Evansville, In.:  Back with the Thunderbolts following a call-up to the ECHL’s Atlanta Gladiators, goaltender Cole Ceci did not have much work but excelled nonetheless, stopping all 22 shots to play his part in Evansville’s 3-0 blanking of the Quad City Storm on Friday night at Ford Center . The Thunderbolts’ next home game will be on Saturday, January 6th against the Quad City Storm, puck drop at 7:00pm CT.
               Brendan Harrogate opened the scoring for the Thunderbolts only 2:41 into the first period, off a net-front pass from Scott Kirton, also assisted by Grayson Valente.  At 12:36, Bair Gendunov made it a 2-0 lead by cashing in on a 2-on-1 rush from Myles Abbate and Mark Zhukov. While the Thunderbolts outshot the Storm 13-8 in the second period, Brent Moran was stellar in the Quad City net to keep it only 2-0, while Ceci kept making the occasional saves in the Evansville net to keep the lead at no fewer than two goals. At a wider margin of 15 shots to 4 in the third period, the Thunderbolts finally did get one more insurance goal as Gendunov scored his second goal of the game at 3:56 from Zhukov and Abbate. Although things got a bit chippy towards the end and with a late fight between Lincoln Hatten and Quad City’s Nicola Levesque, the score remained unchanged at the finish, with Evansville taking the first game of the weekend doubleheader at Ford Center.
Gendunov finished with two goals and Harrogate with one goal, while Zhukov and Abbate each tallied a pair of assists. In goal, Ceci stopped all 22 shots faced for his 8th win and 2nd shutout of the season. The Thunderbolts and Storm meet again on Saturday, January 6th at Ford Center.
