Peoria, Ill.: Following two scoreless periods of hockey, the Thunderbolts scored twice in the third period to defeat the Peoria Rivermen 2-0 in Peoria on Wednesday night, bringing a hard-fought 1-0 series lead back to Evansville for a chance to advance to the President’s Cup Final. Game Two at Ford Center will be this Friday, April 18th, face-off at 7:00pm CT.
Defense and discipline were the two biggest aspects of Evansville’s game, only allowing the league’s top scoring team 15 total shots on goal and only giving up a single power play opportunity to the Rivermen in the entire game. In the third period, Logan vande Meerakker opened the scoring as Peoria turned over the puck in the Evansville zone, allowing Vande Meerakker to score on a breakaway at 9:08 of the third period. The score stayed the same until the final two minutes, when Aidan Litke scored from the red line into the empty Peoria net with 1:20 remaining to make it a 2-0 Thunderbolts lead, cinching Evansville’s first-ever victory in the President’s Cup Semifinals.
Vande Meerakker and Litke scored Evansville’s goals, while Ceci stopped all 15 Rivermen shots for the win and his 2nd shutout of the playoffs. Game Two against the Rivermen at Ford Center will be this Friday, April 18th with opening face-off at 7:00pm CT. Game Three, if necessary, will be back at the Peoria Civic Center on Saturday, April 19th at 7:15pm CT.
