Thunderbirds Fall in Overtime to Roughnecks

Feb 4, 2023

HALIFAX, Nova Scotia (February 4, 2023) – The Halifax Thunderbirds (4-4) fell back to .500 after suffering another overtime loss, this time 12-11 to the Calgary Roughnecks (4-3).

The Thunderbirds' offence went quiet for the last 18:38 min. of play, the last tally a power play marker from Clarke Petterson in the third quarter at Scotiabank Arena.

A Ryan Benesch outside rip opened the game’s scoring, followed by a power play goal from Jesse King from the Roughnecks. Randy Staats used a solid two-man game slip to bury the second Thunderbirds goal of the game and kick off a three-goal run, one that was ended by a transition tally from Calgary’s Ethan Ticehurst.

Up 4-2, the Thunderbirds extended their lead with a trio of goals in the second quarter, the last coming off a nifty transition snag from Tyson Bell that he fed to Petterson streaking off the bench for his first of the game. Josh Currier capped the half with a mid-range shot, the Thunderbirds up 8-5.

Zach Currier buried one in transition to open the back half, but Ryan Terefenko responded in kind, the ninth goal-scorer for the Thunderbirds. Staats netted a long bomb before Haiden Dickson and Petterson responded with power play goals. Petterson’s goal would be the final Thunderbirds’ marker of the game, as a pair from the visiting team narrowed the goal differential to 11-9.

A silent fourth quarter from the Thunderbirds saw the Roughnecks tie it up off an extra attacker goal with 18 seconds left from Dan Taylor. Jeff Cornwall snagged the loose ball off the ensuing face-off and buried it five-hole in extra time, giving the Roughnecks the 12-11 win.

Staats’ six points (2G, 4A) led the Thunderbirds in scoring, followed by Petterson’s four (2G, 2A). Warren Hill got the loss despite a 35-save night.

The Roughnecks were led in scoring by Jesse King’s four assists. Goalie Christian Del Bianco made 54 stops for an. 831 Sv%.

The Thunderbirds head to the road, going to Blue Cross Arena to take on the Rochester Knighthawks on Saturday, Feb. 11 at 8:00 p.m. AT. They return to the Nest on Sunday, Feb. 19 for a 2:00 p.m. AT matinee against the New York Riptide. Fans can get tickets by visiting HalifaxThunderbirds.com/Tickets or by texting or calling 902-334-2333.