Evansville, In.: The Cinderella run continues for the Thunderbolts, as they came back from 1-0 down after one period to defeat the defending champions and #1-seeded Peoria Rivermen 3-1 on Friday night at Ford Center, completing the series sweep after winning Game One 2-0 at Peoria on Wednesday. The Thunderbolts now await the winner of the Birmingham Bulls and Knoxville Ice Bears semifinal series.
The expected early storm from the Rivermen indeed materialized, as the Thunderbolts were challenged hard in the first period. Amidst the pressure, the Rivermen grabbed the game’s first lead as a rebound from a wraparound shot found Josh Martin moving up the slot, and he fired the shot in to give Peoria a 1-0 lead at 11:36. As they did in the second period of Game Three against the Havoc last weekend, the Thunderbolts found their game in the second period, outshooting Peoria 18-11 in the middle frame. At 8:58, Evansville tied the game on a power play as Tyson Gilmour’s shot found the back of the net, assisted by Matthew Hobbs and Logan vande Meerakker. Late in the second period, Vande Meerakker scored on a 2-on-1 rush at 18:45, assisted by Grayson Valente to give the Thunderbolts a 2-1 lead going into the third period.
It was an absolute grind in the final 20 minutes of play, with the Rivermen outshooting Evansville 16-6, and they nearly tied the game with roughly 7 minutes remaining with a scoring chance that ended on the goal line behind Cole Ceci, but was confirmed to not have gone in upon official review. As the clock slowly rolled down, the Rivermen pulled goaltender Nick Latinovich for an extra attacker, but the Thunderbolts held strong, and with 19 seconds remaining, Gilmour scored on an unopposed break to the Rivermen zone and into the empty net to make it a 3-1 game against the same Rivermen who placed him on waivers late last season, sending Ford Center into a frenzy that had never-before been seen to this extent for a hockey game in Evansville. The final seconds ticked away afterward, and the celebration began in earnest, as the Thunderbolts completed the series sweep and earned their first-ever trip to the President’s Cup Final.
Gilmour scored two goals, Vande Meerakker scored one goal and one assist, and Ceci finished with 39 saves on 40 shots. The Thunderbolts await the winner of the Knoxville Ice Bears and Birmingham Bulls, Game Three of that series will be played at Pelham Civic Complex on Saturday afternoon, face-off at 2:00pm CT, with schedule details for the President’s Cup Final available shortly after the conclusion of the game.
Individual game tickets and group packages are on sale for the 2024-25 season. Season tickets for the 2025-26 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