Thunderbolts Move into Second Place with Sweep of Rivermen
SPHL Evansville Thunderbolts

Thunderbolts Move into Second Place with Sweep of Rivermen

Published on February 22, 2026 under SPHL (SPHL)
Evansville Thunderbolts News Release


Evansville, In.: It was a great weekend to be a hockey team wearing red, white, and blue, as the Thunderbolts completed a three-game sweep of the Peoria Rivermen to move into second place in the SPHL standings, 2-1 Evansville the final score on Sunday afternoon at Ford Center. The Thunderbolts' next home game at Ford Center will be on Saturday, February 27th against the Quad City Storm at 7:00pm CT.

The first period was scoreless but sound for Evansville, who outshot Peoria 11-6 in the opening frame. In the second period, Evansville struck first at 1:12 as Evan Miller was set up at the net front by Keanan Stewart's pass out of the corner on the rush, also assisted by Will van der Veen to give Evansville a 1-0 lead. Penalty killing was paramount for Evansville in the second period, as the Thunderbolts denied the Rivermen on a pair of second period opportunities. In the third period, Miller found the back of the net for his second goal of the game off a forced Rivermen turnover in the Peoria zone, again assisted by Van der Veen and Stewart at 3:06 to make it 2-0 Evansville. However, the Rivermen struck only 15 seconds later at 3:21, as Jack Suchy scored on a screened shot to make it a 2-1 game, ending Evansville's home-ice shutout streak just short of four full games. The action was tense throughout the final 16 minutes of regulation, but the 2-1 lead stuck for the Thunderbolts as they took all six possible points against the top-seeded Peoria Rivermen this weekend, moving Evansville all alone into 2nd place in the SPHL standings with games at hand against all other Top-6 teams.

Miller scored both goals, with Van der Veen and Stewart tallying two assists each. In goal, Cody Karpinski made 23 saves on 24 shots for his 3rd win of the season. The Thunderbolts and Rivermen meet once again on Friday, March 27th at Ford Center, with Evansville leading the regular season series 7-4.

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

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