Evansville, In.:  Behind a strong night in net from goaltender Brian Billett and some timely goals, the Thunderbolts put together a solid performance and defeat the Huntsville Havoc 3-1 at Ford Center on Friday night. The Thunderbolts next home game will be on Friday, February 4th at 7:00pm CST as they host the Quad City Storm. For tickets, call (812)422-BOLT (2658), buy online at EvansvilleThunderbolts.com, or buy tickets in person at the Ford Center Box Office.
Austin Plevy opened the scoring only 2:44 into the game, right off an offensive zone faceoff from Brett Radford to give Evansville a 1-0 lead.  Huntsville threatened to tie the game on numerous chances, but thanks to Billett and some excellent penalty killing, the Thunderbolts maintained the lead, and extended the lead as Tyson Kirkby scored on a breakaway to make it 2-0 with 1:15 remaining in the second period. Billett himself got the lone assist on the goal, and the goal secured a 2-0 lead for Evansville after two periods.
Through a mostly quiet third period, the 2-0 lead stood until 12:47, when Huntsville finally broke through to cut the lead in half, as Alex Kielczewski scored to make it 2-1. The Havoc pulled goaltender Zane Steeves, and the Thunderbolts countered by scoring an empty net goal from Josh Adkins with 55 seconds remaining to clinch the victory for Evansville.
Kirkby finished with a goal and assist, while Plevy and Adkins scored one goal each. Plevy’s goal was also his 92nd point as an Evansville Thunderbolt, breaking the franchise record previously held by Dave Williams. Brian Billett finished with 30 saves on 31 shots and one assist for his 13th win of the season. The win was head coach Jeff Bes’ 41st win as head coach of the Thunderbolts, tying the franchise record held by Jeff Pyle.  The Thunderbolts do not meet the Huntsville Havoc again this regular season.
