Evansville, In.: In a long season that has been largely successful for the Thunderbolts, bumps in the road were inevitable. Tonight saw one of those bigger bumps, as the Thunderbolts fell to the Birmingham Bulls 7-1 on Wednesday night at Ford Center. The Thunderbolts’ next home game will be on Saturday, December 31stagainst the Peoria Rivermen at 7:00pm CT. For tickets, call (812)422-BOLT (2658), go to EvansvilleThunderbolts.com, or visit the Ford Center Ticket Office.
The Bulls struck twice in the first period, as Mike Davis scored at 1:27 and Zac Masson scored at 11:14 to make it 2-0 Birmingham through one period. In the second period, Masson again scored early at 1:47, followed by a late goal from Stefan Brucato at 18:07 to make it 4-0. Evansville’s lone goal came at 19:27 as Matthew Hobbs cashed in on a net-front scramble from Cameron Cook to get the Thunderbolts on the scoreboard, down 4-1 after two periods. In the third period, Brucato scored once again at 7:23, Carson Rose added an empty net goal at 17:26, and Matt Wiesner struck with 17 seconds remaining to round out Birmingham’s 7-1 victory.
               Hobbs scored the lone Thunderbolts goal, while Zane Steeves stopped 38 of 44 shots faced. These two teams meet again on January 5th at the Pelham Civic Complex.
