Evansville, In.: With the regular season now complete, the postseason beckons as the Thunderbolts prepare to take on the Huntsville Havoc in the opening round of the President’s Cup Playoffs, with Evansville hosting game two at Ford Center on Friday night.
Week In Review:
Evansville gave the red-hot Birmingham Bulls all they could handle on Friday night at Ford Center, holding 2-0 and 4-2 leads, but could not hold off Birmingham in the end as they came back to win 5-4 in a shootout. Aidan Litke scored two goals on the night, while Isaac Chapman and Myles Abbate scored one goal each. On Saturday night, Evansville again gave Birmingham everything they could handle but fell just short by a 2-1 score despite outshooting Birmingham 36-26, with Matthew Hobbs scoring the lone Evansville goal.
The Week Ahead:
Game one between the Thunderbolts and Havoc will be this Wednesday night at the Huntsville Ice Sports Complex, as Von Braun Center is unavailable due to scheduling conflict, opening face-off set for 7:30pm CT. Game two will be at Ford Center on Friday night, with opening face-off at 7:00pm CT. Game three, if necessary, will be on Saturday night at Huntsville Ice Sports Complex beginning at 7:30pm CT. Both games one and three (if necessary) at Huntsville can be viewed live on FloHockey with a paid subscription or can be listened to for free on the Thunderbolts Mixlr Channel.
Scouting the Opponent:
- Huntsville Havoc:
- Record: 36-15-5, 77 Points, 2nd Place
- Leading Goal Scorer: Austin Alger (23 Goals)
- Leading Point Scorer: Buster Larsson (60 Points)
- Primary Goaltender: Mike Robinson (26-7-3, .925 Save %)
- Thunderbolts 24-25 Record vs HSV: 3-6
The Havoc finished the regular season on a four game win streak, continuing from their two wins at home against Evansville and into their final two games on the road at Macon, beginning with a 5-1 win on Friday night with goals from Dylan Stewart, Matt Allen, and Zack Conner, plus late empty net goals from Buster Larsson and Robbie Fisher. The Havoc shut out the Mayhem 4-0 on Saturday night, with goals from Kevin Weaver-Vitale, Phil Elgstam, Stewart, and Jack Jaunich.
Call-up Report
– Lincoln Hatten (Worcester Railers – ECHL)
– 64 GP, 8 G, 14 A, 22 P, 82 PIM
– Ty Taylor (Orlando Solar Bears – ECHL)
– 0 GP, 0-0-0, 0.00 GAA, .000 SV%
Transactions:
Sat. 4/5: Nolan Dawson released from professional tryout (PTO)
Fri. 4/4: Derek Contessa activated from Injured Reserve
Fri. 4/4: Anthony Hora placed on 14-Day Injured Reserve
