Thunderbolts Sign Defenseman Ethan Lund to SPC

On Saturday, Head Coach/Director of Hockey Operations Jeff Bes announced several transactions, led by the signing of defenseman Ethan Lund.

Lund joins the Thunderbolts following the conclusion of his four-year collegiate career at the NCAA Division 1 level with Niagara University, serving as team captain in 2025-26.  Lund scored 2 goals and 6 points in 36 games this season and was a teammate of Thunderbolts alum Aidan Litke, who received a scholarship to Niagara earlier this season. Between 2022-2026, Lund scored a total of 6 goals and 18 points in 109 regular season games.  The native of Calgary, Alberta also had a stellar junior hockey career in his home province, playing four seasons with the Brooks Bandits of the AJHL between 2018-2022, leading Brooks to the AJHL championship as team captain in the 2021-22 season, and was also a member of Brooks' championship team in 2018-19 while also named to the AJHL's All-Rookie South Team that season.  In 179 regular season games with Brooks between 2019-2022, Lund scored 16 goals and 83 points.

In other transaction news, defenseman Dmitry Yushkevich has been placed on 14-Day IR and defenseman Carter Poulin has been released from his PTO.

Mollica’s Overtime Heroics lead Thunderbolts over Rivermen

Evansville, In.:  After a 2-0 Evansville lead was nullified in the third period, Anthony Mollica’s overtime goal saved the day as the Thunderbolts defeated the Rivermen 3-2 at Ford Center on Friday night.  The Thunderbolts’ next home game at Ford Center will be on Friday, April 3rd against the Pensacola Ice Flyers at 7:00pm CT.

Following another scoreless first period, Evansville opened the scoring at 3:24 of the second period as Matthew Hobbs scored on the power play from Myles Abbate and Mollica.  At 14:38, a giveaway by Rivermen goaltender Jack Bostedt led to a goal by Abbate, as initial shots by Joey Berkopec and Isaac Chapman were stopped prior to Abbate cashing in.  Peoria found momentum in the third period, as Jordan Ernst scored a power play goal at 9:10 to make it 2-1, and the Rivermen tied the game with 2:42 remaining as Michael McChesney scored on a multi-rebound chance off the rush.  A last-minute delay of game penalty on the Rivermen proved to be decisive, as Mollica scored on the ensuing power play in overtime from Aaron Huffnagle and Abbate to win the game for Evansville by a 3-2 score, Evansville’s second overtime win of the season.  With the win, Evansville remains tied for second place with Roanoke, one point ahead of Pensacola in fourth place, and three points ahead of Huntsville in fifth place in the battle for home-ice advantage in the opening round of the President’s Cup Playoffs.

Abbate scored one goal and added two assists, Mollica scored the game-winning goal plus one assist, and Hobbs scored one goal.  In goal, Cody Karpinski finished with 30 saves on 32 shots for his 8th win of the season.  The Thunderbolts and Rivermen meet again on Saturday, March 28th at Peoria Civic Center, with Evansville now leading the regular season series 8-4 and the series victory clinched. 

Season tickets, Individual game tickets and group packages are on sale for the 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 Sign Forward Brock McLeod to a PTO

On Friday, Head Coach/Director of Hockey Operations Jeff Bes announced several transactions, led by the signing of forward Brock McLeod to a professional tryout, the addition of defenseman Caleb Huffman, and the activation of forward Isaac Chapman from Injured Reserve.

McLeod turns pro with the Evansville Thunderbolts following the conclusion of his six-year collegiate career, playing this season at Toronto Metro University, where he scored 4 goals and 8 points in 27 regular season games before adding 3 goals along with 4 points in 6 playoff games.  The Dartmouth, Nova Scotia native played five seasons at York University between 2020-2025, where he played alongside recent Thunderbolts addition Aiden MacIntosh and Thunderbolts alumni Michael Douglas and Cole Ceci.  In 116 regular season games at York University, McLeod scored 28 goals and 63 points, also serving as team captain in the 2024-25 season.  Prior to college, McLeod played four full seasons of junior hockey split between the MJAHL's Valley Wildcats and Edmundston Blizzard as well as in the major junior level QMJHL with Sherbrooke, Charlottetown and Halifax between 2016-2020.  McLeod recorded 7 goals and 22 points in 84 regular season games in the QMJHL, along with 51 goals and 163 points in 119 regular season MJAHL games, including 25 goals and 81 points in only 48 games in the 2019-20 season with Edmundston, where he played alongside Thunderbolts forward Isaac Chapman.

In other transaction news, forward Sean Bunting has been placed on waivers.  Bunting played 6 games this season with Evansville, recording no points.

Thunderbolts Acquire Defenseman Caleb Huffman from Trade with Macon

On Friday, Head Coach/Director of Hockey Operations Jeff Bes announced several transactions, led by the signing of forward Brock McLeod to a professional tryout, the addition of defenseman Caleb Huffman, and the activation of forward Isaac Chapman from Injured Reserve.

Caleb Huffman's rights where recently acquired in a trade with the Macon Mayhem in exchange for forward Cooper Fensterstock.  Huffman is in his first full professional season, having played 26 games with the Macon Mayhem, scoring 4 goals and 9 points along with an even plus/minus rating.  Huffman turned pro late in the 2024-25 season, playing 6 games with the Wichita Thunder of the ECHL.  The native of Fairbanks, Alaska played three seasons of junior hockey in his home state with the Kenai River Brown Bears of the NAHL, recording 5 goals and 24 points in 86 regular season games and captained Kenai River in 2022-23.  Huffman enrolled at the University of Alaska-Anchorage and played a season and a half of Division 1 NCAA hockey between 2022-2024, scoring 1 goal and 2 points in 42 games before playing a final season of collegiate hockey at Simon Frasier University in British Columbia in 2024-25, scoring 3 goals and 16 points in 20 games before joining Wichita.  

In other transaction news, forward Sean Bunting has been placed on waivers.  Bunting played 6 games this season with Evansville, recording no points.

Thunderbolts Rally to Sweep Storm; Clinch Playoff Spot

Moline, Ill.:  Down 1-0 after the first period, the Thunderbolts rallied to score five-unanswered goals in the second and third periods to defeat Quad City 5-2 on Sunday afternoon at Vibrant Arena, moving back into a tie for second place and clinching their return to the President’s Cup Playoffs.  The Thunderbolts’ next home game at Ford Center will be on Friday, March 27th against the Peoria Rivermen at 7:00pm CT.

It was nearly another scoreless first period, however the Storm grabbed the first lead of the day as Brodie Girod scored on a power play in the period’s final second.  After battling to kill off another Storm power play early in the second period, the Thunderbolts found their legs and began their rally, beginning with a beautiful passing play to Anthony Mollica from Evan Miller and Aiden MacIntosh to tie the game at 10:54.   2:54 into the third period, Mollica stole the puck in the neutral zone and fed Aaron Huffnagle on a rush into the offensive zone, with Huffnagle sniping a shot top-shelf to give Evansville a 2-1 lead.  On the power play, Scott Kirton scored on a back-door pass to make it 3-1 at 9:46, assisted by MacIntosh and Joey Berkopec.  At 14:26, Miller scored to extend the lead to 4-1 off a 2-on-1 from MacIntosh and Kirton.  For good measure, Matt Clark added an unassisted empty net goal with 2:06 remaining to further build the lead up to 5-1.  The Storm got an inconsequential late bounce with Gage Dill scoring at 18:21, shortening Evansville’s final lead to a 5-2 final score.  With the victory, Evansville moved back into a tie for 2nd place with Roanoke and clinched their return to the President’s Cup Playoffs, Evansville’s sixth consecutive season finishing the regular season in playoff position.

Mollica, Miller and Kirton each scored one goal and one assist, while MacIntosh tallied three assists.  In goal, Cody Karpinski finished with 32 saves on 34 shots for his 7th win of the season.  The Thunderbolts and Storm do not meet again this regular season, with Quad City’s season series victory shortened to an 8-7 finish. 

Season tickets, Individual game tickets and group packages are on sale for the 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