Kirton returns for his sixth season with the Thunderbolts after starting this season with the Wheeling Nailers of the ECHL, skating in two games.  The native of Scarborough, Ontario needs little introduction to Evansville fans as the Thunderbolts franchise all-time regular season leader in games played (216), goals (85), assists (102), points (187), power play goals (19), and game-winning goals (16).  In 2025-26, Kirton scored 19 goals and 23 assists for 42 points in 57 regular season games before adding 3 goals and 6 assists for 9 points in the President's Cup Playoffs, including the second go-ahead goal in Game Five of the President's Cup Final in Peoria, becoming one of nine Thunderbolts who were part of both President's Cup-winning teams of 2025 and 2026.

Dorsey (no relation to former Thunderbolts forward Matt Dorsey) joins the Thunderbolts after starting the season with the Monroe Moccasins of the FPHL, where he scored 1 goal and 3 points along with 21 penalty minutes in 6 games played.  The Wilbraham, Massachusetts native is in his fifth full professional season, starting with the Macon Mayhem in 2022, and played for the Mayhem until a trade to the Fayetteville Marksmen in the 2023-24 season, followed by a season and a half with the Birmingham Bulls between 2024-2026 before joining the Moccasins.  Dorsey also played 18 ECHL games in 2022-23 with the Orlando Solar Bears and Greenville Swamp Rabbits.  In 128 regular season SPHL games, Dorsey has recorded 4 goals and 23 points along with 298 penalty minutes.  

In additional transaction news, defenseman Bradey Farrell and forward Devyn Orpana have been placed on waivers.

Thunderbolts Acquire Davis Kirkendall in exchange for Future Considerations

On Sunday, Head Coach/Director of Hockey Operations Jeff Bes announced the trade acquisition of forward Davis Kirkendall from the Peoria Rivermen in exchange for future considerations.

Kirkendall joins the Thunderbolts in his fifth full season in the SPHL, starting with the Vermilion County Bobcats in the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons before being traded to the Quad City Storm in 2023.  Kirkendall then signed with the Knoxville Ice Bears for the 2023-24 season and started with Knoxville in 2024-25 before being sent to Quad City for a second stint with the Storm from 2025 through the 2025-26 season.  The native of Hamel, Minnesota signed with the Peoria Rivermen as a free agent in October and tallied one assist in four games with the Rivermen, and in 165 total SPHL regular season games has amassed 29 goals and 44 assists for 73 career points.   

Thunderbolts Sign Defenseman Kyler Matthews; Berkopec Returns from ECHL Jacksonville

On Friday, Head Coach/Director of Hockey Operations Jeff Bes announced several transactions, led by the signing of defenseman Kyler Matthews, the return of defenseman Joey Berkopec from call-up to the Jacksonville IceMen of the ECHL, and the activation of forward Blake Frost from Injured Reserve.

Matthews is veteran of four seasons in the SPHL, including two seasons with the Knoxville Ice Bears from 2021-2023 and two more seasons with the Birmingham Bulls between 2023-2025.  In 172 regular season SPHL games played, Matthews has amassed 14 goals and 51 points along with a +34 rating.  In addition, the native of Alliston, Ontario played this past season with the Monroe Moccasins of the FPHL, scoring 10 goals and 42 points along with a +30 rating in 56 regular season games.   

Berkopec returns after a two game ECHL stint with the IceMen, scoring his first ECHL goal on Tuesday morning against Savannah.  Berkopec currently has one assist in his only game played so far with Evansville this season.

Frost returns to the lineup after missing the last three games due to injury.  In his only game so far this season, Frost scored his first professional goal on October 17^th against Knoxville.

In other transaction news, defenseman Carter Poulin was traded to the Peoria Rivermen in exchange for future considerations, and forward Killian Rowlee has been placed on waivers.

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.