For the first time in its eight-season history, the Evansville Thunderbolts are headed to the Southern Professional Hockey League’s President’s Cup championship series. And after fighting hard to earn a 4-3 double overtime victory in the finals’ first game April 23, the Bolts are just one win away from clinching their first cup.
After the Thunderbolts’ inaugural semifinals appearance last season, the minor league hockey team — which debuted in Evansville in the 2016-27 season, sat out the 2020-21 season, and is owned by arena management company VenuWorks, Inc. — made a comeback during the 2024-25 regular season that steered it to its fifth playoffs appearance. That didn’t happen by chance.
“We had a meeting, I think it was a little bit after Christmas,” says goalie Cole Ceci, an Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, native and two-year Thunderbolt whose elder brother, Cody, is a defenseman with the NHL’s Dallas Stars. “We were in ninth place … like, maybe a point off the playoffs. We were saying how we kind of got away from what our goals were at the beginning of the year. We were … more focused on just making the playoffs. We asked, ‘Well, what happened? What changed? We wanted to be a championship team at the beginning of the year, so why are we now just settling for trying to only make it to the playoffs?’ So, we really kind of flipped the switch.”
Under the leadership of head coach Jeff Bes, the Thunderbolts finished the 2024-25 regular season with 56 points, good enough to earn the seventh seed in the eight-team playoffs series. The Bolts split two Round 1 games with the second-seed Havoc of Huntsville, Alabama, before securing a semifinals berth April 12 with a 4-3 victory in Huntsville.
The Bolts skated with that momentum, dominating their two Round 2 games against the league-leading Peoria (Illinois) Rivermen. After a 2-0 win in Peoria on April 16, nearly 3,300 hockey fans filled Evansville’s Ford Center on April 18 as the Thunderbolts dispatched the President’s Cup defending champions 3-1 at home. Earning their first trip to the title series is even sweeter since the semifinals victory came over the team that had bounced the Bolts from the playoffs in 2024.
“We’ve been an underdog every round,” says captain Matt Hobbs, another Ontario native who has played center for the Bolts for three full seasons. “Just embracing the pressure, enjoying the moment, and being able to play … for a trophy is the most exciting part.”
“It’s always nice when you’re the underdog,” says Ceci. “People aren’t expecting us to win, and we love proving people wrong.”
The Bolts’ hunger for the cup was evident April 23 in Game 1 of the finals, which saw Evansville and the Knoxville (Tennessee) Ice Bears exchange the lead several times and force double overtime at the latter’s home rink. A goal by center and first-year Thunderbolt Derek Contessa tipped the team to a Game 1 victory.
The best-of-three series returns to Evansville on April 24, when the puck drops on Game 2 at 7 p.m. at the Ford Center. If a decisive Game 3 is necessary, it will be at 2 p.m. Central Time April 27 in Knoxville.
