Evansville, In.: Deadlocked at 2-2 in the third period’s final stretch, Vadim Vasjonkin scored with only 16.6 seconds remaining to break the tie and win the game for Evansville, 3-2 over Pensacola at Ford Center on Sunday afternoon. The Thunderbolts’ next home game will be on Friday, March 22nd against the Peoria Rivermen, puck drop at 7:00pm CT.
Matthew Hobbs opened the scoring with a breakaway goal at 13:36 of the first period, assisted by Brendan Harrogate and Jordan Spadafore to give the Thunderbolts a 1-0 lead. 2:55 into the second period, another breakaway resulted in Evansville taking a 2-0 lead as Harrogate scored unassisted. Pensacola bounced back as Lucas Herrmann scored on a power play at 5:08 to trim Evansville’s lead to 2-1, followed by Malik Johnson at 14:19 to tie the game. Despite getting into penalty trouble again in the third period, Evansville’s penalty kill units managed to get the job done, and along with a couple more brilliant saves from Ty Taylor, kept the game tied at 2-2 until Vadim Vasjonkin’s turnaround shot with 16.6 seconds remaining snuck its’ way into the Pensacola net for the game-winning goal from Harrogate and Nick Prestia.
Harrogate led the way with a goal and two assists, while Hobbs and Vasjonkin each scored one goal. In goal, Ty Taylor made 31 saves on 33 shots for his 3rd win of the season. The Thunderbolts and Ice Flyers meet again on March 29th at Pensacola Bay Center.
