Game Preview - Halifax vs Toronto
Jan 9, 2024
The Halifax Thunderbirds are back in action on Friday night, as they welcome the Toronto Rock to Scotiabank Centre for their first of two meetings on the season. Opening face-off is set for 7:30 p.m. AT.
Head to Head
Since moving to Halifax in 2019, the Thunderbirds have found success against Toronto in The Nest, going a perfect 3-0 over the last three years.
But the home team has had an advantage in this overall series. Halifax sits at just 1-3 against the Rock on the road over that same span, with an overtime victory during the 2021-22 season being the lone victory.
The story of the last two seasons, however, has been the playoff matchups between these two squads. The Rock have eliminated the Thunderbirds in FirstOntario Centre in back-to-back years.
These games are always extremely competitive, and Saturday night should continue that trend.
Scouting the Thunderbirds
The Thunderbirds continue to see consistency across the board from their offence, with seemingly a different player having a big game every week this season. It was Ryan Benesch (12G, 9A), Austin Shanks (6G, 15A), and Randy Staats (6G, 11A) this past weekend. The trio finished with five points apiece.
Benesch and Shanks sit tied for the team lead in scoring while Staats is closing up to them after missing the Thunderbirds’ opening game of the season. Dawson Theede (8G, 7A) continues to be a solid contributor for Halifax, while Clarke Petterson (9G, 11A) continues to put up strong outings every week.
Graeme Hossack (2G, 1A) put on a signature performance on the road in Albany, finishing with a goal and an assist, eight loose balls, and three caused turnovers. Jake Withers also continued his strong play with 17 face-off wins and 13 loose balls last weekend.
Warren Hill had a season-high 34 saves in Albany last weekend, and he’ll be looking to get back in the win column at home. He sits with an 11.11 goals-against average and a .740 save percentage for the season.
Scouting the Rock
Coming off of a bye week, the Rock will try and stay perfect on the year when they head on the road for the second time this season.
The team suffered a big loss before the season started with top scorer Tom Schreiber heading to IR ahead of their first game. But his production has been picked up by marquee off-season acquisition Mark Matthews (7G, 7A), who leads the Rock in scoring. Dan Craig (7G, 6A) and former Thunderbird Chris Boushy (3G, 8A) round out the team’s top three scorers.
Veterans Corey Small (5G, 3A) and Dan Lintner (2G, 6A) will also play big roles this year when it comes to secondary scoring for Toronto. Second-year man Josh Dawick (2G, 4A) is also finding his way as a full-time player in the NLL.
The Rock are also a team that loves to get out and make teams pay in transition. Captain Challen Rogers (1G, 6A) is always a threat out of the back gate. But it was Mitch De Snoo (2G, 6A) who really stepped up last year for Toronto. He’s off to a hot start again this year and has to be accounted for when they push the ball up the floor. Rookie Justin Martin has also scored in every game this season so far. The Six Nations product has become another strong contributor on the defensive side.
Nick Rose will get the nod for the Rock in Halifax. The longtime Toronto starter is off to another solid start this season, posting a spotless 3-0 record along with a 8.33 GAA and a .830 SV%.
Broadcast Info
Fans can catch the Thunderbirds in action this weekend on the TSN Game of the Week in Canada as well as ESPN+ in the United States