Thunderbolts Advance Back to the President's Cup Final
SPHL Evansville Thunderbolts

Thunderbolts Advance Back to the President's Cup Final

Published on April 24, 2026 under SPHL (SPHL)
Evansville Thunderbolts News Release


Evansville, In.: In another nailbiter of a game on Thursday night at Ford Center, the Evansville Thunderbolts persevered to win 4-1 and defeat the Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs in the semifinals three games to one, becoming the first defending President's Cup champion to advance back to the Final since 2019. Details on the next Thunderbolts' home game at Ford Center will be announced at the conclusion of the Peoria and Knoxville series.

The first period went scoreless, although Roanoke nearly took the opening lead as Tim Manning was awarded a penalty shot at 14:53, with Kristian Stead making the save to keep the game scoreless. The Thunderbolts' power play once again came through to open the scoring at 13:07 of the second period, as Scott Kirton scored from Aiden MacIntosh and Evan Miller to give Evansville a 1-0 lead. 10:49 into the third period, Evansville gained insurance as Myles Abbate scored on a two-on-one rush to make it 2-0, assisted by Jordan Simoneau and Matthew Hobbs. Roanoke's last gasp came on a power play chance that saw them pull to within a 2-1 deficit as Gustav Muller scored at 11:56. Weathering the ensuing storm, Evansville counterattacked and again made it a two-goal game as Miller scored on an odd-man rush into the Roanoke end, assisted by Will van der Veen with 3:25 remaining. Simoneau added an unassisted empty net goal 15 seconds later at 16:50 to put the game away at 4-1, sending Evansville back to the President's Cup Final for the second season in a row, where they will face either the Peoria Rivermen or the Knoxville Ice Bears.

Miller and Simoneau scored one goal and one assist each, Abbate scored the game-winning goal, and Kirton scored one goal. In goal, Kristian Stead finished with 32 saves on 33 shots on goal for his 5th win of the playoffs.

Season tickets for the 2026-27 season are on sale now. Individual game tickets and group packages are on sale for the remainder of this 2025-26 season. Call 812-422-BOLT(2658) or visit our website (www.evansvillethunderbolts.com) for details.

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