THUNDERBOLTS COME BACK FROM 3-0 DOWN, DEFEAT PEORIA 4-3
Peoria, Ill.: The Thunderbolts refused to quit despite falling behind 3-0, scoring four unanswered goals to defeat the Rivermen 4-3 in Peoria on Friday night. The Thunderbolts’ next home game will be on Saturday, November 9th against the Macon Mayhem at 7:05pm CT.
Evansville initially trailed 2-0 through one period as Peoria’s Zack Nazzarett scored twice, 29 seconds in and at the 14:01 mark. Off another bad luck bounce, Alec Baer made it 3-0 Rivermen 2:59 into the second period, before the Thunderbolts comeback began to take shape. First it was Matthew Barnaby, scoring on a delayed penalty at 10:47 from Logan vande Meerakker and Grayson Valente to make it a 3-1 game. The delayed penalty was initially a double-minor, reduced to a single minor with which Evansville went to work on the power play. On that power play, Matt Dorsey scored to make it a 3-2 game, scoring at 12:33 from Brendan Harrogate and Joey Berkopec. At 17:20, Barnaby scored his second goal of the night off a setup from Harrogate to fully bridge the gap at 3-3, before Scott Kirton scored on a rebound 11:18 into the third period from Berkopec to give Evansville a 4-3 lead. Cole Ceci and the Thunderbolts defense got the job done from there, shutting down the Rivermen, who pulled goaltender Troy Kobryn late to go up 6-on-5 to no avail, as the Thunderbolts emerged victorious for the first time in Peoria in regulation time since January 1st, 2022.
Barnaby finished with two goals, while Dorsey and Kirton scored one goal each. Berkopec and Harrogate each tallied a pair of assists, while Cole Ceci finished with 34 saves on 37 shots for his third win of the season. The Thunderbolts and Rivermen meet once again on Friday, November 15th at Peoria Civic Center.
Individual game tickets, group packages, and season tickets are on sale for the 2024-25 season. Call 812-422-BOLT or visit our all-new website (www.evansvillethunderbolts.
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
