THUNDERBOLTS RALLY TO DEFEAT ICE FLYERS IN OVERTIME FOR FIFTH-STRAIGHT WIN
Pensacola, FL.: For the second time in three nights, the Thunderbolts rallied from two goals down in the third period to force overtime, where the Thunderbolts completed the three-game weekend sweep with a 3-2 overtime win over the Ice Flyers in Pensacola on Sunday afternoon. The Thunderbolts’ next home game will be on Friday, February 28th against the Quad City Storm at 7:05pm CT.
In the first period, Greg Susinski scored off a face-off at 16:10 to give the Ice Flyers the first lead of the night. On a major power play in the second period, the Ice Flyers extended the lead to 2-0 as Blake Tosto scored at 13:02. Following an unsuccessful penalty shot attempt for Scott Kirton early in the third period, Isaac Chapman scored shortly afterward by deflecting an Aidan Litke shot at 8:01 to indeed make it a 2-1 game, with an assist also going to Matthew Hobbs. Following a clutch penalty kill in the final 6 minutes of regulation, the Thunderbolts tied the game as Chapman snapped home a one-timer from Kirton with only 2:30 remaining to tie the game and force overtime. In overtime, Litke stripped Pensacola’s Jonathan Bartuccio-Pereira of the puck in the Evansville zone and streamed up ice on a 2-on-1 rush, electing to shoot the puck which beat Ricardo Gonzalez between the pads for the game-winning goal at 3:16 of overtime, as the Thunderbolts completed their 3-in-3 sweep of the Ice Flyers, a franchise-first against the same team and franchise-second overall. The 5-game win streak is also the first for the Thunderbolts since January 28th to February 11th of 2023.
Chapman finished with the pair of third period goals while Litke scored the overtime game-winning goal plus an assist. In goal, Cole Ceci finished with 37 saves on 39 shots on goal for his 14th win of the season. The Thunderbolts and Ice Flyers do not meet again this regular season, with Evansville winning the regular season series 4-1.
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.
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
