Thunderbolts Shutout Rivermen 2-0, Take Series Lead Back to Evansville

Peoria, Ill.:  Following two scoreless periods of hockey, the Thunderbolts scored twice in the third period to defeat the Peoria Rivermen 2-0 in Peoria on Wednesday night, bringing a hard-fought 1-0 series lead back to Evansville for a chance to advance to the President’s Cup Final.  Game Two at Ford Center will be this Friday, April 18th, face-off at 7:00pm CT.

Defense and discipline were the two biggest aspects of Evansville’s game, only allowing the league’s top scoring team 15 total shots on goal and only giving up a single power play opportunity to the Rivermen in the entire game.  In the third period, Logan vande Meerakker opened the scoring as Peoria turned over the puck in the Evansville zone, allowing Vande Meerakker to score on a breakaway at 9:08 of the third period.  The score stayed the same until the final two minutes, when Aidan Litke scored from the red line into the empty Peoria net with 1:20 remaining to make it a 2-0 Thunderbolts lead, cinching Evansville’s first-ever victory in the President’s Cup Semifinals.

Vande Meerakker and Litke scored Evansville’s goals, while Ceci stopped all 15 Rivermen shots for the win and his 2nd shutout of the playoffs.  Game Two against the Rivermen at Ford Center will be this Friday, April 18th with opening face-off at 7:00pm CT.  Game Three, if necessary, will be back at the Peoria Civic Center on Saturday, April 19th at 7:15pm CT.  

Individual game tickets and group packages are on sale for the 2024-25 season.  Season tickets for the 2025-26 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 Complete the Series Comeback in 4-3 Win over #2 Havoc

Huntsville, Ala.:  For the second year in a row, the Thunderbolts have pulled off a comeback series victory against a Top-Two seeded team, defeating the Huntsville Havoc 4-3 at the Huntsville Ice Sports Center on Saturday night, winning the series 2-1.  The Thunderbolts will again face the Peoria Rivermen in the President’s Cup Semifinals, with Game Two at Ford Center next Friday, April 18th, face-off at 7:00pm CT.

The Havoc opened the scoring 6:24 into the game, as Austin Alger scored on a steeply angled rebound chance.  Despite heavy pressure, the Thunderbolts bent but did not break and got to the first intermission down only 1-0.  Evansville found their game in the second period, starting at 6:48 as Cameron MacPhee banked a shot in off Mike Robinson to tie the game 1-1, assisted by Scott Kirton and Isaac Chapman.  Three minutes later at 9:49, Aidan Litke scored on a fadeaway shot from the top of the near circle on the final second of a power play, assisted by Benjamin Lindberg and MacPhee to give Evansville their first lead of the night, the 2-1 lead holding to the second intermission.

Evansville faced adversity early in the third period, as Dylan Stewart scored by squeaking a puck barely through Cole Ceci and across the goal line, the goal confirmed following official review.  Evansville responded almost immediately, with Myles Abbate bursting from the neutral zone and scoring on a breakaway from Lindberg at 3:09 to give the Thunderbolts the lead once again, 3-2.  Later in the third period, Evansville got some insurance as Tyson Gilmour scored on a 4-on-2 rush, scoring on his own rebound while crashing the net, assisted by Chapman and Litke at 14:03.  In a last gasp for Huntsville, Sam Ruffin got a shot through on a 6-on-5 push at 18:46 to trim the lead to 4-3, but the Thunderbolts successfully held on the rest of the way to the buzzer to get back into the SPHL’s Final Four for the second consecutive year, Gilmour’s goal holding up as the game and series-winning goal.

MacPhee and Litke each scored a goal and assist, Abbate and Gilmour finished with one goal each, and Lindberg along with Chapman tallied two assists each.  In goal, Ceci stood tall once again, stopping 58  of 61 Havoc shots for the win.  The win was also the Thunderbolts’ first road regulation-time victory in franchise playoff history.  Game One of the President’s Cup Semifinals against the Rivermen at the Peoria Civic Center will be on Wednesday, April 16th at 7:15pm CT,  Game Two at Ford Center will be on Friday, April 18th with opening face-off at 7:00pm CT, and Game Three, if necessary, will be back at the Peoria Civic Center on Saturday, April 19th at 7:15pm CT.  

Individual game tickets and group packages are on sale for the 2024-25 season.  Season tickets for the 2025-26 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 Shutout Havoc 2-0, Force Game 3

Evansville, In.:  Behind a spectacular 47-save shutout from Cole Ceci along with clutch goals from Isaac Chapman and Derek Contessa, the Thunderbolts defeated the Havoc 2-0 on Friday night at Ford Center, setting the stage for a winner-take-all Game Three in Huntsville on Saturday night, face-off at 7:30pm CT.

Following another scoreless first period, Evansville grabbed the first lead in the second period as Contessa set up Chapman on a breakaway at 8:05, scoring five-hole on Mike Robinson, with a secondary assist going to Nolan McElhaney.  In the third period, Contessa made it a 2-0 game by scoring on a 2-on-1 rush, assisted by Chapman.  The Havoc pulled Robinson with just under three minutes remaining in regulation but could not find a way to score as the Thunderbolts shut the door the rest of the way.  Evansville executed well on details the entire way through regulation from start to finish, killing all five Havoc power plays, blocking numerous shots, and doing well on defensive rebounds to cut down on Huntsville’s secondary opportunities.  

Chapman and Contessa each finished with one goal and one assist, while Cole Ceci pitched the Thunderbolts’ first-ever playoff shutout by stopping all 47 Havoc shots.  The win was also Evansville’s first regulation playoff victory since game one of the 2018 President’s Cup Playoff quarterfinals against the Macon Mayhem.  Game Three will be back in the Huntsville Ice Sports Center on Saturday, April 12th at 7:30pm CT.  

Individual game tickets and group packages are on sale for the 2024-25 season.  Season tickets for the 2025-26 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 sign Goaltender, Talor Joseph, to Standard Player Contract

On Tuesday, the Thunderbolts and Head Coach/Director of Hockey Operations Jeff Bes announced the signing of goaltender Talor Joseph to a Standard Player Contract (SPC).

Price most recently played a game with the Huntsville Havoc, after having a brief stint with the Norfolk Admirals of the ECHL. Joseph, a native of Sherwood Park, Alberta, Canada, began the 2024-25 SPHL season with the Knoxville Ice Bears, where he had a 6-7-1 record with a .907 SV% and a 3.02 GAA. Joseph started his college career with the Nipissing University Lakers from 2016-2020, did not play in 2020-2021 due to COVID, then joined the Trinity Western University Spartans for 12 games. After the 12 games with the Spartans, Joseph made his pro hockey debut by makign an appearance with the Abbotsford Canucks and the Toronto Marlies of the American Hockey League (AHL). 

Thunderbolts Sign Ethan Price to SPC; Valente on 14-Day IR

On Saturday, the Thunderbolts and Head Coach/Director of Hockey Operations Jeff Bes announced a pair of transactions, led by the signing of forward Ethan Price to a standard contract.

Price most recently played in the France 2 league in 2022-23, where he scored 7 goals and 17 points in 17 regular season games, along with a goal and 7 points in 6 postseason games.  Price, a native of Lincoln, Nebraska, played two seasons of major junior hockey with the WHL’s Portland Winterhawks from 2013-2015, before returning to his home state to play for the USHL’s Lincoln Stars midway through the 2014-15 season.  Price returned to the WHL with the Victoria Royals for two seasons between 2015-2017, before playing one final season of junior hockey back in Nebraska with the USHL’s Omaha Lancers in 2017-18.  Price tallied 27 goals and 61 points in 245 total WHL games, along with 16 goals and 37 points in 87 USHL games.  Price then began his collegiate career at Brock University in 2018-19, before moving on to Grant MacEwan University from 2020-2022, where he served as team captain in 2021-22.  Price finished with 7 goals and 18 points in 42 collegiate games.  Following the conclusion of the 2021-22 collegiate season, Price turned pro with the ECHL’s Worcester Railers to finish the year, appearing in 17 games and tallying 2 assists.

In additional transaction news, defenseman Grayson Valente has been placed on 14-Day Injured Reserve.