Thunderbolts Host Nearly 7,000 for Education Day Game

Evansville, In.:  The Thunderbolts took on the Huntsville Havoc on Tuesday morning at Ford Center, and although they fell 6-2, put on a good show for the 6,852 fans that turned out, the vast majority being children from schools around the Tri-State.  The Thunderbolts’ next home game at Ford Center will be on Friday, October 31st against the Peoria Rivermen at 7:00pm CT.

In the first period, the Havoc opened the score at 8:05 with a breakaway goal by Connor Fries.  Evansville finished the first period strong, with Scott Kirton scoring an unassisted goal at 14:04 as he stole the puck in close.  The second period began with a scrap, as Matthew Hobbs got the better of Havoc veteran Josh Kestner, much to the delight of the crowd.  Unfortunately, the Havoc scored three goals, Austin Alger at 3:59, Ethan Lindsay on a power play at 8:33, and Fries again at 12:13 to open up a 4-1 lead.  Late in the second period, Evansville again found life as Myles Abbate scored off a net-front scramble from Hobbs to shorten the gap to 4-2.  The Havoc, however, pulled away in the third period with goals from Jaxon Camp and Kestner to round out the score at 6-2.

Kirton and Abbate scored Evansville’s goals while Brendahn Brawley finished with 31 saves on 37 shots on goal.  The Thunderbolts and Havoc meet again on Friday, November 7th at Ford Center, with the Havoc leading the 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 Raise Championship Banner into Ford Center Rafters

Evansville, In.:  The Thunderbolts welcomed over 5,500 fans into Ford Center for their home opener on Saturday night as they raised their 2024-25 President’s Cup Championship banner to the rafters, but fell 5-1 to the Quad City Storm.  The Thunderbolts’ next home game at Ford Center will be on Tuesday, October 28th against the Huntsville Havoc at 10:00am CT.

The Thunderbolts had a rough first period and were outshot 13-4, and with only seven seconds remaining, the Storm took the lead as Leif Mattson scored on a power play.  Just over a minute into the second period, Mattson scored again on a breakaway to extend the lead to 2-0.  Evansville got their game going from there and generated far more offensive opportunity, however Quad City again managed to extend their lead at 11:06, with Tommy Tsicos scoring on a redirection to make it 3-0.  A late net-front scramble in the Storm zone led to the highlight of the period, a heavyweight bout between Jordan Simoneau and Quad City’s Jakub Boll, with Simoneau knocking down Boll with several big left hand punches.  Early in the third period, Quad City extended their lead to 4-0 at 2:54 off a rebound goal from Devin Sanders.  Evansville finally broke the Storm shutout at 11:03 as Connor Federkow scored off the rush on a power play from Kristian Stead to make it a 4-1 game.  With the Evansville net empty late, Mattson scored to round out the hat trick with 1:58 remaining, 5-1 the final score.

Federkow scored Evansville’s lone goal while Kristian Stead finished with 34 saves on 38 shots on goal.  The Thunderbolts and Storm meet again on Friday, November 14th at Ford Center, with the season series tied 1-1.

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

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