Evansville, In.: The Thunderbolts once again battled late in regulation by breaking a late 1-1 tie with three goals in the final 3 minutes, defeating the Knoxville Ice Bears 4-1 on Saturday at Ford Center, and tying a franchise record with seven consecutive wins. The Thunderbolts’ next home game at Ford Center will be on Friday, December 5th against the Macon Mayhem at 7:00pm CT.
After a scoreless first period, Evansville broke the deadlock late in the second period as Myles Abbate found Will van der Veen moving up from the blue line amidst a mad scramble in the Knoxville crease, with Van der Veen scoring at 17:50 to give Evansville the opening lead, also assisted by Matt Hobbs. Knoxville broke the shutout bid for Evansville 11:43 into the third period as Davide Gaeta finished off a similar scramble in the Evansville zone. Tied 1-1 down the stretch, Evansville stole the puck deep in Knoxville territory, Jordan Simoneau found Abbate, and Abbate scored with 2:20 remaining to put Evansville back ahead 2-1. The Thunderbolts added two unassisted empty net goals, Eelis Laaksonen at 18:43 and Derek Contessa at 19:43, to seal the victory for Evansville at 4-1. Laaksonen’s goal was also his first in professional hockey. The win ties the Thunderbolts franchise record win streak at 7 games, previously accomplished in the 2019-20 season between November 29th and December 20th. The Thunderbolts will have the opportunity to break the record this Wednesday, November 26th on the road at Macon.
Abbate scored the game-winning goal and added an assist, while Van der Veen, Laaksonen and Contessa scored one goal each. In goal, Kristian Stead finished with 35 saves on 36 shots on goal for his 9th win of the season. The Thunderbolts and Ice Bears meet again on Friday, March 6th at Knoxville Civic Coliseum, with Evansville leading the season series 2-0.
