PLYMOUTH, N.H. – Plymouth State University men's ice hockey alumni Connor Tait '25 (Boyds, Md.) and Colin Tracy '24 '25G (Bow, N.H.) have signed professional contracts with the Evansville Thunderbolts of the Southern Professional Hockey League (SPHL), the organization announced this week.
 
The Thunderbolts, based in Evansville, Indiana, play home games at the Ford Center in downtown Evansville. The team made an incredible postseason run last spring, capturing the organization's first President's Cup Championship in April after entering the playoffs as the seventh seed. Evansville outlasted the Knoxville Ice Bears in overtime, 2-1. The duo will be reunited with former Panther Myles Abbate '23, who was part of the Thunderbolts' championship-winning roster.
 
Evansville opens the 2025-26 season at the Birmingham Bulls on Oct. 17, before celebrating the home opener eight days later.
 
Entering its 22nd season, the SPHL is the fourth-highest level of professional ice hockey in North America. The league, headquartered in Huntersville, N.C., consists of teams based in Pelham, Ala., Knoxville, Tenn., Moline, Ill., Macon, Ga., Roanoke, Va., Fayetteville, N.C., Huntsville, Ala., Peoria, Ill., Pensacola, Fla., and Evansville.
 
Tait, a 6-2 forward, played three years for the Panthers after transferring from the University of New England. He finished his career with 42 goals and 41 assists for 83 points, including ten goals and six assists in 16 games last winter.
 
Tracy, a 6-3 defenseman, was a five-year member and two-time captain of the team. He posted the most productive offensive season of his career last winter, finishing with 11 points on two goals and nine assists, with 16 blocked shots in 21 games.
 
Plymouth State secured its eighth-straight MASCAC regular season title last winter, but was upset in the MASCAC Tournament quarterfinals, finishing the year with a 19-7-0 record.