Thunderbolts Rally in Third Period to Win Series Opener in Roanoke
SPHL Evansville Thunderbolts

Thunderbolts Rally in Third Period to Win Series Opener in Roanoke

Published on April 17, 2026 under SPHL (SPHL)
Evansville Thunderbolts News Release


Roanoke, Va.: For the second consecutive game, the Thunderbolts rallied when trailing after two periods, scoring three power play goals in the third period to take game one of the President's Cup Semifinals by a 3-1 score in Roanoke on Friday night. Game three in the best-of-five semifinal series against the Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs at Ford Center will be on Wednesday, April 22nd, face-off at 7:00pm CT.

The Thunderbolts were dominant in the first period, outshooting Roanoke 16-9 in what quickly became a very nasty and physical game, but Evansville was unable to beat Roanoke goaltender Austyn Roudebush early on. In the second period, as the power plays piled up for both sides, and as the Thunderbolts were unable to convert on an extended 5-on-3 power play, Matt O'Dea got out of the penalty box and scored a shorthanded goal on a breakaway to give Roanoke the first lead of the game with only 6 seconds remaining in the second period. That lead for Roanoke lasted only 39 seconds, as the Thunderbolts hit the reset button in the intermission and scored on the same power play to tie the game 1-1 only 33 seconds into the third period, with Myles Abbate scoring the goal, assisted by Anthony Mollica and Tyson Gilmour. On their very next power play, Evansville took their first lead at 9:42 as Gilmour scored from Aaron Huffnagle and Mollica. With one more power play in the final minutes of regulation, Evansville scored once again on the man advantage with 1:31 remaining to make it a 3-1 game, as Huffnagle scored from Cameron MacPhee and Matthew Hobbs. With a power play in the final minute, Roanoke pulled Roudebush, and Evansville goaltender Kristian Stead made his play for the rare goalie goal from his own crease towards the empty Roanoke net, just missing by a couple of inches from 200 feet down the ice. The two teams combined for 18 power play chances, with Evansville scoring on each of their final 3 of 8 chances, and Roanoke denied on their 10 power plays. Unsurprisingly, these two teams, being the two most physical teams in the SPHL, have very quickly decided not to like one another. With the 3-1 win, Evansville steals home ice advantage from Roanoke and have guaranteed at least two more games at Ford Center in these playoffs.

Huffnagle and Gilmour each scored one goal and one assist, Abbate scored one goal, and Mollica tallied a pair of assists. In goal, Kristian Stead finished with 27 saves on 28 shots on goal for his 3rd win of the playoffs. Game two against the Rail Yard Dawgs will be played at Berglund Center in Roanoke this Saturday, April 18th, face-off set for at 6:05pm CT. Games three and four (if necessary) will be played at Ford Center on Wednesday, April 22nd and Thursday, April 23rd at 7:00pm CT, and if necessary, game five would be at Berglund Center on Saturday, April 25th at 6:05pm CT.

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.

About Evansville Thunderbolts: The Evansville Thunderbolts is the area's only professional hockey team. The Thunderbolts are a proud member of the SPHL. The team is owned and operated by VW Sports, L.L.C, a subsidiary of VenuWorks, Inc. www.evansvillethunderbolts.com.

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SPHL Stories from April 17, 2026


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