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

Thunderbolts Win 2-1 Over Peoria, Force Game 4

Evansville, In.:  Back at Ford Center with their backs against the wall, the Thunderbolts battled their way to a 2-1 win over the Rivermen on Wednesday night, as the defending champs live to reign another day and gain an opportunity to force a game five back in Peoria.  Game four against the Peoria Rivermen at Ford Center will be on Thursday, May 7th, face-off at 7:00pm CT.

The Thunderbolts certainly played like a team that was in a must-win situation, outshooting Peoria 10-6 in the first period, a solid start despite the period ending scoreless.  Evansville pushed the tempo further in the second period, outshooting Peoria 10-5, and nearly took the first lead on a penalty shot attempt as Jordan Simoneau was impeded on a breakaway, just missing glove side on the awarded one-on-one opportunity.  With 2:33 remaining in the second period, Evansville broke through Nick Latinovich, as Anthony Mollica’s point shot found daylight to give Evansville a 1-0 lead, assisted by Matthew Hobbs.  Riding the momentum, Evansville doubled the lead to 2-0 only 1:19 later as Evan Miller scored on a rebound from Aaron Huffnagle and Will van der Veen at 18:46.  Peoria got a break early in the third period, as Mike Gelatt was able to walk in from the near corner and roof a shot over Kristian Stead’s shoulder to make it a 2-1 game only 1:18 into the third period.  Sensing the opportunity, Peoria pushed hardest in the third period and outshot Evansville 12-9, while Latinovich made several big saves at the Peoria end to prevent Evansville from re-extending their lead.  The Rivermen pulled Latinovich later on but were denied the tying goal as the Thunderbolts held on to get back into the series and force game four.

Mollica and Miller scored one goal each, while Kristian Stead finished with 22 saves on 23 shots on goal for his 6th win of the playoffs.  Game four at Ford Center will be on Thursday, May 7th at 7:00pm CT, and if necessary, a fifth game would be in Peoria on Saturday, May 9th at 7:15pm 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 Fall 5-1 In Game 2 to Rivermen

Peoria, Ill.:  The focus now becomes one game at a time for the Thunderbolts as they return to Ford Center ice, where they have been excellent against Peoria this season, down 2-0 in this best-of-five Final series after a 5-1 defeat in game two in Peoria on Friday night.  Game three against the Peoria Rivermen at Ford Center will be on Wednesday, May 6th, face-off at 7:00pm CT.

Right out of the gate, the Rivermen took the lead only 20 seconds into the first period, Garrett Devine scoring the goal.  Overall, the Thunderbolts had a solid first period and tied the game at 5:26 as Ethan Lund scored his first professional goal, a shot from the point through traffic assisted by Myles Abbate and Aiden MacIntosh.  The second period got off to a rocky start, as Michael McChesney scored for Peoria at the 2:45 mark, followed by Braydon Barker at 5:13.  Evansville stopped the bleeding from there and held the score at 3-1 Rivermen after two periods.  The Thunderbolts had a strong third period, outshooting Peoria 10-5 and nearly cutting the lead to one goal as Anthony Mollica rang a shot off the post halfway through the period, but Evansville was unable to rally from there, with the Rivermen adding two empty net goals to wrap up the scoring at 5-1.  The Thunderbolts will return to Ford Center for game three on Wednesday looking to earn a fourth game on home ice on Thursday.  Evansville was 6-1 against Peoria on Ford Center ice this regular season, and at one point had a five-game overall win streak against Peoria between February 4th and March 27th, still keeping Evansville’s chances very much alive of grinding their way to a return trip to Peoria next weekend, starting one game at a time with four days to prepare.    

Lund scored Evansville’s goal, while Kristian Stead finished with 21 saves on 24 shots on goal.  Game three will be at Ford Center on Wednesday, May 6th at 7:00pm CT.  If necessary, game four at Ford Center will be on Thursday, May 7th at 7:00pm CT, and a fifth game would be in Peoria on Saturday, May 9th at 7:15pm 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 Fall Just Short in Game 1 Overtime Loss

Peoria, Ill.:  After rallying in the third period to force overtime, an odd-bounce goal proved to the difference for the Rivermen as they survived a scare from the Thunderbolts to take game one of the best-of-five Final series, 2-1 the final score in overtime in Peoria on Thursday night.  Game three against the Peoria Rivermen at Ford Center will be on Wednesday, May 6th, face-off at 7:00pm CT.

Evansville was mainly on the defensive out of the gate in the first period, and the Rivermen took advantage as Griffen Fox chipped in a loose puck that banked off the side of the Evansville cage, the goal at 13:38 of the first period.  The Thunderbolts got better as the game went on, only being outshot 10-6 in the second period and keeping the score at 1-0, before trimming the shot ratio to 10-8 in the third period and tying the game at 11:46 as Evan Miller’s turnaround shot from the far face-off circle beat Nick Latinovich top shelf, assisted by Derek Contessa and Scott Kirton.  In overtime, the Rivermen won the game on a rush to the net from Tyler Ryder, his shot taking a bounce and going between the pads of Kristian Stead to win the game for Peoria at only 1:28 of overtime.  Nonetheless, the mission remains the same for Evansville this weekend, only needing one win to grab home ice advantage before the series shifts back to Ford Center next week, and the Thunderbolts will look to ride the momentum that they built up over regulation time into game two on Friday night in order to tie the series back up.    

Miller scored Evansville’s goal, while Kristian Stead finished with 31 saves on 33 shots on goal.  Game two will be played at Peoria Civic Center this Friday, May 1st at 7:15, game three will be at Ford Center on Wednesday, May 6th at 7:00pm CT.  If necessary, game four at Ford Center will be on Thursday, May 7th at 7:00pm CT, and a fifth game would be in Peoria on Saturday, May 9th at 7:15pm 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