19-04-2025
Rivermen's president cup dreams end; Thunderbolts to finals
PEORIA, Ill. (WMBD) — The Peoria Rivermen's hope for back-to-back President Cups ended after losing in the semi-finals to the Evansville Thunderbolts by a score of 3-1.
The Thunderbolts led the Rivermen 2-1 as time ran down in the third period before scoring an empty net goal to seal the game at 3-1 and take the best-of-three series with a 2-0 sweep.
The Rivermen got off to an early 1-0 lead in Evansville with their lone goal from Josh Martin with assists from Carson Baptiste and Jordan Ernst.
The Thunderbolts remained scoreless in the first period but would tie the game up 8:58 into the second period with a power play goal from Tyson Gilmour.
They would then score their second goal just 10 minutes later as Logan Vande Meerakker sank a shot with an assist from Grayson Valente.
The final dagger came when Tyson Gilmour fired in his second goal of the night on an empty net with 19 seconds remaining in the game.
The Rivemen, led by coach of the year for the SPHL Jean-Guy Trudel, finished the regular season atop the conference with a 40-10 record.
The Thunderbolts finished the regular season with a record of 24-24 and will go on to play the winner of the Knoxville Ice Bears and the Birmingham Bulls, which play at 2 p.m. Saturday.
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