Evansville, In.: In a game that served as the final preview between the Thunderbolts and Bulls before they meet in the playoffs, the Thunderbolts were unable to hold off a late Bulls rally, as Birmingham came back to defeat Evansville 3-2 in a shootout on Saturday at Ford Center. The Thunderbolts’ next home game will be on Thursday, April 11th against the Birmingham Bulls, puck drop at 7:00pm CT.
The Bulls struck first, only 16 seconds into the game, as Scott Donahue put Birmingham ahead early. Evansville rallied well, tying the game at 14:12 as Adam Pilotte scored from Brendan Harrogate and Grant Spence to tie the game at 1-1. Only 21 seconds later, Evansville took a 2-1 lead as Myles Abbate wired a shot past Drennen Atherton at 14:33 from Lincoln Hatten and Matthew Hobbs. The score remained 2-1 until the final minute of the third period, when Atherton was pulled by the Bulls, who scored with 33 seconds remaining in regulation with a Drake Glover goal to force overtime. In the shootout that followed a scoreless overtime, MacGregor Sinclair and Taylor Brierley scored for the Bulls while Hobbs provided the lone Evansville tally, as the Bulls took the shootout 2-1 and the game 3-2.
Pilotte and Abbate scored Evansville’s regulation goals, while Hobbs scored Evansville’s lone shootout goal, as well as an assist in regulation. In goal, Ty Taylor finished with 26 saves on 28 shots in regulation and overtime, and 4 of 6 in the shootout. These two teams will face off in the first round of the President’s Cup Playoffs this coming week, Game One at Birmingham on Wednesday, April 10th, Game Two at Ford Center on Thursday, April 11th, and Game Three (if necessary) at Birmingham on Saturday, April 13th, all games beginning at 7:00pm CT.
