Thunderbirds Cap Regular Season Home Finale with Electric Win
Apr 2, 2022
HALIFAX, Nova Scotia (April 1, 2022) – It took a minute to get their motor running, but once it was on, the Halifax Thunderbirds (9-5) powered past the visiting Rochester Knighthawks (3-11) for an 11-7 win at Scotiabank Centre. The regular-season home finale snapped the Thunderbirds’ four-game losing streak and put the team that much closer to clinching a playoff berth.
A slow first quarter saw the lone tally come from Mitch Ogilvie in transition, scoring his first NLL goal. With the Knighthawks up 1-0, the Thunderbirds lit the fuse on a high-scoring second quarter. Clarke Petterson hammered the ball home off the bench, followed a minute-and-a-half later by Chris Boushy with a goal off some slick back-and-forth passing.
The Knighthawks retaliated with a pair from Turner Evans, the second shorthanded. The Thunderbirds responded in kind with a pair of their own from Eric Fannell with a heavy slam and Dawson Theede off a dodge roll. Ryan Smith tied the game back up at four goals apiece, but a heads-up play off the face-off from Graeme Hossack gave the Thunderbirds the 5-4 lead heading into halftime.
Charlie Bertrand broke open the scoring in the third quarter, setting the theme for the back-and-forth of the entire quarter. Both squads matched each other in the third frame, but the home team maintained their one-goal lead heading into the fourth, 7-6.
The Thunderbirds blew the doors off in the final quarter, outscoring the Knighthawks 4-1. Austin Shanks cashed in off a slick feed from Cody Jamieson for the team’s lone power-play goal of the game, followed two minutes later by a rocket from Stephen Keogh. After Cattoni’s long-range goal and an invigorating brawl between Nonkon Thompson and Rochester’s Tyler Halls, Shanks and Keogh sealed the deal, each with a goal. The Thunderbirds got back in the win column, 11-7.
Shanks led the Thunderbirds in scoring with six points (2G, 4A), followed by Petterson and Theede with four points (1G, 3A) the same way. Hill bounced back after a rough doubleheader weekend with a strong performance, making 44 saves for an .862 Sv%. Defenceman Jake Withers finished with 17 loose balls and went 19-for-22 at the face-off dot.
For the Knighthawks, Evans (2G, 2A) and Cattonit (1G, 3A) each finished with four points apiece. Joel Watson earned the loss after making 33 saves in 58:19 min., good for an 11.32 GAA and .750 SV%.
The Thunderbirds take to the road to cap off the 2021-22 NLL regular season with a four-game road trip. The first game of that trip will be on Friday, April 8, as the team heads to Alberta to take on the Calgary Roughnecks (5-7) for their lone meeting of the season.
Face-off is set for 10:00 p.m. AT. Fans can catch the all-Canadian matchup on TSN or TSN Direct.