Thunderbolts Sign Defensemen Yushkevich and Simard; Woernle on IR

Prior to Wednesday night's game against Birmingham, Head Coach/Director of Hockey Operations Jeff Bes announced a trio of transactions, led by the signing of defensemen Dmitri Yushkevich and Beren Simard to standard contracts. 

Yushkevich previously played for the Thunderbolts in the 2023-24 season after a brief two game stint in the ECHL with Wichita, scoring 4 goals and 15 points while registering a +6 rating in 51 regular season games, before playing a significant role in Evansville's playoff upset of the Birmingham Bulls, scoring two goals and adding two assists in the five playoff games against Birmingham and Peoria.  Yushkevich, who was born in Toronto, Ontario but holds both Canadian and Russian citizenship, played with Molot Perm of the VHL in Russia in 2024-25, recording 4 assists in 28 games.  Overall, Yushkevich has played in 233 games in the VHL, Russia's second-highest ranked professional league, scoring 10 goals and 41 points since 2017-18, while also skating in 4 KHL games in 2017-18 with Yugra Khanty-Mansiysk.  

Simard, a native of Montreal, Quebec, turns professional with the Thunderbolts after two seasons of junior hockey in the MJAHL with West Kent, Campbellton, and Yarmouth from 2023-2025, scoring 8 goals and 48 points in 98 regular season games.  Simard also played just over one full season in the QMJHL with Charlottetown and Drummondville between 2021-2023, skating in 44 games and tallying 1 assist.

In additional transaction news, defenseman John Woernle has been placed on 14-Day injured reserve.

Thunderbolts Bounce Back with 3-2 Win in Huntsville

Huntsville, Ala.:  After a difficult loss on Friday night, the Thunderbolts responded with a strong performance and a 3-2 comeback victory over the Havoc in Huntsville on Saturday night, taking 3 out of 4 points on the weekend.  The Thunderbolts’ next home game at Ford Center will be on Wednesday, January 14th against the Birmingham Bulls at 7:00pm CT.

The Thunderbolts and Havoc battled nearly evenly in the first period, with both teams registering 10 shots apiece and Evansville hitting the post twice.  The Havoc managed to grab the opening lead with the first period’s only goal, scored by Cole Reginato at 10:27.  In the second period, Evansville came back to tie as Cameron MacPhee set up a two man rush to the net with Tyson Gilmour finding Scott Kirton for the tying goal at 4:39.  On a 5-on-3 power play, Evansville grabbed the lead as Matthew Hobbs scored from Myles Abbate and Kirton at 7:34.  In the third period, Evansville’s 2-1 lead held through two successful penalty kills, and then the Thunderbolts got some insurance with 7:03 remaining as Will van der Veen scored through traffic from Isaac Chapman and Derek Contessa to make it 3-1 Evansville.  The Havoc got back to within one with 4:12 remaining as Reginato scored his second goal of the night off the rush to make it a one-goal contest.  Evansville defended well even with the Havoc pulling the goaltender late, and the Thunderbolts held on the rest of the way to secure the 3-2 victory in their final game in Huntsville this regular season.

Kirton led the way with a goal and assist, while Hobbs and Van der Veen added one goal each.  In goal, Kristian Stead stopped 32 of 34 shots on goal for his 13th win of the season.  The Thunderbolts and Havoc meet again on Friday, February 13th at Ford Center, with Huntsville 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

Thunderbolts Gain A Point in Shootout Loss in Huntsville

Huntsville, Ala.:  The Thunderbolts held a 4-1 lead in the third period, before the Havoc rallied to tie the game and force overtime, followed by a shootout, where Huntsville unfortunately came up victorious 5-4 at Huntsville on Friday night.  The Thunderbolts’ next home game at Ford Center will be on Wednesday, January 14th against the Birmingham Bulls at 7:00pm CT.

Evansville struck first, as Derek Contessa scored off a set up from Tyson Gilmour at 8:44 of the first period.  5:52 into the second period, Jordan Simoneau scored to make it 2-0 on a delayed penalty call, assisted by Matthew Hobbs and Scott Kirton.  Huntsville trimmed the lead to 2-1 at 12:02 as Connor Galloway scored on a 2-on-1 just following a power play opportunity.  The Thunderbolts finished the period strong as Gilmour scored a power play goal from Kirton and Matt Clark to make it 3-1 through two periods.  In the third period, Hobbs scored only 19 seconds in off a deflection from Max Thiessen and Simoneau to make it 4-1, but just could not extend the lead any further.  The Havoc rallied with three goals in a span of 3:29 as Josh Kestner scored at 8:24, Cole Golka scored at 9:41, and Galloway scored once again at 11:53 to tie the game 4-4.  Shortly afterward, a breakaway chance for Simoneau to put Evansville back in front just barely missed as Simoneau beat Wilson but hit the post.  In overtime, the Thunderbolt survived a Havoc power play chance but fell 2-1 in the shootout which went 8 rounds, with Eelis Laaksonen scoring the goal for Evansville.

Simoneau, Hobbs, and Gilmour each scored one goal and one assist, Contessa scored one goal, and Kirton tallied a pair of assists.  In goal, Cody Karpinski stopped 37 of 41 shots plus 6 of 8 in the shootout.  The Thunderbolts and Havoc meet again on Saturday, January 10th at Von Braun Center, with Huntsville leading the regular season series 3-1.

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 Unable to Rally in Third Period; Fall 3-1 to Quad City

Evansville, In.:  After a strong first two periods of play, the Thunderbolts simply ran out of gas in their 6th game in 10 days, losing 3-1 at Quad City on Sunday afternoon.  The Thunderbolts’ next home game at Ford Center will be on Wednesday, January 14th against the Birmingham Bulls at 7:00pm CT.

Following a scoreless first period in which Evansville outshot the Storm 10-6, the Thunderbolts continued to push in the second period until they were finally rewarded at 11:32, as Derek Contessa deflected a shot into the net from Max Thiessen and Evan Miller to give Evansville the 1-0 lead.  Terrible luck struck with 1:30 remaining, as a shot blocked away by Kristian Stead spun up in the air and dropped in the crease, and a Thunderbolts defenseman accidentally banked the puck in off Stead as he was trying to cover up for a face-off, leading to the Storm tying the game 1-1.  Evansville stumbled in the third, and Jake McDonald scored on a 2-on-1 rush for the Storm at 2:14 to give Quad City the lead, with Jesper Tarkiainen adding a late empty net goal to defeat Evansville 3-1.

Contessa scored Evansville’s goal, while Kristian Stead finished with 24 saves on 26 shots on goal.  The Thunderbolts and Storm meet again on Saturday, January 24th at Ford Center, with the regular season series tied 5-5.

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

Karpinski, Thunderbolts Shutout Quad City 4-0

Evansville, In.:  The Thunderbolts got the bounce back performance they were searching for after Friday’s loss, a 4-0 shutout victory over the Quad City Storm on Saturday night at Ford Center.  The Thunderbolts’ next home game at Ford Center will be on Wednesday, January 14th against the Birmingham Bulls at 7:00pm CT.

The first period was relatively uneventful, as Myles Abbate nearly scored on the rush midway through the period, but hit the post.  The offense roared to life in the second period as Joey Berkopec scored on the rush from Scott Kirton and Connor Tait only 31 seconds in to give Evansville a 1-0 lead.  At 7:11, excellent forecheck pressure led to Tyson Gilmour finding Kirton at the net front to make it 2-0, also assisted by Berkopec.  After holding at 2-0for a long stretch going midway into the third period, Abbate scored on nearly the same play that hit the post earlier, shooting off a beautiful 2-on-1 setup from Isaac Chapman to make it 3-0, with Evan Miller getting the secondary assist by starting the rush out of the Evansville zone.  With only 3:10 remaining, Evansville capitalized on a power play to make it 4-0 as Jordan Simoneau scored on a net-front redirection from Abbate and Kirton.

Kirton led the way offensively with a goal and 2 assists, Abbate and Berkopec registered a goal and assist each, and Simoneau scored one goal.  In goal, Cody Karpinski stopped all 25 shots on goal for his 1st win of the season and his first as a Thunderbolt, also recording his 4th professional shutout and becoming the first Thunderbolts goaltender to pick up a shutout victory in the regular season since Cole Ceci on January 5th, 2024, against Quad City.  The Thunderbolts and Storm meet again on Sunday, January 4th at Vibrant Arena, 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