Evansville, In.: The Thunderbolts got the bounce back performance they were searching for after Friday’s loss, a 4-0 shutout victory over the Quad City Storm on Saturday night at Ford Center. The Thunderbolts’ next home game at Ford Center will be on Wednesday, January 14th against the Birmingham Bulls at 7:00pm CT.
The first period was relatively uneventful, as Myles Abbate nearly scored on the rush midway through the period, but hit the post. The offense roared to life in the second period as Joey Berkopec scored on the rush from Scott Kirton and Connor Tait only 31 seconds in to give Evansville a 1-0 lead. At 7:11, excellent forecheck pressure led to Tyson Gilmour finding Kirton at the net front to make it 2-0, also assisted by Berkopec. After holding at 2-0 for a long stretch going midway into the third period, Abbate scored on nearly the same play that hit the post earlier, shooting off a beautiful 2-on-1 setup from Isaac Chapman to make it 3-0, with Evan Miller getting the secondary assist by starting the rush out of the Evansville zone. With only 3:10 remaining, Evansville capitalized on a power play to make it 4-0 as Jordan Simoneau scored on a net-front redirection from Abbate and Kirton.
Kirton led the way offensively with a goal and 2 assists, Abbate and Berkopec registered a goal and assist each, and Simoneau scored one goal. In goal, Cody Karpinski stopped all 25 shots on goal for his 1st win of the season and his first as a Thunderbolt, also recording his 4th professional shutout and becoming the first Thunderbolts goaltender to pick up a shutout victory in the regular season since Cole Ceci on January 5th, 2024, against Quad City. The Thunderbolts and Storm meet again on Sunday, January 4th at Vibrant Arena, with Evansville leading the regular season series 5-4.
