Kirton, Gilmour Lead Thunderbolts in 5-1 Win over Quad City

Moline, Ill.:  Behind two goals from Scott Kirton and a goal and assist from Tyson Gilmour, the Thunderbolts pulled away in the second half of their game against the Storm on Friday night at Vibrant Arena, winning by a 5-1 score.  The Thunderbolts’ home opener and President’s Cup Championship celebration game at Ford Center will be on Saturday, October 25th against the Quad City at 7:00pm CT.

The first period was a back-and-forth affair, with the first goal scored by Evansville’s Will van der Veen at 10:08, assisted by Matthew Hobbs and Jordan Simoneau.  Quad City responded shortly afterward at 12:32 as Donte DiPonio scored to tie the game 1-1.   Following a massive open-ice hit by Jordan Simoneau on Quad City’s Dmitri Toporowski late in the first period, two fights broke out as Simoneau was challenged by Tommy Tsicos, while Hobbs squared off against Nick Pennucci.  The Thunderbolts held strong in the second period and took the 2-1 lead at 11:29 as Kirton scored off the rush from Matt Clark, the lead expanded by Kirton to 3-1 just over two minutes later at 13:54 off a rebound from Isaac Chapman and Gilmour.  In the final minute of the second period, Gilmour scored his goal on the power play with a shot that snuck through goaltender Luke Lush, assisted by Clark and Simoneau at 19:33 to put Evansville ahead 4-1 after two periods.  After killing three penalties to start the third period, Evansville put the game on ice at 13:17 as Derek Contessa wired a shot home to make it 5-1, assisted by Cameron Patton and John Woernle. 

Kirton finished with two goals, Gilmour a goal and assist, and Van der Veen along with Contessa one goal each.  Simoneau and Clark each tallied two assists, while Kristian Stead finished with 31 saves on 32 shots on goal for his 2nd win of the season.  The Thunderbolts and Storm meet again on Saturday, October 25th at Ford Center, with Evansville leading the season series 1-0.

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 Tyson Gilmour to SPC

On Friday, the Thunderbolts and Head Coach/Director of Hockey Operations Jeff Bes announced the signing of forward Tyson Gilmour to a standard contract.

Gilmour was a major component of Evansville's offense in his first full professional season of 2024-25, scoring 18 goals (tied for 1^st amongst Thunderbolts) and 37 points (tied for 2^nd on Thunderbolts) in 50 regular season games, before adding four goals and five points in the President's Cup Playoffs.  The East York, Ontario native previously played six games with the Fayetteville Marksmen and Peoria Rivermen late in the 2023-24 season, tallying three assists, before being claimed off waivers by the Thunderbolts.  Gilmour also played three ECHL games with the Maine Mariners in 2024-25 and recently attended the Worcester Railers' training camp before rejoining Evansville. 

Thunderbolts Open 25-26 Season with Shootout Win against Bulls

Pelham, Ala.:  Against a mostly new group of Birmingham Bulls, the Thunderbolts battled their way to a 3-2 shootout victory on Friday night at the Pelham Civic Complex to begin the 2025-26 season.  The Thunderbolts’ home opener and President’s Cup Championship celebration game at Ford Center will be on Saturday, October 25thagainst the Quad City at 7:00pm CT.

In the first period, the Thunderbolts controlled the bulk of 5-on-5 hockey, however it was the Bulls who grabbed the period’s lone goal, a power play tally from Shane Murphy at 16:58 to give Birmingham the first lead of the night.  Evansville broke through on Hayden Stewart at 17:34 of the second period, as Aidan Litke roofed a wrist-shot through traffic to tie the game, assisted by Cameron Patton and Derek Contessa.  Following a successful penalty kill to begin the third period, the Thunderbolts took a 2-1 lead at 4:05 as Jordan Simoneau outmuscled the Bulls in their goal crease, assisted by Connor Federkow and Matthew Hobbs to make it 2-1 Evansville.  The Bulls finished regulation strong and tied the game with 3:21remaining off a goal from Connor Scahill, forcing overtime.  The Bulls had numerous chances in overtime, but a combination of fortunate bounces and great saves from Kristian Stead in his Thunderbolts debut stole the show, as the game went to a shootout.  Filimon Ledziankou gave the Bulls the lead in the shootout’s first round, before Evansville came back with goals from Scott Kirton and Myles Abbate in the fourth and fifth rounds, along with four consecutive stops from Stead to deliver Evansville the 3-2 victory.

Litke and Simoneau scored one goal each in regulation, while Kirton and Abbate scored one goal each in the shootout.  In goal, Kristian Stead finished with 36 saves on 38 shots on goal along with 4 saves on 5 shootout attempts to secure his first win as an Evansville Thunderbolt in his debut.  The Thunderbolts and Bulls meet again on Saturday, December 6th at Ford Center, with Evansville leading the season series 1-0.

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 Announce Jackson Stotts as Head Equipment Manager

Evansville, In.: The Evansville Thunderbolts and Head Coach/Director of Hockey Operations Jeff Bes are pleased to announce the hiring of Jackson Stotts as Head Equipment Manager for the 2025-26 season. The Thunderbolts will raise their President’s Cup Championship banner prior to their 2025-26 home opener at Ford Center on Saturday, October 25th against the Quad City Storm.

Stotts previously served as Head Equipment Manager of the Thunderbolts during the 2022-23 season before joining the Philadelphia Rebels of the NAHL in the same role for the 2024-25 season. Stotts also served as Head Equipment Manager for the USHL’s Des Moines Buccaneers in the 2021-22 season. The Huntsville, Alabama native learned much of his skills while assisting the equipment staff of the Huntsville Havoc for many of his teenage years before beginning his career in earnest with Des Moines. In response to the hiring of Stotts, Head Coach Jeff Bes commented: “We’re happy to have Jackson back, and looking forward to having a great season with him as our equipment manager.”

Season tickets and single game 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 Announce Training Camp Roster

Here is your official 2025-26 Training Camp Roster:

Kristian Stead G
Brendahn Brawley G
Cameron MacPhee D
Joey Berkopec D
John Woernle D
Max Thiessen D
Colin Tracy D
Conner Federkow D
Jake Jurgeneit D
Cade Hanley D
Eelis Laaksonen C
Evan Benwell RW
Myles Abbate LW
Matthew Hobbs C
Connor Tait RW
Aidan Litke LW
Derek Contessa RW
Brennan McFarland RW
Damon Zimmer LW
Nolan Dawson C
Issac Chapman RW
Zev Podolski C
Scott Kirton LW