Thunderbolts celebrate back to back President’s Cups with fans

EVANSVILLE, Ind. (WEHT) — The Evansville Thunderbolts hosted over a hundred fans in the Ford Center Tuesday night to celebrate their latest President’s Cup win.

It’s the second straight Southern Professional Hockey League championship for the Bolts and a second championship celebration in a row. Players say this year’s turnout was bigger than last year. The fans were treated to some discounted team gear and merchandise while also getting a autograph or even a picture with your favorite player and the trophy.

The team was greeted on stage by Evansville mayor, Stephanie Terry then got to address the crowd on their own. Players talked about the journey and how special this season’s team was on the ice.

“Having help build a program here that it didn’t have any championships before, now we have two,” said forward Scott Kirton. “It feels really good. It still hasn’t sunk in what we did this last series, it was a war you know. But it’s pretty special, there’s so many involved that over the five years that I can thank for all their help and stuff. It’s a team effort and yea, it’s been really cool.”

The event overall showed the Thunderbolts feel the support from the community and show that it’s mutual. The Evansville across their chest on game night means much more to them than just a fan base.

President’s Cup MVP, Matthew Hobbs said, “Unbelievably proud to wear this logo and play in Evansville it’s an awesome city and I’m just very fortunate to be here and I can’t thank Jeff Bes enough for picking me up off of waivers a few years ago. And it’s turned out really great, I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.”

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