Game Preview - Halifax @ New York
Dec 13, 2023
The Halifax Thunderbirds return to action on Saturday night as they head on the road for the first time this season for a meeting with the New York Riptide at Nassau Coliseum. Opening face-off is set for 8:30 p.m. AT.
Head to Head
The two teams faced off three times during the 2022-23 season, with the first meeting taking place nearly a year to the day of this game.
Halifax went into Long Island last season in Week 3 and set a new record as the Thunderbirds with a 20-goal performance. They followed that up with a pair of wins in Scotiabank Centre in the back half of the regular season.
Both teams will see each other just this one during the regular season, and each are coming in rested off a bye following Week 1 home openers. The Thunderbirds were able to overwhelm the Saskatchewan Rush with a high-scoring first half en route to a 17-12 opening-week victory. The Riptide, however, dropped their first game 13-10 to Philadelphia.
With a young roster looking to break into the playoffs for the first time since coming into the league via expansion in 2019, expect a hard-fought battle at Nassau.
Scouting the Thunderbirds
It was another high-scoring opener in The Nest for the Thunderbirds offence, who posted 15-plus goals in their opening game for the second consecutive season. Even more impressively, they managed that total without 2023 leading scorer Randy Staats in the lineup.
However, Staats has been elevated to the Active Roster ahead of Saturday's contest, and he could make his season debut on Long Island.
Staats, 31, is coming off leading the Thunderbirds in scoring with 35 goals and 93 points in 17 games last season. The 6-foot-3, 217-pound righty is a physical presence who is one of the best all-around scoring talents in the NLL.
The offensive output in Week 1 was pushed by the righty pairing of Clarke Petterson (5G, 3A) and Austin Shanks (1G, 6A), who had extremely productive nights against Saskatchewan. Ryan Benesch and Dawson Theede each finished with five-point nights while captain Cody Jamieson surpassed the 900-point plateau for his career with a four-point outing.
Easily the breakout of the opener was rookie Cole Kirst, who impressed mightily with his steady play. He was able to post three points while checking off his first career goal with an outside shot in the fourth quarter.
Jake Withers continued his strong play at the stripe to start this season. He went 29 of 33 (88 percent) against the Rush while grabbing four points and 24 loose balls.
Warren Hill stood tall in net for Halifax two weeks ago, turning away 33 shots for his first win of the year. He holds a 12.00 GAA and a .733 save percentage.
Scouting the Riptide
The Riptide are headlined by star lefty Jeff Teat, who finished last season atop league scoring with 56 goals and 136 points in 18 games. He opened this season with a five-point performance, which matched Connor Kearnan’s total for the team lead against Philadelphia on Dec 2.
Working alongside Teat, Reilly O’Connor finished with a goal and three helpers while Larson Sundown had a goal and an assist.
One of New York’s biggest off-season acquisitions, Kiel Matisz, finished with two goals and three points. The former Philadelphia captain was brought to the Riptide to shore up the team’s righty side offensively. Alongside Kearnan, they should offer a more varied attack for their team this season. If Austin Madronic and Matt Anderson can find consistency, the Riptide’s offence will take a big production jump from last season.
New York has a defensive unit that can get out and run, and teams have to be aware of captain Damon Edwards, Kevin Brownell, and Ron John in transition.
It looks like the Riptide have found their starting goaltender in Cameron Dunkerley. The Orangeville product was in and out of the lineup for New York last year, but in the back half of the season, injuries gave him an opportunity that he ran with. The 24-year-old finished last year with an 11.69 goals-against average and a .774 save percentage. He opened the season with a 36-save performance against Philadelphia.
Key Matchup - Teat vs Terefenko
Since coming into the league during the 2021-22 season, this has been the head-to-head every time these teams have squared off. Teat is one of the best forwards in the world, and combines his high lacrosse IQ with a nose for the net and all-world playmaking. But Terefenko has been a good matchup defender for the Birds with his footwork, strength, and one-on-one defensive ability. The third-year man is just a pure athlete who can go up against anyone in the NLL.
The righty defenders for the Thunderbirds will be tested, as much of the Riptide’s offence runs through the lefty side for New York, with O’Connor and Larson Sundown working the two-man with Teat to create opportunities.
Teat was the catalyst for the Riptide offence, and any team looking to slow down New York has to start with finding an answer to No. 51 – easier said than done. Terefenko will be the man tasked with that job, and it should prove to be a heavyweight matchup.
Battle at The Stripe
Coming off one of the best games of his career to open the 2023-24 season, Withers will look to follow up with another all-around effort in New York.
In the team’s opener against Saskatchewan, Withers went up against Mike Messenger, who he controlled for most of the night. The Rush in the middle-to-late stages of the game were also conceding the initial win to try and scrum the loose ball to get possession. However, Withers and the ball team were able to direct traffic well, leading to three goals for Withers and a handful of other chances in transition.
This time around, he’ll have more of a test when it comes to the clamp and getting clean draws
Jay Thorimbert will oppose Withers. The veteran is one of the best draw men of all time, sitting first in face-off wins (2,937) and fifth in loose balls (1,822). In three meetings against one another last season, however, Withers had a big edge.
The Thunderbirds ace went 70-for-88 (79.5%). And with the likes of Terefenko, Tyson Bell, and Petterson out there for draws, they could also turn up the floor and create high-danger chances off any face-off win.
With Halifax firing at a high clip to open the season, those extra possessions gained off draws could prove to be a huge deciding factor in the outcome of this contest.
Milestone Watch
Randy Staats needs one point to reach 500 for his career
Ryan Benesch needs one assist to surpass Shawn Williams for eighth on the all-time list (709)
Graeme Hossack needs five points to reach 100 for his career
Luc Magnan needs eight loose balls to reach 400 for his career
Ryan Terefenko needs four loose balls to reach 300 for his career
Where to Watch
Thunderbirds fans looking to tune into Saturday’s clash can catch all the action on TSN+, as well as ESPN+ for those in the United States.