THUNDERBOLTS HOST QUAD CITY ON FRIDAY, PEORIA ON SATURDAY
Evansville, In.: After ringing in the New Year in front of over 5,000 fans at Ford Center on Tuesday night, the Thunderbolts begin the 2025 calendar year by hosting the Quad City Storm this Friday night for Free Kids Friday, and the Peoria Rivermen on Saturday night for Heavy Metal Night.
Week In Review:
The Thunderbolts picked up two big road wins in Quad City last week, 3-1 on Thursday the 26th and 6-1 on Friday the 27th. Matt Dorsey, Anthony Hora and Logan vande Meerakker scored a goal each on Thursday. Dorsey and vande Meerakker scored again on Friday, supplemented by two goals from Brady Lynn and one goal each from Nolan McElhaney and Matthew Hobbs. The Thunderbolts fell 4-2 on Saturday against the Storm with goals from Derek Contessa and Brendan Harrogate, and Harrogate provided the only goal in the 5-1 loss to Huntsville on New Year’s Eve.
The Week Ahead:
This Friday, January 3rd will be Free Kids Friday presented by TaylorMade, as the Thunderbolts host the Quad City Storm. Everyone who buys an adult ticket through the Ford Center Box Office will receive a free kid’s (12 and under) ticket. An inflatable slide will be set up in the lobby, courtesy of Legendary Inflatables. Other activities, including Mr. Gatti’s Pizza, will also be available throughout the concourse. This Saturday, January 4th will be Heavy Metal Night as the Thunderbolts host Peoria, featuring specialty game-worn jerseys that will be auctioned off immediately after the game. Replica jerseys will also be available for purchase at the merchandise stand. Space Monkey Records will be at the game with their Mobile Boom Box in the lobby. Both home games begin at 7:05pm CT. For tickets, call (812)422-BOLT (2658), go to EvansvilleThunderbolts.com, or visit the Ford Center Ticket Office.
Coming Soon:
The Thunderbolts will be on the road for two weeks, with two games at Birmingham on Friday, January 10th and Saturday, January 11th, followed by games in Peoria on Friday, January 17th and Saturday, January 18th. The Thunderbolts return to Ford Center on Friday, January 24th for Faith Night and Saturday, January 25th for Star Wars Night, against the Pensacola Ice Flyers on both nights.
Scouting the Opponent:
- Quad City Storm:
- Record: 10-13-2, 22 Points, 8th Place
- Leading Goal Scorer: Leif Mattson (16 Goals)
- Leading Point Scorer: Leif Mattson (37 Points)
- Primary Goaltender: Brent Moran (8-8-1, .911 Save %)
- Thunderbolts Record vs QCS: 4-2
Jordan Henderson scored the Storm’s lone goal against Evansville on the 26th, while Nicola Levesque scored their lone goal on the 27th. Lukas Lacny, Severi Savijoki, Tommy Tsicos and Aaron Ryback each picked up a goal in their 4-2 victory over Evansville on Saturday night. The Storm were defeated 5-2 on New Year’s Eve in Peoria, initially leading 1-0 on a goal from Savva Smirnov before Peoria scored five unanswered goals. Doug Blaisdell scored the second Storm goal of the night with 6 seconds remaining in the game.
- Peoria Rivermen:
- Record: 16-4-4, 36 Points, 2nd Place
- Leading Goal Scorer: Jordan Ernst (16 Goals)
- Leading Point Scorer: Alec Baer (33 Points)
- Primary Goaltender: Colby Muise (14-2-3, .928 Save %)
- Thunderbolts Record vs PEO: 1-3-1
The Rivermen split their two games in Birmingham against the Bulls last Thursday and Friday, losing 3-2 in a shootout on Thursday and winning 6-3 on Friday. Down 2-0 on Thursday late in the third period, goals from Carlos Fornaris and Jordan Gagnon forced overtime. Down 3-2 going into the third period of Friday with goals from Zach Wilkie and Cale List, the Rivermen scored four unanswered goals from Gagnon, Chase Spencer, and two from Mike Gelatt to win 6-3. The Rivermen went on to win 4-2 on Saturday in Pensacola with goals from Fornaris, Alec Baer, Wilkie and Jordan Ernst. Finally, the Rivermen defeated Quad City 5-2 on New Year’s Eve with five unanswered goals, two each from Baer and Ernst, and one from Spencer. Peoria will host the Fayetteville Marksmen this Friday before traveling to Evansville on Saturday.
Call-up Report
– Lincoln Hatten (Worcester Railers – ECHL)
– 27 GP, 4 G, 5 A, 9 P, 13 PIM
– Scott Kirton (Cincinnati Cyclones – ECHL)
– 4 GP, 0 G, 0 A, 0 P, 2 PIM
– Benjamin Lindberg (Adirondack Thunder – ECHL)
– 4 GP, 0 G, 0 A, 0 P, 9 PIM
– Ty Taylor (Orlando Solar Bears – ECHL)
– 0 GP, 0-0-0, .000 SV%
Transactions:
Thur. 1/2: G Ty Taylor called up ECHL Orlando
Sat. 12/28: F Reid Perepeluk released from professional tryout
Thur. 12/26: F Brady Lynn signed to contract
Thur. 12/26: D Robin Eriksson activated from Injured Reserve
Thur. 12/26: D Benjamin Lindberg called up to ECHL Adirondack
Individual game tickets and group packages are on sale for the 2024-25 season. Season tickets for the 2025-26 season are on sale now. Call 812-422-BOLT or visit our website (www.evansvillethunderbolts.
