Thunderbolts Hold Off Bulls for Fifth Straight Win

Pelham, Ala.:  Behind four goals in the first period, the Thunderbolts made their lead stick as they defeated the Birmingham Bulls for their fifth consecutive victory, 4-3 the final score in Pelham on Thursday night.  The Thunderbolts’ next home game at Ford Center will be on Saturday, February 27th against the Quad City Storm at 7:00pm CT.

It was wide open hockey in the first period, with Evansville striking first only 2:40 into the game as Eelis Laaksonen scored on a rebound from John Woernle and Joey Berkopec to give Evansville their first lead.  The lead lasted only 19 seconds however as Drake Glover scored for the Bulls on a deflection at 2:59 to tie the game 1-1.  Following a penalty kill, the Thunderbolts secured momentum and grabbed a 2-1 lead at 9:43 as Jordan Simoneau scored off a loose puck in the crease, assisted by Derek Contessa and Matthew Hobbs.  At 16:07, Contessa scored on a rebound from Hobbs and Simoneau to make it 3-1, and Scott Kirton made it a 4-1 game at 17:45 off a setup from behind the net from Aiden MacIntosh and Evan Miller.  The Bulls managed to trim the lead to 4-2 with 25 seconds remaining in the first period, with CJ Walker scoring on an elevated rebound.  Both teams tightened up defensively from there and the second period was scoreless as a result.  Late in the third period, the Bulls pulled goaltender Hayden Stewart and managed to make it a one-goal game at 18:27, with Arkhip Ledziankou scoring to make it a 4-3 score, but Evansville managed to hang on from there for the victory down the final stretch, placing the Thunderbolts back into 2nd place in the SPHL standings after Pensacola briefly jumped over Evansville with their Thursday morning win in Macon.

Simoneau and Contessa scored one goal and one assist each, Laaksonen and Kirton finished with one goal each, while Hobbs tallied a pair of assists.  In goal, Kristian Stead made 22 saves on 25 shots for his 21st win of the season.  The Thunderbolts and Bulls do not meet again this regular season, with the season series ending in a 4-4 tie in wins versus losses, with Evansville taking the series in points as they lost twice post-regulation while the Bulls lost only once post-regulation.

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 Move Into Second Place With Sweep of Rivermen

Evansville, In.:  It was a great weekend to be a hockey team wearing red, white, and blue, as the Thunderbolts completed a three-game sweep of the Peoria Rivermen to move into second place in the SPHL standings, 2-1 Evansville the final score on Sunday afternoon at Ford Center.  The Thunderbolts’ next home game at Ford Center will be on Saturday, February 27th against the Quad City Storm at 7:00pm CT.

The first period was scoreless but sound for Evansville, who outshot Peoria 11-6 in the opening frame.  In the second period, Evansville struck first at 1:12 as Evan Miller was set up at the net front by Keanan Stewart’s pass out of the corner on the rush, also assisted by Will van der Veen to give Evansville a 1-0 lead.  Penalty killing was paramount for Evansville in the second period, as the Thunderbolts denied the Rivermen on a pair of second period opportunities.  In the third period, Miller found the back of the net for his second goal of the game off a forced Rivermen turnover in the Peoria zone, again assisted by Van der Veen and Stewart at 3:06 to make it 2-0 Evansville.  However, the Rivermen struck only 15 seconds later at 3:21, as Jack Suchy scored on a screened shot to make it a 2-1 game, ending Evansville’s home-ice shutout streak just short of four full games.  The action was tense throughout the final 16 minutes of regulation, but the 2-1 lead stuck for the Thunderbolts as they took all six possible points against the top-seeded Peoria Rivermen this weekend, moving Evansville all alone into 2nd place in the SPHL standings with games at hand against all other Top-6 teams.

Miller scored both goals, with Van der Veen and Stewart tallying two assists each.  In goal, Cody Karpinski made 23 saves on 24 shots for his 3rd win of the season.  The Thunderbolts and Rivermen meet once again on Friday, March 27th at Ford Center, with Evansville leading the regular season series 7-4.

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

Thunderbolts Earn Third-Straight Home Shutout, Win 3-0 against Peoria

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

Thunderbolts Sign Forward Aaron Huffnagle to a Standard Player Contract

On Saturday, Head Coach/Director of Hockey Operations Jeff Bes announced signing of forward Aaron Huffnagle to a standard player contract (SPC).

Huffnagle joined the Thunderbolts in the 2021-22 season for 3 games before a 16 game stint in the ECHL with Fort Wayne and Norfolk, scoring 1 goal and registering a +5 rating in 16 regular season ECHL games. Huffnagle, the Marlton, New Jersey native, rejoined the Thunderbolts for the 2022-23 season, getting 10 goals and 51 points in 54 regular season games. Prior to his professional hockey career, he played 40 games between 2016 and 2019 with SUNY-Oswego NCAA III team. 

Thunderbolts Outlast Rivermen in Peoria with 3-2 Win

Peoria, Ill.:  Tied 1-1 after two periods, the Thunderbolts came through in the clutch in the third period, scoring twice and making the lead stick as they ended the Rivermen home winning streak at 12 games, 3-2 the final score in Peoria on Friday night.  The Thunderbolts’ next home game at Ford Center will be on Saturday, February 21st against the Peoria Rivermen at 7:00pm CT.

After a scoreless first period, the Thunderbolts grabbed the game’s first lead at 6:59 of the second period as Matthew Hobbs chipped a shot over Nick Latinovich and into the net off a behind-the-net setup from Tyson Gilmour and Myles Abbate.  Peoria answered later at 14:35 as Connor Szmul scored on a breakaway, but the Thunderbolts outshot Peoria 9-3 in the second period, the momentum tangible for Evansville despite the tied score.  Evansville began the third period on a 6-0 shot run and broke the tie at 7:31 as Aiden MacIntosh scored off a Peoria neutral zone turnover to Evan Miller, who upon the quick re-entry fed MacIntosh for his first professional goal in his first professional game.  At 13:33, Evansville extended the lead to 3-1 as Evansville caught Peoria in a bad line change, with Abbate scoring on a 3-on-2 rush from Gilmour and Will van der Veen.  In the final two minutes, the Rivermen pulled Latinovich and managed to score and cut the lead to 3-2, but the goal for Alec Baer was with only 5.5 seconds remaining, too little too late for Peoria as Evansville secured the victory to kick off the three-in-three weekend against the Rivermen heading back to Ford Center for Saturday and Sunday rematches.

Abbate scored one goal and one assist, MacIntosh and Hobbs each scored one goal, and Gilmour tallied a pair of assists.  In goal, Kristian Stead stopped 20 of 22 shots on goal for his 19th win of the season.  The Thunderbolts and Rivermen meet once again on Saturday, February 21st at Ford Center, with Evansville leading the regular season series 5-4.

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