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