THUNDERBOLTS RETURN HOME TO FACE STORM THIS FRIDAY, SATURDAY

 Evansville, In.: Riding a three-game road winning streak back home to Evansville , the 1^stPlace-Thunderbolts return to Ford Center ice with a double-header against the Quad City Storm on Friday and Saturday before hitting the road again back to Vermilion County on Sunday and Huntsville on Tuesday.

Week In Review: 

                The Thunderbolts defeated the Peoria Rivermen 4-3 in overtime on Wednesday night in Peoria, behind regulation goals from Andrew Shewfelt, Brendan Harrogate, and Hayden Hulton, before Mike Ferraro scored the winning goal in overtime.  On Friday night, the Thunderbolts picked up another win with a 3-1 win in Huntsville, with Ferraro scoring the opening goal, Matthew Barron scoring the game-winning goal, and Scott Kirton adding an empty-net goal.  On Sunday in Danville, the Thunderbolts again got the job done with a 4-2 victory over the Vermilion County Bobcats, as Mathieu Cloutier scored to counter an early 1-0 Bobcats lead, followed up by second period goals from Kirton, Shewfelt, and Brendan Harrogate.  In goal, Chase Perry picked up the wins on Wednesday and Sunday, stopping 34 of 37 and 34 of 36 shots, respectively, while Zane Steeves earned the win in Huntsville on Friday, stopping 34 of 35 shots.

The Week Ahead: 

The Thunderbolts host the Quad City Storm this Friday, December 2^nd and Saturday, December 3^rd at Ford Center, both games starting at 7:00pm CT.  Friday’s game will be Hoosier Lottery/Food Drive Night, and fans can bring non-perishable canned foods to donate and receive a dollar off admission per can (up to $7 off).  Free Draw game tickets, courtesy of the Hoosier Lottery, will be given out to fans, 18 years of age or older.  Saturday’s game will be Gamer’s Night, featuring specialty jerseys that will be auctioned off after the game, a special video game competition on the Jumbotron during the first intermission, as well as displays from robotics teams of several Tri-State schools.  For tickets, call (812) 422-BOLT (2658), buy online at EvansvilleThunderbolts.com, or buy tickets in-person at the Ford Center Ticket Office.  Following the pair of home games, the Thunderbolts hit the road once again, starting at Vermilion County on Sunday, December 4^th at 4:00pm CT, before traveling back South to Huntsville to take on the Havoc on Tuesday, December 6^th at 7:00pm CT.  Both road games can be viewed on SPHL TV with a subscription through HockeyTV.  Fans can also listen in for free on the Thunderbolts Radio Network, through the Thunderbolts Mixlr Channel or at EvansvilleThunderbolts.com/fan-center/live .

Scouting the Opponent: 

• Quad City Storm: 
  • Record: 8-5-0, 16 Points, T-4^th Place
  • Leading Goal Scorer: Michael Moran (7 Goals)
  • Leading Point Scorer: Michael Moran, Filip Virgili, Cole Golka, Leif Mattson (10 points each)
  • Primary Goaltender: Kevin Resop (4-2-0, .952 Save %)
  • Thunderbolts 22-23 Record vs QCS: 1-1-0The Storm won 3-1 in Danville over the Vermilion County Bobcats this past Wednesday after falling behind 1-0 in the third period, with goals from Brendan Soucie, Curtis Hansen and Cole Golka to complete the comeback.  On Friday, the Storm were shut out 3-0 in Peoria by the Rivermen, followed up with a close 3-2 defeat on home ice against the same Rivermen in Quad City on Saturday with goals from Soucie and Connor Fries.  In net, Kevin Resop picked up the win on Wednesday with 43 saves on 44 shots before stopping 35 of 38 shots in Saturday’s 3-2 loss, while Bailey Brkin stopped 34 of 37 in the 3-0 loss on Friday.
• Vermilion County Bobcats: 
  • Record: 2-10-1, 5 Points, 11^th Place
  • Leading Goal Scorer: Sullivan Shortreed, Vadim Vasjonkin (4 Goals each)
  • Leading Point Scorer: Davis Kirkendall (10 Points)
  • Primary Goaltender: Sean Kuhn (1-4-1, .911 Save %)
  • Thunderbolts 22-23 Record vs VCB: 2-0-0Egor Borshchev scored Vermilion County’s lone goal in their 3-1 loss to Quad City on Wednesday.  The Bobcats then lost a pair of home games against the Birmingham Bulls, 3-2 on Friday and 7-2 on Saturday, with goals from Gianni Vitali and Vadim Vasjonkin on Friday and from Charlie Bedard and Vasjonkin on Saturday.  Vasjonkin scored the early goal against Evansville on Sunday, with Adam Eby scoring the Bobcats’ second goal in their 4-2 loss to the Thunderbolts. In goal, Sean Kuhn stopped 26 of 29 shots against the Storm on Wednesday and 14 of 18 shots on Sunday against Evansville, while Brett Epp saved 28 of 31 shots on Friday and 15 of 21 shots on Saturday against the Bulls.  The Bobcats play in Peoria this Friday night and host the Rivermen on Saturday before hosting the Thunderbolts on Sunday afternoon.
• Huntsville Havoc: 
  • Record: 7-5-0, 14 Points, T-6^th Place
  • Leading Goal Scorer: Kyle Clarke (6 Goals)
  • Leading Point Scorer: Tyler Piacentini (11 Points)
  • Primary Goaltender: Nick Latinovich (5-3-0, .937 Save %)
  • Thunderbolts 22-23 Record vs HSV: 2-0-0

On Wednesday night in Pensacola, the Havoc opened up a 3-0 lead off a goal from Cole Reginato and a pair of goals from Kyle Clarke, before the Ice Flyers rallied back to tie the game 3-3.  In the final minute of regulation, Austin Martinsen put Huntsville back in front in what became a 4-3 Huntsville victory.  On Thursday, the Havoc defeated the Birmingham Bulls 2-1 with goals from Rob Darrar and Sam Hunter.  In Friday’s 3-1 loss to Evansville, Nate Hudgin scored the lone goal.  In goal, Nick Latinovich stopped 37 of 40 shots in Wednesday’s win and 25 of 27 shots in Friday’s loss, while Cody Karpinski earned the win on Thursday with 36 saves on 37 shots. The Havoc play in Pensacola again this Friday before hosting the Thunderbolts on Tuesday night.

Call-up Report 

– Chase Perry (Greenville Swamp Rabbits – ECHL)

                                – 0 GP, 0-0-0, 0.00 GAA, .000 Save %

Transactions:     

Wed. 11/30: G Chase Perry called up to Greenville (ECHL)

Wed. 11/30: D Chris Jones signed to contract
Wed. 11/30: C Matt Ustaski placed on 21-Day Injured Reserve
Wed. 11/23: D Tanner Butler placed on 30-Day Injured Reserve
Wed. 11/23: LW Derek Sutliffe released from professional tryout
Sat. 11/19: C Hayden Hulton activated from Injured Reserve
Sat. 11/19: RW Fredrik Wink placed on 21-Day Injured Reserve
Fri. 11/18: LW Cameron Cook activated from Injured Reserve

Individual game tickets, season tickets, and group packages are on sale for this 2022-23 season.  Call 812-422-BOLT or visit our all-new website (www.evansvillethunderbolts.com) for details.