Evansville, In.: With the regular season complete, the Thunderbolts prepare for their third consecutive trip to the President’s Cup Playoffs, taking on the top-seeded Birmingham Bulls in the first round.
Week In Review:
The Thunderbolts fell short in two close games to the Bulls on Ford Center ice this past Friday and Saturday, 5-3 on Friday and 3-2 in a shootout on Saturday. Grant Spence, Matthew Hobbs, and Myles Abbate each scored on Friday, while Adam Pilotte and Abbate provided goals on Saturday. In goal, Cole Ceci finished with 26 saves on 31 shots on Friday, with Ty Taylor stopping 26 of 28 shots along with 4 of 6 shootout attempts on Saturday.
The Week Ahead:
Game 1 between the Thunderbolts and Bulls will be at Birmingham this Wednesday, April 10th. Game 2 will be at Ford Center on Thursday, April 11th. If necessary, Game 3 will be back at Birmingham on Saturday, April 13th, all three games beginning at 7:00pm CT. Fans can watch both Games 1 and 3 (if necessary) on FloHockey with a paid subscription or can listen in for free on the Thunderbolts Mixlr Channel. Fans can also watch both games at the Official Thunderbolts away game watch party at Parkway Pizza on 3911 Broadway Avenue on Evansville’s West Side. All tickets for Thursday’s game at Ford Center will be $25 dollars each. For tickets, call (812)422-BOLT (2548), go to EvansvilleThunderbolts.com, or visit the Ford Center Ticket Office.
- Thunderbolts Playoff Roster:
- Forwards: Lincoln Hatten, Mark Zhukov, Matthew Hobbs, Matt Dorsey, Myles Abbate, Jacob Kamps, Logan vande Meerakker, Brendan Harrogate, Grant Spence, Vadim Vasjonkin, Scott Kirton
- Defense: Chays Ruddy, Benjamin Lindberg, Adam Pilotte, Bronson Adams, Grayson Valente, Nick Prestia, Dmitri Yushkevich
- Goaltenders: Ty Taylor, Cole Ceci
Scouting the Opponent:
- Birmingham Bulls:
- Record: 38-9-9, 85 Points, 1st Place
- Leading Goal Scorer: Drake Glover (33 Goals)
- Leading Point Scorer: Carson Rose (65 Points)
- Primary Goaltender: Hayden Stewart (26-7-6, .925 Save %)
- Thunderbolts 23-24 Record vs BHM: 3-3-1
Birmingham picked up goals from Matt Wiesner, Scott Donahue, CJ Walker, MacGregor Sinclair, and Troy MacTavish on Friday, with Saturday’s goals coming from Donahue, Drake Glover, and Sinclair with the shootout-winning goal. Hayden Stewart stopped 16 of 19 shots on Friday, with Drennen Atherton stopping 27 of 29 shots, along with 5 of 6 shootout attempts, on Saturday.
