Thunderbolts Re-Sign Captain Matthew Hobbs for 2026-27 Season

Evansville, In.: The Evansville Thunderbolts and Head Coach/Director of Hockey Operations Jeff Bes are pleased to announce the re-signing of captain Matthew Hobbs, who will take on an expanded role with the team in 2026-27.   

Hobbs, the longest-tenured captain in Thunderbolts team history, led the Thunderbolts to their second consecutive President’s Cup title in the 2025-26 season, his fourth full season with Evansville and second as team captain. Hobbs will take on added responsibility in the upcoming year, including assisting in practice, video breakdown, and more. Hobbs scored 8 goals and 23 points in 57 regular season games before a very strong showing in the playoffs, where he scored 1 goal and 9 points to go with a +10 rating to earn Playoff MVP honors. 4 of his 8 goals in 2025-26 were scored on the power play, tied for most on the Thunderbolts, his +13 rating also tied for the team lead.  Since the 2021-22 season, when he was acquired late in his first full professional season from the Birmingham Bulls, the Burlington, Ontario native has scored 36 goals and 90 points in 208 regular season games with Evansville, along with 2 goals and 17 points in 28 career playoff games.  Hobbs’ current total of 208 regular season games played ranks second most all-time in franchise history, and his 28 playoff games played are tied for the franchise record.   

“Going back to back was a surreal experience,” replied Hobbs when asked to reflect on the Thunderbolts’ second consecutive President’s Cup victory. “It was an amazing group of guys to do it with. Winning the second (President’s Cup Title) was extra special just to prove that the first (in 2025) was no fluke, and that we have built a winning culture in Evansville.”  Looking ahead to 2026-27, Hobbs continued: “My goals for the upcoming season are to continue getting better every day with the guys in the room and work to give our fans the best product on the ice that they’ve seen yet by continuing to play tough Evansville Thunderbolt hockey.  I’m so pumped for next season, and the opportunity to fight for the opportunity to lift that Cup again, it’s an amazing feeling that I want to experience again.  Our eyes are back on building this squad back up to get number three.”  

On the return of Hobbs, Head Coach/Director of Hockey Operations Jeff Bes commented: “Matt has continued to grow and mature as a captain and leader on this team over the past three seasons.  His ability to come to work and work hard every day makes everyone else accountable as well, which leads to our team’s success.”  Coach Bes continued by highlighting the heightened role for Hobbs in the upcoming season: "It is evident that taking the next step by assisting in coaching and learning the daily responsibilities will benefit our team this season.  I look forward to working with Matt and mentoring him this season as we look to sustain a winning culture in Evansville.” 

Season tickets for the 2026-27 season are on sale now. 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 Defeat Rivermen in Five Games; Successfully Repeat as SPHL Champions

Peoria, Ill.:  Rallying from 2-0 down in the best-of-five series, the Thunderbolts completed the historic comeback with a 6-4 game five victory in Peoria on Saturday night, becoming the fourth team in SPHL history to win back-to-back President’s Cup titles.  

It was Peoria who struck first, with Alec Baer scoring at 7:01to give the Rivermen a 1-0 lead.  Only 39 seconds later, Evansville struck back as a dump-in bounced off Rivermen goaltender Nick Latinovich, the fumble tapped in by Isaac Chapman at 7:40 to tie the game 1-1, assisted by Matthew Hobbs and Anthony Mollica.  Riding the momentum and outshooting Peoria 12-5 in the first period, Evansville grabbed a 2-1 lead at 17:07 as Cameron MacPhee scored off a behind-the-net pass from Myles Abbate and Hobbs.  Peoria struck back early in the second period, as Jordan Ernst tied the game at the 2:56 mark, before the Thunderbolts rattled off two quick goals to take a 4-2 lead and chase Latinovich with four goals on 16 shots; Scott Kirton scored at 4:14 off a setup from Evan Miller, followed 38 seconds by Hobbs at 4:52 as he banked in a wrap-around attempt, assisted by Kirton.  Latinovich was replaced by Jack Bostedt, but that did not immediately stop the scoring as Chapman scored once again on a rush to the net from Aaron Huffnagle at 10:18 to give Evansville a 5-2 lead after two periods.

The Rivermen made their last stand in the third period as they had done in the last two games in Evansville and scored twice to tighten the Thunderbolts’ lead to only 5-4 as Mike Gelatt scored at 5:46, followed by Ernst on the game’s only power play at 14:54.  However, before the Rivermen could go for the tie by pulling Bostedt, the Rivermen gave up the puck right by their own net, with Derek Contessa scoring to give Evansville a 6-4 lead with 1:58 remaining, assisted by Abbate and Miller to allow the Evansville bench as well as the hundreds of Thunderbolts fans who made the trip to breathe a sigh of relief.  The Rivermen finally pulled Bostedt, but it was too little too late as the Thunderbolts completed the reverse sweep, coming back from a 2-0 series deficit to become the fourth SPHL team in history to win back-to-back President’s Cup Titles, joining the Knoxville Ice Bears of 2008 and 2009, the Pensacola Ice Flyers of 2013 and 2014, and most recently the Huntsville Havoc of 2018 and 2019.  Captain Matthew Hobbs was awarded Playoff MVP honors, scoring 1 goal and 9 assists for 10 points along with a +10 rating in 12 playoff games.

Chapman finished with two goals including the game-winning goal, Hobbs finished with one goal and two assists, Kirton scored one goal and one assist, while MacPhee and Contessa scored one goal each.  Miller and Abbate tallied a pair of assists, while Kristian Stead finished with 24 saves on 28 shots on goal, in net for every game and all eight Thunderbolts wins of the playoffs.

Season tickets for the 2026-27 season are on sale now.  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 Defeat Rivermen 3-1, Force Game 5 in Peoria

Evansville, In.:  The Thunderbolts capped off their home ice supremacy in the postseason with a 3-1 victory over the Rivermen on Thursday night at Ford Center, finishing 6-0 at home in these playoffs, and now it will come down to a winner-take-all game five in Peoria on Saturday to determine this year’s President’s Cup champion.  

In a low-shot first period in which Evansville only had four shots on goal while allowing five, the Thunderbolts managed to strike first at 9:17 as Derek Contessa was set up at the net-front from Scott Kirton, also assisted by Caleb Huffman, to give Evansville the opening lead.  1:07 into the second period, Evansville made it a 2-0 game as Tyson Gilmour scored off a cross-ice feed from Aaron Huffnagle and Isaac Chapman.  The two-goal lead did not last long, as Michael McChesney scored on a net-front redirection for Peoria to trim the lead to 2-1 at 2:41.  Great saves by both Kristian Stead and Nick Latinovich, as well as some divine intervention of two shots hitting the crossbar behind Stead in the third period instead of going in, kept the score at 2-1 Evansville, before Jordan Simoneau added an empty net goal with 45 seconds remaining in the third period, assisted by Matthew Hobbs at 19:15 to make it a 3-1 final score.  With the victory, Evansville goes perfect on Ford Center ice in the playoffs two years in a row, 6-0 this year after going 3-0 at Ford Center in Evansville’s 2025 run to the Cup.  Now the Thunderbolts must bring that mojo on the road in order to return from Peoria with the President’s Cup on Saturday night.

Contessa, Gilmour, and Simoneau scored one goal each, while Kristian Stead finished with 26 saves on 27 shots on goal for his 7th win of the playoffs.  Game five will be in Peoria on Saturday, May 9th at 7:15pm CT.

Season tickets for the 2026-27 season are on sale now.  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 Win 2-1 Over Peoria, Force Game 4

Evansville, In.:  Back at Ford Center with their backs against the wall, the Thunderbolts battled their way to a 2-1 win over the Rivermen on Wednesday night, as the defending champs live to reign another day and gain an opportunity to force a game five back in Peoria.  Game four against the Peoria Rivermen at Ford Center will be on Thursday, May 7th, face-off at 7:00pm CT.

The Thunderbolts certainly played like a team that was in a must-win situation, outshooting Peoria 10-6 in the first period, a solid start despite the period ending scoreless.  Evansville pushed the tempo further in the second period, outshooting Peoria 10-5, and nearly took the first lead on a penalty shot attempt as Jordan Simoneau was impeded on a breakaway, just missing glove side on the awarded one-on-one opportunity.  With 2:33 remaining in the second period, Evansville broke through Nick Latinovich, as Anthony Mollica’s point shot found daylight to give Evansville a 1-0 lead, assisted by Matthew Hobbs.  Riding the momentum, Evansville doubled the lead to 2-0 only 1:19 later as Evan Miller scored on a rebound from Aaron Huffnagle and Will van der Veen at 18:46.  Peoria got a break early in the third period, as Mike Gelatt was able to walk in from the near corner and roof a shot over Kristian Stead’s shoulder to make it a 2-1 game only 1:18 into the third period.  Sensing the opportunity, Peoria pushed hardest in the third period and outshot Evansville 12-9, while Latinovich made several big saves at the Peoria end to prevent Evansville from re-extending their lead.  The Rivermen pulled Latinovich later on but were denied the tying goal as the Thunderbolts held on to get back into the series and force game four.

Mollica and Miller scored one goal each, while Kristian Stead finished with 22 saves on 23 shots on goal for his 6th win of the playoffs.  Game four at Ford Center will be on Thursday, May 7th at 7:00pm CT, and if necessary, a fifth game would be in Peoria on Saturday, May 9th at 7:15pm CT.

Season tickets for the 2026-27 season are on sale now. Individual game tickets and group packages are on sale for the remainder of this 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 Fall 5-1 In Game 2 to Rivermen

Peoria, Ill.:  The focus now becomes one game at a time for the Thunderbolts as they return to Ford Center ice, where they have been excellent against Peoria this season, down 2-0 in this best-of-five Final series after a 5-1 defeat in game two in Peoria on Friday night.  Game three against the Peoria Rivermen at Ford Center will be on Wednesday, May 6th, face-off at 7:00pm CT.

Right out of the gate, the Rivermen took the lead only 20 seconds into the first period, Garrett Devine scoring the goal.  Overall, the Thunderbolts had a solid first period and tied the game at 5:26 as Ethan Lund scored his first professional goal, a shot from the point through traffic assisted by Myles Abbate and Aiden MacIntosh.  The second period got off to a rocky start, as Michael McChesney scored for Peoria at the 2:45 mark, followed by Braydon Barker at 5:13.  Evansville stopped the bleeding from there and held the score at 3-1 Rivermen after two periods.  The Thunderbolts had a strong third period, outshooting Peoria 10-5 and nearly cutting the lead to one goal as Anthony Mollica rang a shot off the post halfway through the period, but Evansville was unable to rally from there, with the Rivermen adding two empty net goals to wrap up the scoring at 5-1.  The Thunderbolts will return to Ford Center for game three on Wednesday looking to earn a fourth game on home ice on Thursday.  Evansville was 6-1 against Peoria on Ford Center ice this regular season, and at one point had a five-game overall win streak against Peoria between February 4th and March 27th, still keeping Evansville’s chances very much alive of grinding their way to a return trip to Peoria next weekend, starting one game at a time with four days to prepare.    

Lund scored Evansville’s goal, while Kristian Stead finished with 21 saves on 24 shots on goal.  Game three will be at Ford Center on Wednesday, May 6th at 7:00pm CT.  If necessary, game four at Ford Center will be on Thursday, May 7th at 7:00pm CT, and a fifth game would be in Peoria on Saturday, May 9th at 7:15pm CT.

Season tickets for the 2026-27 season are on sale now. Individual game tickets and group packages are on sale for the remainder of this 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