Thunderbolts Host Bulls for Faith Night, Storm for Star Wars Night this Weekend
SPHL Evansville Thunderbolts

Thunderbolts Host Bulls for Faith Night, Storm for Star Wars Night this Weekend

Published on January 20, 2026 under SPHL (SPHL)
Evansville Thunderbolts News Release


Evansville, In.: Returning home from a very successful road trip to Pensacola, the Thunderbolts are back on Ford Center ice this weekend, looking to extend their five-game point streak against the Birmingham Bulls on Faith Night this Friday and the Quad City Storm on Star Wars Night this Saturday, before concluding the weekend with a Sunday afternoon matchup in Peoria against the Rivermen.

Week In Review:

The Thunderbolts roared back from a 2-0 deficit on Friday in Pensacola to defeat the Ice Flyers 3-2 in a shootout, with Connor Tait and Joey Berkopec scoring in regulation along with shootout goals from Scott Kirton and Myles Abbate. On Saturday, the Thunderbolts shut down the Ice Flyers with a 2-1 victory to complete the weekend sweep, with goals scored by Derek Contessa and Eelis Laaksonen. Cody Karpinski got the win in goal on Friday with 30 saves on 32 shots along with 4 saves on 5 shootout attempts, while Kristian Stead picked up Saturday's win, stopping 20 of 21 shots.

The Week Ahead:

Our annual Faith Night presented by Oakland City University is back at the Ford Center this Friday, January 23rd! Throughout the game, Oakland City will be giving away 3 $48,000 scholarships to those who register here: apply.oak.edu/register/2026_faithnight! Austin Turner is set to perform once again after the game! Bring your groups of 10 or more and receive a discounted rate! Oakland City University will be handing out 500 puck coupons upon entry. Fans can redeem this coupon after Chuck A Puck concludes at the Oakland City table on the concourse to receive their puck. A night from a galaxy far, far away - Stormtroopers are taking over the Ford Center this Saturday, January 24th! Catch the Thunderbolts in specialty Star Wars-themed Stormtrooper jerseys and stick around after the final buzzer for our post-game jersey auction. Star Wars characters will be in the lobby when doors open at 6:15 to take pictures! The Force will be strong in Evansville, so purchase your tickets now! The Thunderbolts will conclude the weekend with a Sunday afternoon matinee at Peoria against the Rivermen, face-off set for 3:15pm CT. Fans can watch the action on FloHockey or listen in for free on the Thunderbolts Mixlr Channel.

Coming Soon:

We're having a WHITE OUT at the Ford Center on Wednesday, February 4th against the Peoria Rivermen at 7:00 pm! Wear white to the game and cheer on your Evansville Thunderbolts while they're in their full white uniforms!

Scouting the Opponent:

Birmingham Bulls:

Record: 13-16-5, 31 Points, T-7th Place

Leading Goal Scorer: Drake Glover (14 Goals)

Leading Point Scorer: Arkhip Ledziankou (33 Points)

Primary Goaltender: Hayden Stewart (3-11-3, .905 Save %)

Thunderbolts Season Record vs BHM: 2-1-1

The Bulls began their past weekend with a 4-1 loss at Macon on Friday night, with Drake Glover opening the scoring before the Mayhem scored four unanswered goals. The Bulls led 2-0 on Saturday in Macon behind goals from Glover and Kyren Gronick before the Mayhem rallied to force overtime, where CJ Walker saved the day with the overtime goal for Birmingham, 3-2 Bulls the final score. The Bulls blasted Huntsville 6-3 in Pelham on Monday afternoon with Glover and Danny Weight each scoring twice, supplemented with goals from Jordan Gagnon and Matt Wood.

Quad City Storm:

Record: 15-14-5, 35 Points, 6th Place

Leading Goal Scorer: Devin Sanders (16 Goals)

Leading Point Scorer: Leif Mattson (37 Points)

Primary Goaltender: Zane Steeves (9-7-3, .927 Save %)

Thunderbolts Season Record vs QCS: 5-4-1

The Storm suffered three consecutive post-regulation losses at the hands of the Rivermen this past weekend, beginning with a 3-2 overtime loss at home on Friday with goals from Savva Smirnov and Leif Mattson that nullified two separate Peoria leads in regulation to earn a standings point. Saturday's loss at Peoria was 4-3 in a shootout in which the Storm briefly led 2-1 in the first period on goals from Brodie Girod and Nathan Berke before the Rivermen came back to take the lead, with a third period goal from Donte DiPonio earning a point for the Storm by again forcing overtime. Down 1-0 on Sunday, Dmitri Toporowski scored for the Storm to yet again force overtime, where once more the Rivermen came up victorious by a 2-1 final score. The Storm will have one more rematch with the Rivermen this Friday in Peoria before traveling to Evansville for Saturday night's game.

Peoria Rivermen:

Record: 24-8-1, 49 Points, 1st Place

Leading Goal Scorer: Michael McChesney (19 Goals)

Leading Point Scorer: Alec Baer (39 Points)

Primary Goaltender: Nick Latinovich (13-4-0, .924 Save %)

Thunderbolts Season Record vs PEO: 3-3

Alec Baer and Brandon Stojcevski scored Peoria's regulation goals in Friday's 3-2 victory, with Michael McChesney scoring the winning goal in overtime. Eimantas Noreika and McChesney provided 1st period goals on Saturday with Cory Dennis scoring in the 2nd period, and the Rivermen scored on 3 of their 4 shootout attempts to win 4-3, Connor Szmul, Alec Baer and Dennis the shootout goal scorers. Dennis scored Peoria's opening goal on Sunday afternoon as well as the winning goal in overtime. The Rivermen will host the Storm this Friday night but will be idle on Saturday night as they await the Thunderbolts for Sunday afternoon's matchup.

Call-up Report

- Jaden Shields (Idaho - ECHL)

- 25 GP, 3 G, 9 A, 12 P, 10 PIM

- Connor Federkow (Worcester - ECHL)

- 8 GP, 0 G, 0 A, 0 P, 4 PIM

- Max Thiessen (Idaho - ECHL)

- 1 GP, 0 G, 0 A, 0 P, 0 PIM

Transactions:

-Fri. 1/16: F Keanan Stewart returned from call-up to Iowa (ECHL)

-Fri. 1/16: D Max Thiessen called up to Idaho (ECHL)

Season tickets and single-game tickets for the 2025-26 season are on sale now. Call 812-422-BOLT(2658) or visit our website (www.evansvillethunderbolts.com) for details.

Check out the Evansville Thunderbolts Statistics

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SPHL Stories from January 20, 2026


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