THUNDERBOLTS HOST RAIL YARD DAWGS THIS FRIDAY

Evansville, In.:  Back in a winning groove following their 4-2 victory against the Birmingham Bulls this past Saturday night, the Thunderbolts will be on the road this Thursday and Saturday, with one home game this Friday night against the Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs for “’Twas The Friday Before Christmas”.

                Evansville led 2-0 on goals from Brendan Harrogate and Grayson Valente before the Bulls rallied to tie the game 2-2 early in the third period.  The Thunderbolts withstood the pressure and faced the adversity head on, restoring the two-goal lead with goals from Tyson Gilmour and Scott Kirton as Evansville picked up the 4-2 victory in front of over 3,600 fans at Ford Center.

                This Friday, December 20th will be “’Twas The Friday Before Christmas” as the Thunderbolts host the Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs.  Santa Claus will be available in the lobby for photos with kids before the start of the game, and at the top of section 118 during the game.  The first 500 fans in the building will receive a blanket courtesy of LyondellBasell.  There also will be a cookie decorating station courtesy of Cookies by Design.  For tickets, call (812)422-BOLT (2658), go to EvansvilleThunderbolts.com, or visit the Ford Center Ticket Office.  A special holiday ticket offer is also now available, buy one get one free, for the home games this Friday, December 20th and next Saturday, December 28th, available only through Ticketmaster.  The Thunderbolts will be in Peoria to take on the Rivermen this Thursday, December 19th at 10:30 am, and after Friday’s home game will be in Knoxville this Saturday, December 21st to face the Ice Bears at 6:05pm CT.  Fans can watch the action on FloHockey with a paid subscription or listen in for free on the Thunderbolts Mixlr Channel.  There will also be an away game watch party at Parkway Pizza on Evansville’s West Side for Saturday night’s game.

  Coming Soon:

                Saturday, December 28th will be Bad Gift Exchange Night as the Thunderbolts host the Quad City Storm, where fans can bring in an unwanted, rewrapped gift before the start of the game and select a different rewrapped gift during the first intermission.  Tuesday, December 31st will be the Thunderbolts’ Annual New Years Eve game against the Huntsville Havoc, featuring a game-worn jersey auction immediately following the game, followed by a post-game fireworks show inside Ford Center.

                The Rivermen swept their three road games in Macon this past weekend, 3-2 on Friday, 5-3 on Saturday, and 5-0 on Sunday.  Tristan Trudel, Alec Baer, and Braydon Barker provided goals on Friday, with Barker’s breaking a 2-2 tie with only 2:26 remaining in regulation time.  After falling behind 1-0 through one period on Saturday, Chase Spencer, Baer, and Michael McChesney put Peoria ahead in the second period, with Baer and Carlos Fornaris scoring in the third period.  In Sunday’s shutout, Spencer scored twice while Griffen Fox, Zach Wilkie, and McChesney provided one goal each.

                Roanoke won their only game last weekend, 4-3 over the Knoxville Ice Bears on Saturday in Roanoke.  Bryce Martin and Gustav Muller scored in the first period, and Nick Ford along with Jacob Kelly scored goals in the second period to put Roanoke ahead 4-1.  The Rail Yard Dawgs held off a Knoxville comeback in the third period to emerge with the 4-3 win behind 35 saves from Austyn Roudebush.

                In Roanoke last Saturday in what was also their only game of the weekend, Jimmy Soper scored late in the first period to trim Roanoke’s early two-goal lead to 2-1.  Down 4-1 in the third period, goals from Dalton Skelly and Daryk Dube-Plouffe brought Knoxville close but not close enough to a tied game.  After Stephen Mundinger was pulled following four goals on 17 shots, Talor Joseph helped give Knoxville a chance by stopping all 10 shots faced in the third period.  The Ice Bears will play in Birmingham this Thursday night and host the Bulls on Friday night before hosting Evansville on Saturday.

– Lincoln Hatten (Worcester Railers – ECHL)

                – 21 GP, 2 G, 4 A, 6 P, 7 PIM

– Scott Kirton (Cincinnati Cyclones – ECHL)

                – 0 GP, 0 G, 0 A, 0 P, 0 PIM

Tue. 12/17: F Scott Kirton called up to Cincinnati (ECHL)

Mon. 12/16: F Reid Perepeluk re-signed to a Professional Tryout (PTO)

Individual game tickets, group packages, and season tickets are on sale for the 2024-25 season.  Call 812-422-BOLT or visit our all-new website (www.evansvillethunderbolts.com) for details.

About Evansville Thunderbolts: The Evansville Thunderbolts is the area’s only professional hockey team. The Thunderbolts are a proud member of the SPHL. The team is owned and operated by VW Sports, L.L.C, a subsidiary of VenuWorks, Inc. www.evansvillethunderbolts.com