Evansville, In.: It’s a hat trick of home-ice shutouts for the Evansville Thunderbolts, who for the third home game in a row, held the opposition scoreless as the Thunderbolts blanked Peoria 3-0 on Saturday night at Ford Center. The Thunderbolts’ next home game at Ford Center will be on Sunday, February 22nd against the Peoria Rivermen at 3:00pm CT.
The Thunderbolts picked up where they left off in the first period, outshooting the Rivermen 10-5 and taking the game’s first lead as Joey Berkopec scored on a power play from Aaron Huffnagle and Tyson Gilmour at 14:15. Midway through the 2nd period at 12:07, Kristian Stead made one of his top saves of the evening as he denied Connor Szmul on a penalty shot, keeping Evansville ahead 1-0. Minutes later, the Rivermen earned a power play opportunity, yet it was Evansville who took advantage, with Myles Abbate scoring a shorthanded goal at 15:12 on a 1-on-1 rush assisted by Matthew Hobbs. The shorthanded goal was Evansville’s 2nd of the season, both scored by Abbate against Peoria. The Rivermen pressed hardest in the third period and outshot Evansville 14-11, but the Thunderbolts did not yield and further extended the lead to 3-0 with 4:42 remaining as Keanan Stewart set up Aiden MacIntosh from behind the net for a quick one-timer, also assisted by Evan Miller. Peoria pulled goaltender Jack Bostedt but found no success with the extra attacker as the Thunderbolts once again locked down their own zone, taking both games so far in the weekend tripleheader against the top-seeded Rivermen, and have now won 5 of their last 6 games.
Berkopec, Abbate, and MacIntosh each finished with one goal, while Kristian Stead stopped all 31 shots faced for his 20th win of the season, his 3rd shutout of the season, and the 10th shutout of his professional career as Evansville picked up its’ 4th shutout victory of the season. The Thunderbolts and Rivermen meet once again on Sunday, February 22nd at Ford Center, with Evansville leading the regular season series 6-4.
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