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

Thunderbolts Fall Just Short in Game 1 Overtime Loss

Peoria, Ill.:  After rallying in the third period to force overtime, an odd-bounce goal proved to the difference for the Rivermen as they survived a scare from the Thunderbolts to take game one of the best-of-five Final series, 2-1 the final score in overtime in Peoria on Thursday night.  Game three against the Peoria Rivermen at Ford Center will be on Wednesday, May 6th, face-off at 7:00pm CT.

Evansville was mainly on the defensive out of the gate in the first period, and the Rivermen took advantage as Griffen Fox chipped in a loose puck that banked off the side of the Evansville cage, the goal at 13:38 of the first period.  The Thunderbolts got better as the game went on, only being outshot 10-6 in the second period and keeping the score at 1-0, before trimming the shot ratio to 10-8 in the third period and tying the game at 11:46 as Evan Miller’s turnaround shot from the far face-off circle beat Nick Latinovich top shelf, assisted by Derek Contessa and Scott Kirton.  In overtime, the Rivermen won the game on a rush to the net from Tyler Ryder, his shot taking a bounce and going between the pads of Kristian Stead to win the game for Peoria at only 1:28 of overtime.  Nonetheless, the mission remains the same for Evansville this weekend, only needing one win to grab home ice advantage before the series shifts back to Ford Center next week, and the Thunderbolts will look to ride the momentum that they built up over regulation time into game two on Friday night in order to tie the series back up.    

Miller scored Evansville’s goal, while Kristian Stead finished with 31 saves on 33 shots on goal.  Game two will be played at Peoria Civic Center this Friday, May 1st at 7:15, 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

Thunderbolts Advance Back to President's Cup Final

Evansville, In.:  In another nailbiter of a game on Thursday night at Ford Center, the Evansville Thunderbolts persevered to win 4-1 and defeat the Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs in the semifinals three games to one, becoming the first defending President’s Cup champion to advance back to the Final since 2019.  Details on the next Thunderbolts’ home game at Ford Center will be announced at the conclusion of the Peoria and Knoxville series.

The first period went scoreless, although Roanoke nearly took the opening lead as Tim Manning was awarded a penalty shot at 14:53, with Kristian Stead making the save to keep the game scoreless.  The Thunderbolts’ power play once again came through to open the scoring at 13:07 of the second period, as Scott Kirton scored from Aiden MacIntosh and Evan Miller to give Evansville a 1-0 lead.  10:49 into the third period, Evansville gained insurance as Myles Abbate scored on a two-on-one rush to make it 2-0, assisted by Jordan Simoneau and Matthew Hobbs.  Roanoke’s last gasp came on a power play chance that saw them pull to within a 2-1 deficit as Gustav Muller scored at 11:56.  Weathering the ensuing storm, Evansville counterattacked and again made it a two-goal game as Miller scored on an odd-man rush into the Roanoke end, assisted by Will van der Veen with 3:25 remaining.  Simoneau added an unassisted empty net goal 15 seconds later at 16:50 to put the game away at 4-1, sending Evansville back to the President’s Cup Final for the second season in a row, where they will face either the Peoria Rivermen or the Knoxville Ice Bears.    

Miller and Simoneau scored one goal and one assist each, Abbate scored the game-winning goal, and Kirton scored one goal.  In goal, Kristian Stead finished with 32 saves on 33 shots on goal for his 5th win of the playoffs.

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

Abbate’s Late Goal Leads Thunderbolts to Game 3 Victory

Evansville, In.:  Tied 1-1 late in the third period, the Thunderbolts capitalized on late Roanoke penalties, as Myles Abbate’s power play goal with 2:47 remaining broke the tie in a 4-1 win over Roanoke at Ford Center on Wednesday night.  Game four in this best-of-five semifinal series against the Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs at Ford Center will be on Thursday, April 23rd, face-off at 7:00pm CT.

Following a scoreless first period, the Thunderbolts took the first lead of the second period as Evan Miller scored on the power play off a rebound from Jordan Simoneau and Scott Kirton at 5:13.  Bad penalties by Evansville reared their ugly head six minutes later, as Roanoke tied the game back up at the 11:13 with a power play goal from Gustav Muller.  The atmosphere was tense in the third period with close chances at both ends, before the Rail Yard Dawgs took two careless penalties in the final five minutes to present a golden opportunity for Evansville, as the Thunderbolts did not take a single penalty in the third period, and were rewarded with the opportunity.  With 2:47 remaining, Aaron Huffnagle’s cross ice pass connected with Abbate, who in one fell swoop shoveled the puck past Austyn Roudebush to give Evansville a 2-1 lead, Matthew Hobbs picking up the secondary assist.  An empty net goal shot from the Evansville zone by Jordan Simoneau made it 3-1 Evansville with 1:53 remaining, before Kirton set up one more empty net goal for Miller to make it 4-1 at 19:02. 

Miller scored two goals, Simoneau scored one goal and one assist, while Abbate scored the game-winning goal.  Kirton tallied a pair of assists, while Kristian Stead finished with 38 saves on 39 shots on goal for his 4th win of the playoffs.  Game four will be played at Ford Center this Thursday, April 23rd at 7:00pm CT, and if Evansville is unable to close out the series in game four, game five would be at Berglund Center on Saturday, April 25th at 6:05pm 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

Kristian Stead Named to All-SPHL Second Team

On Monday, the SPHL announced the All-SPHL First and Second Team. The Evansville Thunderbolts Goaltender Kristian Stead has been named to the All-SPHL Second Team. Here is who has been named alongside him:

Second Team

Goaltender - Kristian Stead (EVV)

Defensemen - Carson Vance (KNX), Cooper Jones (PEN)

Forwards - Austin Alger (HSV), Leif Mattson (QC), Travis Broughman (RNK)

Kristian Stead of the Evansville Thunderbolts was second in the SPHL in wins (23) and minutes played, third in goals against average (2.11), and fourth in saves. Stead also finished fifth among goaltenders with three shutouts and was sixth with a 0.923 save percentage.