Thunderbolts Finish Regular Season with Sweep of Ice Flyers
SPHL Evansville Thunderbolts

Thunderbolts Finish Regular Season with Sweep of Ice Flyers

Published on April 4, 2026 under SPHL (SPHL)
Evansville Thunderbolts News Release


Evansville, In.: In what turned out to be a first round playoff preview, the Thunderbolts ended the regular season schedule with a weekend and regular season series sweep over the Ice Flyers, 4-1 the final score on Saturday night at Ford Center. The Thunderbolts' first playoff home game at Ford Center will be on Wednesday, April 8th against the Pensacola Ice Flyers at 7:00pm CT.

The Thunderbolts got off to a bit of a slower start compared to Friday, with the Ice Flyers taking the opening lead as Zach Bross scored quickly off a takeaway from Will van der Veen in the Evansville zone at the 8:44 mark. Undaunted, Evansville bounced back to tie at 14:11 as Jordan Simoneau moved in from the left circle off a feed from Aaron Huffnagle, dangling the puck past Troy Kobryn and into the net, with a secondary assist going to Anthony Mollica. Only 3:08 into the second period, Evansville took the lead as Mollica's shot through traffic found the back of the net, assisted by Isaac Chapman and Myles Abbate. Shortly afterward at 6:16, Abbate scored off a turnaround shot that bounced off Andrew Poulias and into the net to make it a 3-1 game, assisted by Mollica and Chapman. Early in the third period, Evansville put the game out of reach at 4-1 as Simoneau scored off an end-board dump-in from Ethan Lund and Joey Berkopec at 1:13, the assist being Lund's first professional point. Evansville held firm the rest of the way and the Thunderbolts' penalty kill went 4-for-4 as the Thunderbolts secured their 31st win of the regular season. With Huntsville and Roanoke victorious tonight, the Thunderbolts will again face the Ice Flyers in the best-of-three first round of the President's Cup Playoffs, Evansville with home ice advantage as the 4th seed and Pensacola the 5th seed. Game one will be at Ford Center on Wednesday, April 8th at 7:00pm CT, game two in Pensacola will be on Friday, April 10th at 7:05pm CT, and game three (if necessary) will be at Ford Center on Sunday, April 12th at 3:00pm CT.

Simoneau scored two goals, Mollica finished with a goal and two assists, and Abbate picked up a goal and one assist. Chapman tallied a pair of assists, while Kristian Stead finished with 19 saves on 20 shots on goal for his 23rd win of the season, setting a new Thunderbolts' single season franchise record by one goaltender. The Thunderbolts and Ice Flyers conclude the regular season series with Evansville winning 4-0.

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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