Evansville, In.: The Evansville Thunderbolts and Head Coach/Director of Hockey Operations Jeff Bes are pleased to announce the signing of defensemen Benjamin and Gehrig Lindberg for the 2024-25 season. The Thunderbolts begin the 2024-25 season at Ford Center on Friday, October 18th as they host the Knoxville Ice Bears.
Benjamin joined the Thunderbolts midway through the 2023-24 season after concluding his three seasons at Morrisville State College, playing in 23 regular season games and all 5 playoff games with Evansville, scoring 2 goals and 4 points along the way while registering a +4 rating. The younger Gehrig also turned pro this past season, split between the Blue Ridge Bobcats and Watertown Wolves of the FPHL, along with the Quad City Storm and Knoxville Ice Bears, picking up one assist in 5 SPHL games and 5 goals along with 11 points in 35 FPHL games. The defensive duo from the Buffalo suburb of East Aurora, New York last played together with the Texas Jr. Brahmas of the NA3HL and Stouffville Spirit of the OJHL in 2019-20. While Benjamin left juniors for college, Gehrig continued his junior career through the next three full seasons. In 2020-21, Gehrig skated for the Buffalo Jr. Sabres 18U AAA program, before returning to Stouffville to start 2021-22, playing in 9 games before moving on to the Niagara Falls Canucks of the GOJHL where he played through most of 2022-23, serving as team captain of the Canucks before then joining the OJHL’s Trenton Gold Hawks for the 2023 playoffs. Gehrig’s junior career concluded with an 8 game stint with the GMHL Niagara Predators early in 2023-24 before making the move to the FPHL with Blue Ridge.
“I’m thrilled to be back in Evansville this season and playing for a top notch organization with a stellar fan base,” commented Benjamin Lindberg on his excitement for the upcoming season. “I’m very fortunate to be returning and bringing my younger brother with me this season, we have some unfinished business to attend to and I can’t wait to get back to work at Ford Center!” Not surprisingly, Gehrig mirrors his brother Benjamin’s sentiment, commenting: “I can’t wait to experience the culture that Evansville has, and the great rink and fan base that are part of that, October can’t come soon enough. My brother and I haven’t been on the same team since our junior hockey days, so joining him in Evansville will make it even more special.” Gehrig’s planned post-hockey career also had a strong tie-in with joining the Thunderbolts: “I love the town’s history with aviation, as I’ve been working on getting my pilots license.”
