Kirton, Stead Lead Thunderbolts to 4-1 over Storm

Moline, Ill.:  Behind a 3-point night from Scott Kirton and another stellar showing between the pipes from Kristian Stead, the Thunderbolts defeated the Storm 4-1 in Quad City, picking up 3 out of 4 standings points on the weekend.  The Thunderbolts’ next home game at Ford Center will be on Wednesday, December 31st against the Birmingham Bulls at 7:00pm CT.

Adam Manji started the game in net for the Thunderbolts and played very well, stopping all 8 shots faced in the first half of the first period, however he was forced to leave the game due to injury and Stead took over in relief.  At 18:57, the Thunderbolts capitalized on a 2-on-1 rush to take the opening lead as Matt Hobbs fed Myles Abbate for a quick wrist shot past Storm goaltender Luke Lush.  Early in the second period, the Thunderbolts got a lucky break as a steep-angled shot off the rush by Kirton somehow got through Lush at 3:38 to make it 2-0 Evansville.  4:35 into the third period, Evansville made it 3-0 on a delayed Storm penalty as Matt Clark scored his first goal as a Thunderbolt, assisted by Kirton and Dilan Peters.  Kirton added another goal into an empty Storm net with 2:16remaining, assisted by Tyson Gilmour and Evan Miller to extend the Thunderbolts lead to 4-0.  Unfortunately, the shutout bid was spoiled with 1:08 remaining as Savva Smirnov scored a power play goal for Quad City, finishing the score at 4-1.

Kirton led the way with two goals and an assist while Clark and Abbate scored one goal each.  In goal, Stead stopped 32 of 33 shots on goal for his 12th win of the season, while Manji stopped all 8 shots faced in the game’s start before departing due to injury.  The Thunderbolts and Storm meet again on Friday, January 2nd at Ford Center, with Evansville leading the season series 4-3.

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 Gain Point in Shootout Loss to Storm

Moline, Ill.:  The goal scoring was back for the Thunderbolts after a brief drought, with four goals earning Evansville a point in a 5-4 shootout defeat at Quad City on Friday night.  The Thunderbolts’ next home game at Ford Center will be on Wednesday, December 31st against the Birmingham Bulls at 7:00pm CT.

The first period was dominated by Evansville as they outshot the Storm 16-7 and scored three goals to take a 3-0 lead after 20 minutes; the first goal was scored on a power play by Evan Miller at 5:33, his first as a Thunderbolt assisted by Connor Federkow and Tyson Gilmour.  Evansville struck again on another power play at 8:19, with a Derek Contessa deflection goal assisted by Myles Abbate and Joey Berkopec.  The third goal came at 16:53 as Eelis Laaksonen cut through the Storm crease and wrapped the puck into the far side of the net, assisted by Contessa and Scott Kirton.  Savva Smirnov got the Storm on the board at 7:27 of the second period, but Evansville answered back as Abbate scored on a 2-on-1 from Contessa at 12:03.  The Storm came back with goals at 15:16 by Dmitri Toporowski and 16:32 by Jake MacDonald to cut Evansville’s lead to 4-3, and Toporowski tied the game with 6:03 remaining in the third period to force overtime.  Following the scoreless overtime, Laaksonen scored in the shootout, however the Storm scored on three of four chances to complete the comeback, 5-4 the final score.

Contessa led the way offensively with a goal and two assists, Abbate scored one goal and one assist, while Miller and Laaksonen finished with one goal each.  In goal, Kristian Stead stopped 28 of 32 shots in regulation and overtime.  The Thunderbolts and Storm meet again on Saturday, December 27th at Quad City, with the season series tied 3-3.

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 Defeated 4-1 by Rivermen

Evansville, In.:  The Christmas hiatus and the reset that could come with it comes at a good time for the snake-bitten Thunderbolts, who despite outshooting the Rivermen 35-23, fell 4-1 to the Rivermen at Ford Center on Saturday night.  The Thunderbolts’ next home game at Ford Center will be on Wednesday, December 31st against the Birmingham Bulls at 7:00pm CT.

Evansville outshot Peoria 13-7 in the opening frame, but the rotten offensive luck that has plagued Evansville in the past few games continued as the Rivermen took the game’s first lead with a goal by Garrett Devine at 16:53.  6:28 into the second period, Evansville finally broke through to tie the game as Eelis Laaksonen set up Derek Contessa for the tying goal, also assisted by Isaac Chapman.  The Rivermen broke through twice down the stretch of the second period, with Khaden Henry scoring at 15:26 and Devine once again on a power play at 16:48 to take a 3-1 lead, extended further to 4-1 with Devine’s hat trick goal 2:59 into the third period in which the Thunderbolts outshot Peoria 13-5 but could not buy a goal.

Contessa scored Evansville’s goal while Kristian Stead stopped 19 of 23 shots.  The Thunderbolts and Rivermen meet again on Sunday, January 25th in Peoria, with the season series tied 3-3.

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 Shutout 2-0 at Huntsville

Huntsville, Ala.:  The Thunderbolts were again victimized by strong opposing goaltending and rotten offensive luck, as they were shut out 2-0 at Huntsville on Friday night.  The Thunderbolts’ next home game at Ford Center will be on Saturday, December 20th against the Peoria Rivermen at 7:00pm CT.

The first period was nearly scoreless, with Kristian Stead making several strong stops to keep Huntsville off the board.  The Havoc did manage to take a 1-0 lead in the period’s final minute with a cross-crease pass and goal for Ben Schultheis.  After a power play opportunity for Evansville went without a goal midway through the second period, the Havoc countered to make it 2-0 as Frank Trazzera scored with a shot that went off the post and into the net.  Despite pulling Stead, the Thunderbolts were held scoreless down the stretch, 2-0 the final score.  Stead did his best to keep Evansville in the game,  stopping 28 of 30 shots.  The Thunderbolts and Havoc meet again on Friday, January 9th in Huntsville, with Huntsville leading the regular season series 2-1.

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

Thunderbolts Shutout 2-0 at Peoria

Peoria, Ill.:  Thursday morning’s game in Peoria was a low-scoring one, in which Evansville could not build off a strong start with a goal, as the Thunderbolts were defeated 2-0 by the Rivermen.  The Thunderbolts’ next home game at Ford Center will be on Saturday, December 20th against the Peoria Rivermen at 7:00pm CT.

Evansville out-chanced the Rivermen heavily in the first period, with the closest opportunity being a near-breakaway for Isaac Chapman as he hit the post.  Peoria capitalized on a 5-on-3 power play 12:00 into the second period as Michael McChesney scored to give the Rivermen the lead.  It was very low-event on both ends the rest of the way, with the Rivermen adding another goal with just over 2 minutes remaining, scored by Daniel Chartrand.  Despite pulling Adam Manji, the Thunderbolts were held scoreless down the stretch, 2-0 the final score.  Manji played very well in his first start as an Evansville Thunderbolt, stopping 24 of 26 shots.  The Thunderbolts and Rivermen meet again on Saturday, December 20th in Peoria, with Evansville leading the regular season series 3-2.

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