Thunderbolts Take on Roanoke in President's Cup Semifinals
SPHL Evansville Thunderbolts

Thunderbolts Take on Roanoke in President's Cup Semifinals

Published on April 14, 2026 under SPHL (SPHL)
Evansville Thunderbolts News Release


Evansville, In.: Following a dramatic three-game series victory over the Pensacola Ice Flyers in the opening round of the President's Cup Playoffs, the Thunderbolts now prepare to face the Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs in a best-of-five game series for the right to play in the President's Cup Final, starting in Roanoke this Friday and Saturday.

Week In Review:

In game one against Pensacola on Wednesday at Ford Center, the Thunderbolts trailed 1-0 before rallying to win 4-1, as Myles Abbate scored twice while Aaron Huffnagle and Evan Miller scored one goal each. Down 1-0 in game two in Pensacola on Friday, Aiden MacIntosh scored early in the second period to tie the game 1-1, before the Ice Flyers took back the lead in the final minute of the second period and went on to win 3-1 to force a third game. In game three on Sunday at Ford Center, the Ice Flyers led 1-0 once again, this time going into the third period. Scott Kirton scored early in the third period to tie the game 1-1, before Pensacola struck twice to take a 3-1 lead. Just as things were looking bad for Evansville, the Thunderbolts rallied with two goals in 30 seconds from Caleb Huffman and Jordan Simoneau to tie the game once more. 4:24 into sudden death overtime, Isaac Chapman became a series hero by scoring the winning goal for Evansville off a net-front redirection. In goal for all three games was Kristian Stead, who registered a .930 save percentage in the series.

The Week Ahead:

Games one and two in this best-of-five game series against the Rail Yard Dawgs will be at Berglund Center in Roanoke this Friday and Saturday night, both games starting at 6:05pm CT. Fans can watch both games on FloHockey or can listen in for free on the Thunderbolts Mixlr Channel.

Coming Soon:

Games three and four (if necessary) will be at Ford Center on Wednesday, April 22nd and Thursday, April 23rd, opening face-off at 7:00pm CT. Should a fifth game be necessary, it will be at Berglund Center in Roanoke on Saturday, April 25th at 6:05pm CT. Fans can purchase tickets to next Wednesday's game (and Thursday's if necessary) by calling (812)422-BOLT (2658), going to EvansvilleThunderbolts.com, or by visiting the Ford Center Ticket Office. The winner of this series will face either the Peoria Rivermen or the Knoxville Ice Bears in the President's Cup Final.

Scouting the Opponent:

Roanoke Rail Yard Dawgs:

Record: 32-21-5, 69 Points, 3rd Place

Leading Regular Season Goal Scorer: Joe Widmar (28 Goals)

Leading Regular Season Point Scorer: Joe Widmar (77 Points)

Primary Regular Season Goaltender: Austyn Roudebush (18-10-3, .924 Save %)

Thunderbolts Regular Season Record vs RNK: Did Not Meet

The Rail Yard Dawgs took down the #6 seed Birmingham Bulls in two blowout games, 7-1 in game one in Pelham on Thursday, and 6-0 in game two in Roanoke on Saturday. On Thursday, Birmingham scored first, before the Rail Yard Dawgs began their barrage, with one goal each from Joe Widmar and Ryan Reifler in the first period, Travis Broughman, Alex Wilkins and Bryce Martin in the second period, along with Tim Manning and Gustav Muller in the third period. Muller added two goals in game two on Saturday, with Dominiks Marcinkevics, Noah Finstrom, David Novotny and Sebastian Smith adding one goal apiece. In goal, Austyn Roudebush had a light workload, stopping all but one of the 35 combined shots faced in the two games.

Call-up Report

- Jaden Shields (Rapid City - ECHL)

- 39 GP, 5 G, 16 A, 21 P, 14 PIM

- Connor Federkow (Worcester - ECHL)

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

- Keanan Stewart (Tahoe - ECHL)

- 10 GP, 1 G, 1 A, 2 P, 2 PIM

Transactions:

- No Transactions to Report

Season tickets for the 2026-27 season and single-game tickets for the 2026 playoffs 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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