Thunderbolts Shut Down Storm in 3-1 Victory

Moline, Ill.:  Behind continued strong goaltending from Ty Taylor and solid defense, along with three clutch goals, the Thunderbolts stifled the Quad City Storm 3-1 at Vibrant Arena on Friday night.  The Thunderbolts’ next home game will be on Saturday, November 23rd against the Quad City Storm at 7:05pm CT.

It took only 1:08 of playtime for the Thunderbolts to strike first, as Benjamin Lindberg’s seeing eye shot from the blue line gave the Thunderbolts a 1-0 lead, assisted by Vili Vesalainen.  40 seconds later, the Storm caught a lucky break as an end board dump-in suddenly and without warning bounced to the front of the Evansville net, where Lucas Lacny scored to tie the game at 1-1.  It would be the only goal the Storm would score on Taylor all night, and soon afterward Matthew Hobbs scored off a rebound to give the Thunderbolts a 2-1 lead at 8:57 from Anthony Hora and Logan vande Meerakker.  In the second period, the Thunderbolts capitalized on a 5-on-3 power play to extend the lead to 3-1, as Matt Dorsey scored from Joey Berkopec and Vande Meerakker.  The score remained the same the entire rest of the way, with Evansville’s outstanding penalty kill getting the job done on all 6 Storm opportunities, including an extended 6-on-4 opportunity with the net empty in the final minutes.

Lindberg, Hobbs, and Dorsey each finished with one goal, while Vande Meerakker tallied a pair of assists.  In goal, Ty Taylor finished with 29 saves on 30 shots, picking up his first win of the season as a result.  The Thunderbolts and Storm meet once again on Saturday, November 23rd at Ford Center.

Individual game tickets, group packages, and season tickets are on sale for the 2024-25 season.  Call 812-422-BOLT or visit our all-new 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

Taylor Brilliant Despite OT Loss to Rivermen

Evansville, In.:  Despite outstanding goaltending by Ty Taylor for the second consecutive night, the Thunderbolts came up just short in a 2-1 overtime loss to the Rivermen on Saturday night at Ford Center.  The Thunderbolts’ next home game will be on Saturday, November 23rd against the Quad City Storm at 7:05pm CT.

Evansville started things off very quickly, scoring the opening goal only 27 seconds into the game as Derek Contessa picked up his first goal of the season, unassisted.  However, the Rivermen tied the game later in the period, as Cale List scored at 15:48.  After seeing no power play chances in the first period, things changed drastically in the second and third periods, as Evansville went on the power play 5 times, and the Rivermen 7 times, however no power play goals came out of any of the 12 combined opportunities.  In overtime, Alec Baer scored to win the game for Peoria at the 1:59 mark.

Contessa scored Evansville’s lone goal, while Ty Taylor finished with 37 saves on 39 shots, standing on his head once again despite the loss.  The Thunderbolts and Rivermen meet once again on Thursday, December 19th at Peoria Civic Center.

Individual game tickets, group packages, and season tickets are on sale for the 2024-25 season.  Call 812-422-BOLT or visit our all-new 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 But Fall Short, 3-2 in Peoria

Peoria, Ill.:  Despite losing captain Matthew Hobbs in the second period, the Thunderbolts gave the Rivermen a real scare in the third period, coming up just one goal short in a 3-2 loss to the Rivermen in Peoria on Friday.  The Thunderbolts’ next home game will be on Saturday, November 16th against the Peoria Rivermen at 7:05pm CT.

After Zack Nazzarett opened the scoring for Peoria at 8:07 of the first period, Matthew Hobbs responded to tie the game with his first goal of the season, scoring at 18:04 from Scott Kirton.  Carlos Fornaris scored to put the Rivermen ahead 2-1 at 1:56 of the second period, however the Thunderbolts kept pace until late in the second period, when a large scrum broke out in the Evansville zone, resulting in Hobbs being kicked out of the game.  Soon after, Peoria grabbed a 3-1 lead as Michael McChesney scored at 18:02 to make it a 3-1 Rivermen lead.  The Thunderbolts rallied with a very strong third period, and on a power play of their own, cut the deficit to one goal as Jordan Simoneau scored his first goal of the season at 2:59, assisted by Tyson Gilmour and Anthony Hora.  Tough luck cost the Thunderbolts afterward, as strong scoring chances remained only chances despite nearly doubling Peoria’s shot total in the third period, as the Rivermen barely escaped with the 3-2 win.

Hobbs and Simoneau finished with one goal each, while Ty Taylor finished with 29 saves on 32 shots, putting up a very strong performance in goal despite the loss.  The Thunderbolts and Rivermen meet once again on Saturday, November 16th at Ford Center.

Individual game tickets, group packages, and season tickets are on sale for the 2024-25 season.  Call 812-422-BOLT or visit our all-new 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 Aiden Wagner; Goaltender Daniel Davidson

On Friday, the Thunderbolts and Head Coach/Director of Hockey Operations Jeff Bes announced the signings of forward Aiden Wagner and goaltender Daniel Davidson.

Wagner played 36 games in his rookie professional season with the Thunderbolts in 2023-24, scoring 4 goals and 8 points while playing mostly as a forward and occasionally on defense.  After playing in Australia with the Newcastle Northstars over the Summer, Wagner signed with the Fayetteville Marksmen as a free agent, playing five games before being released.  The Fresno, California native previously 17 games of professional hockey in Germany in 2019-20 before attending Carleton University from 2020-2023.

Davidson also began this season with the Marksmen, dressing for six games and playing one game in which he stopped 30 of 34 shots in a 4-2 loss at Macon on October 25th.  A native of Corpus Christi, Texas, Davidson played five seasons of junior hockey in Canada with the Surrey Eagles of the BCHL from 2014-2019, before playing in brief stints with the SJHL's La Ronge Ice Wolves and OJHL's Burlington Cougars to round out 2018-19.  Returning state-side for college, Davidson tended goal for UMass-Dartmouth between 2019-2024, putting up a 28-33-7 record along with a .919% save percentage in 72 games.

Gilmour Leads Bolts to Third Straight Win; 4-3 over Macon

Evansville, In.:  After falling behind 3-2 in the third period, the Thunderbolts mounted another comeback to defeat the Macon Mayhem, 4-3 in overtime on Saturday at Ford Center.  The Thunderbolts’ next home game will be on Saturday, November 16th against the Peoria Rivermen at 7:05pm CT.

Late in the first period, Scott Kirton opened the scoring off a face-off win from Matthew Barnaby at 19:00 to give Evansville the 1-0 lead.  The Mayhem tied the game at 1-1 5:19 into the second period on a goal from Conor Witherspoon, before Tyson Gilmour responded just over a minute later with his first goal of the night, assisted by Derek Contessa and Brendan Harrogate at 6:23 to give the Thunderbolts a 2-1 lead.  Penalties cost the Thunderbolts twice to start the third period, as Tao Ishizuka scored on a power play at 2:23 to tie the game, before a power play goal from Matteo Ybarra at 4:55 gave Macon their first lead of the night at 3-2.  The Thunderbolts levied an appropriate response on their own power play, as Logan vande Meerakker sniped home the tying goal from Anthony Hora and Barnaby at 9:34 to tie the game back up at 3-3.  In overtime, Gilmour scored the game-winning goal at 3:56, off a face-off win from Matthew Hobbs.  With the win, Evansville has now won three games in a row and four of their last six to get back to a .500 record of 4-4-1.

Gilmour finished with two goals including the game-winner, vande Meerakker and Kirton finished with one goal each, and Barnaby tallied a pair of assists.  In goal, Cole Ceci finished with 33 saves on 36 shots for his fourth win of the season.  The Thunderbolts and Mayhem meet once again on Friday, January 31st at Ford Center.

Individual game tickets, group packages, and season tickets are on sale for the 2024-25 season.  Call 812-422-BOLT or visit our all-new 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