Macon, Ga.: The Thunderbolts finished the weekend strong, winning their third game in a row and sweeping their two games in Macon with a 5-2 win on Saturday night. The Thunderbolts’ next home game will be on Friday, March 22nd against the Peoria Rivermen, puck drop at 7:00pm CT.
Jordan Spadafore scored the opening goal for Evansville with a long range shot from the point at 16:16 of the first period, assisted by Matt Dorsey and Dmitri Yushkevich. In a wide-open second period, the Thunderbolts scored twice to build a 3-0 lead as Vadim Vasjonkin scored on a rebound from Brendan Harrogate and Grayson Valente at 8:08, followed by Dorsey at 11:21 from Matthew Hobbs and Bronson Adams. Macon rallied late in the second period, with goals from Derek Contessa at 13:15 and Adam Eby at 17:13 to reduce the Thunderbolts lead to 3-2 going into the third period. Evansville clamped down in the final period, as Lincoln Hatten scored on a net front pass from Hobbs and Jordan Simoneau at 10:14 to re-establish the two goal lead, followed by Simoneau’s first professional goal on a power play with 1:42 remaining, assisted by Hobbs and Nick Prestia to make it a 5-2 Evansville lead.
Dorsey and Simoneau each scored one goal and assist, while Hatten, Spadafore and Vasjonkin contributed one goal each. Hobbs finished with three assists, while Ty Taylor made 28 saves on 30 shots for his 5th win of the season. The Thunderbolts and Mayhem do not meet again this season, with Evansville winning the season series 3-2. With the win and Knoxville loss, the Thunderbolts now only need 6 more points to clinch a playoff spot.
