Thunderbirds drop back-and-forth game to Rock
Mar 7, 2025
(HALIFAX, NS) March 7, 2025 -- A fourth-quarter comeback came up just short as the Halifax Thunderbirds lost 15-12 to the Toronto Rock at Scotiabank Centre on Friday night.
Clarke Petterson (2G, 4A) and Thomas Hoggarth (3G, 2A) led the way offensively for the Thunderbirds, while Cody Jamieson's four-goal night was a team-high -- it was also his season-high.
Jake Withers finished with a goal and an assist on the night. The Thunderbirds defender also became the fifth player in NLL history to record 2,000 face-off wins for a career during the game.
Dan Craig opened the scoring for the visitors three minutes into the game, but he was quickly answered by a power-play marker from Jamieson under two minutes later. It took the Thunderbirds' captain just 15 more seconds to find his second of the night, hammering home back-to-back tallies to put Halifax ahead. Josh Dawick would knot it back up at the 8:01 mark.
The back and forth continued between the teams, with Jamieson getting his hat-trick goal before Dawick answered with another pair to get a hat-trick of his own.
Graeme Hossack scored for the Thunderbirds in transition to tie things at four, however, Chris Boushy's first of the night gave the Rock a 5-4 advantage after one quarter.
The second frame opened with a pair from Petterson, who scored both his goals in under a minute to pull Halifax back ahead. But Toronto ended the first half on a four-goal run. Corey Small bookended the run, with Boushy and Nathan Grenon nabbing the other goals.
Toronto took a 9-6 lead into the half.
The two rivals continued to go shot for shot in the second half, with Small and Hoggarth trading goals to open the third. Chris Weier widened the Rock lead with a transition marker, but Jamieson got his fourth of the game before Withers scooped up the ensuing face-off and beat Troy Holowchuk to cut the deficit to two.
But goals from Small and Tom Schreiber put Toronto ahead 13-9 heading into the final quarter.
Big fourth-quarter efforts had highlighted Halifax's win streak, and they showed that same resilience to open the final 15 minutes of this game. Hoggarth worked the two-man game with Petterson and was rewarded with his first goal at the 14:33 mark. 20 seconds later, it was Robinson finding twine with a bouncer from the outside. Hoggarth got another off an inside finish to make it a 13-12 game with almost 14 minutes left in regulation.
Unfortunately for the Thunderbirds, they couldn't find the tying marker. Brad Kri got a transition goal and Jake Darlison scored on an empty net to seal the 15-12 victory for Toronto.
Halifax will return to action on Mar 7 when they return home to welcome the Saskatchewan Rush to Scotiabank Centre. Opening face-off is at 7:00 p.m. AT.