Tough Offensive Luck Costs Thunderbolts in 3-1 Loss at Quad City

Moline, Ill.:  Despite putting nearly 40 shots on goal and more stellar goaltending from Ty Taylor, the Thunderbolts were held to only a single goal in a 3-1 loss at Quad City on Wednesday.  The Thunderbolts’ next home game will be on Saturday, December 7th against the Huntsville Havoc at 7:05pm CT.

Quad City opened the scoring at 9:30, as Alex Laplante scored on a rebound to give the Storm a 1-0 lead.  Evansville’s power play came through minutes later at 12:17 to tie the game at 1-1, as Anthony Hora scored from Tyson Gilmour and Scott Kirton.  In an even second period in which both teams tallied 13 shots on goal, it was the Storm who scored the only goal, as Weiland Parrish scored on a power play at 15:12 to put the Storm ahead 2-1.  Evansville was dominant in the third period, outshooting Quad City 16-7, but simply could not buy the tying goal, with Tommy Tsicos adding a late empty net goal for Quad City as the Storm managed to barely escape with a 3-1 victory.

Hora scored Evansville’s goal, while Ty Taylor finished with 33 saves on 35 shots, easily good enough for a victory on most nights, just not tonight.  The Thunderbolts and Storm meet once again on Thursday, December 26th at Vibrant Arena.

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 Reid Perepeluk; activate Bartholomew from IR

On Wednesday, the Thunderbolts and Head Coach/Director of Hockey Operations Jeff Bes announced a pair of transactions, led by signing of forward Reid Perepeluk to a professional tryout.

Perepeluk previously played briefly in the SPHL with the Knoxville Ice Bears in 2022-23, suiting up in two games.  In 2021-22, Perepeluk played 52 games in the ECHL with the Kansas City Mavericks, tallying 5 assists, and also played two games in the AHL with the Stockton Heat, the top farm club at the time for the NHL's Calgary Flames.  The Burnaby, British Columbia native played four seasons of major junior hockey in the WHL, playing in 140 games with the Prince George Cougars and Brandon Wheat Kings between 2017-2021, scoring 14 goals and 31 points.  Last season, Perepeluk attended Trinity Western University, playing in 20 games and finishing with a goal and 7 points.

In additional transaction news, defenseman Brock Bartholomew has been activated from Injured Reserve.  Brock played one game with the Thunderbolts earlier this season, on October 29th against Peoria.

Thunderbolts Score Eight Goals in 8-3 Rout of Quad City

Evansville, In.:  The red goal light was fittingly ever-present for Saturday night’s First Responders’ Night at Ford Center, as Evansville scored eight times in an 8-3 victory over the Quad City Storm to improve to a winning record of 6-5-2.  The Thunderbolts’ next home game will be on Saturday, December 7th against the Huntsville Havoc at 7:05pm CT.

Scoring first for Evansville was Derek Contessa, finishing off a Brendan Harrogate chance at the side of the net, awarded after review at 9:31 with a secondary assist to Tyson Gilmour.  The Thunderbolts then picked up their first shorthanded goal of the season, as Matthew Hobbs fed Scott Kirton on a breakaway, where he scored at 13:12 to extend Evansville’s lead to 2-0.  2:35 into the second period, Harrogate tapped in a loose puck on the goal line, assisted by Contessa and Grayson Valente to make it 3-0.  Just over a minute later at 4:07, Hobbs scored on a rebound from Kirton and Logan vande Meerakker to make it a 4-0 game.  At 8:33, Harrogate scored once again on a power play chance, assisted by Jordan Simoneau and Vande Meerakker to make it a 5-0 game and end the evening for Storm goaltender Brent Moran.

Quad City broke the shutout of Ty Taylor immediately after their goaltending change at 9:07, the goal scored by Leif Mattson on a power play chance to make it a 5-1 game.  At 14:33, Vande Meerakker scored on a 2-on-1 rush, assisted by Scott Kirton to make it 6-1 Evansville.  The assist for Kirton was his third point of the game and his 115th as an Evansville Thunderbolt, breaking the all-time franchise record previously held by Austin Plevy (114 points).  The Storm answered back at 15:03, as Nicola Levesque took advantage of Taylor being knocked down to the ice, scoring to make it a 6-2 game.  Evansville regained the 5-goal lead at 19:41, as a Hobbs shot was saved but batted in by a Storm player, assisted by vande Meerakker and Kirton to give Evansville a 7-2 lead after two periods.  In the third period, Nick Pennucci got the Storm their third and final goal of the night at 6:01, before Vesalainen finished the scoring with a breakaway goal at 13:29 from Nolan McElhaney and Benjamin Lindberg, the assist for McElhaney being his first professional point.  With the victory, the Thunderbolts have won five of their last seven games, improving to 6-5-2 as they hit the road for their next five contests.

Leading the offense, Hobbs and Harrogate each finished with two goals and an assist, while Kirton and Vande Meerakker each picked up a goal and three assists.  Contessa and Vesalainen ended the evening with a goal and assist each, and in goal, Ty Taylor finished with 31 saves on 34 shots for his second win of the season.  The eight goals scored were the most the Thunderbolts have scored in a single game since January 28th, 2023, in an 8-2 win over the Macon Mayhem at Ford Center.  The Thunderbolts and Storm meet once again on Wednesday, November 27th at Vibrant Arena.

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 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