SPHL Evansville Thunderbolts

ThunderBolts Win Wild Back-And-Forth Game Over Macon, 6-5

Published on November 3, 2023 under SPHL (SPHL)
Evansville Thunderbolts News Release


Evansville, In.: The Thunderbolts showed tremendous resilience in front of the home crowd at Ford Center on Friday night, bouncing back from 3-0 and 5-3 deficits to force overtime and a shootout, where the Thunderbolts came out on top 6-5. The Thunderbolts next home game will be on Saturday, November 4th against the Macon Mayhem, puck drop at 7:00pm CT.

The Mayhem jumped out well ahead in the game's opening minutes, as Alex Laplante, Justin Cmunt, and Jake Goldowski scored to give the Mayhem a 3-0 lead, and end Hayden Lavigne's evening after only 6:13 and 8 shots. Sean Kuhn entered the Evansville net in Lavigne's place, and the change proved to be the wake-up call the Thunderbolts needed. At 9:33, Scott Kirton scored a power play goal from Matt Dorsey and Bair Gendunov to make it a 3-1 game, followed by Gendunov scoring at 16:59 from Kirton and Chays Ruddy to further bridge the gap to 3-2. With 21 seconds left in the first period, Mike Ferraro completed the first comeback, assisted by Gendunov and Dorsey to tie the game at 3-3.

Despite outshooting Macon 11-9 in the second period, the Mayhem scored both goals in the middle frame, as Laplante scored 1:37 in, and Brad Jenion scored with 49 seconds remaining, to put Macon back in front 5-3 after two periods. The Thunderbolts responded in kind in the third period, with Gendunov scoring at 3:09 from Tommy Stang and Mark Zhukov to make it 5-4, and Chays Ruddy scoring with 4:51 remaining from Gendunov and Zhukov to tie the game at 5-0. The game was nearly won at both ends in overtime, but the game ended up requiring a shootout to decide the winner. Gendunov and Kirton provided goals in the first two rounds, Goldowski scored for Macon in round three to nearly lead a Macon comeback, but Sean Kuhn held down the fort as Evansville won the shootout 2-1, and the game 6-5.

Gendunov led the way offensively with two goals, a shootout goal, and three assists for five points, tying a franchise single-game record for points by an individual player. Ruddy and Kirton finished with a goal and assist each, with Kirton adding the shootout-winning goal as well. Ferraro finished with one goal, while Zhukov and Dorsey added two assists each. In goal, Kuhn picked up his first win of the season and first win as a Thunderbolt with 20 saves on 22 shots, along with 4 saves on 5 shootout shots, in relief of Hayden Lavigne, who stopped 5 of 8 shots. The Thunderbolts and Mayhem meet once again on Saturday, November 4th, once again at Peoria Civic Center.

Individual game tickets and group packages are on sale for this 2023-24 season. Season tickets for the 2023-24 season are also on sale. Call 812-422-BOLT or visit our all-new website (www.evansvillethunderbolts.com) for details.

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