Knoxville, Tn.:  Down 1-0 going into the third period, the Thunderbolts willed their way to a tie game, before defeating the Ice Bears in a shootout for their third-straight win, 2-1 on Friday night at Knoxville Civic Coliseum. The Thunderbolts’ next home game will be on Saturday, January 20th against the Peoria Rivermen, puck drop at 7:00pm CT.
Following a scoreless first period, Rex Moe scored to put the Ice Bears in front at the 3:22 mark of the second period. Later in the second period after Mark Zhukov was ran into the boards from behind by Knoxville’s Davis Kirkendall, Zhukov’s linemates showed no hesitation in coming to his aid, immediately going after Kirkendall. The hit resulted in a major penalty and game misconduct to Kirkendall, Zhukov left the game temporarily but returned for the third period. With a strong start to the third period, Vadim Vasjonkin scored to the game 1:11 in, assisted by Brendan Harrogate. Tied 1-1, the Thunderbolts had to face three consecutive Knoxville power plays yet held the game at the 1-1 tie thanks to strong penalty killing and many big saves from Cole Ceci. After overtime failed to yield a winner, Myles Abbate and Harrogate scored in the first two shootout rounds to put Evansville ahead, while Ceci stopped all four Knoxville attempts to complete the comeback as the Thunderbolts picked up their 3rd straight win and 11th win of the season overall.
Vasjonkin scored Evansville’s goal in regulation, while Abbate and Harrogate scored one goal each in the shootout, with Abbate’s the shootout winner. In goal, Ceci stopped 28 of 29 shots faced and all four shootout attempts for his 10th win of the season. The Thunderbolts and Ice Bears meet again on Saturday, January 13th at Knoxville Civic Coliseum.
Individual game tickets and group packages are on sale for this 2023-24 season. Season tickets for the 2023-24 season are also on sale. Call 812-422-BOLT or visit our all-new website (www.evansvillethunderbolts.com) for details.
