GORHAM, Maine – University of Southern Maine men's ice hockey alums Curtis Judd (Newton, Mass./Albany Academy) and Nolan McElhaney (Natick, Mass./Cushing Academy) began training camp today with the Evansville Thunderbolts of the SPHL (formally the Southern Professional Hockey League) after signing with the team over the summer.
 
Judd, a forward, skated in 83 career games for the Huskies over a five-year career. One of the top offensive players for Southern Maine over the past two seasons, Judd scored 29 career goals and dished out 39 assists in his career. He was named Second Team All-New England Hockey Conference for the 2022-23 season after leading the Huskies in goals with 15 and points with 25. Judd logged multiple points in 14 games over the course of his career with two five-point games. His first five-point game came in a 6-2 win over Skidmore on January 27, 2023, with a hat-trick and two assists. He also had five points from a goal and four helpers in a 7-2 win over Vermont State University Castleton on February 2, 2024.
 
A defenseman, McElhaney joined the Huskies in 2022 from Long Island University. He made an immediate impact with a goal and an assist in the first game in a Southern Maine sweater. He finished his first season in Gorham with five goals and seven assists while blocking a team-leading 42 shots. McElhaney scored eight goals and had five assists in 16 games in the 2023-24 season before suffering an injury. He recorded his best game as a Husky on December 2, 2023 with a hat-trick in a 7-4 win against VTSU Castleton. 
 
Judd ranked second on the team in assists (13) and points (20) last season despite only playing in 16 games. McElhaney eights goals tied for second on the roster and his 13 points were the second-most among defensemen. Both players also delivered clutch goals for the Huskies last season. McElhaney netted the lone game-winner of his career to give the Huskies a 3-2 upset win against No. 10 Elmira College in overtime on November 11, 2023. Judd scored his fifth career game-winning goal in the NEHC Quarterfinals to beat second seed Norwich University on February 17, 2024. Norwich was ranked No. 12 in the country at the time.
 
The SPHL is comprised of 10 member teams located throughout the southeastern and midwestern United States. Headquartered in Huntersville, North Carolina, the mission of the SPHL is to provide a quality family-friendly entertainment product structured inside an economic model that is viable for small and mid-size markets and arenas.
 
The Thunderbolts open their regular season on Friday, October 18 against the Knoxville Ice Bears, an organization that former Huskies Brendan Dowler and Jonathan Bartuccio-Pereira saw action with during the 2023-24 SPHL season.