Thunderbirds fall to Mammoth

Dec 22, 2024

COLORADO, CO (December 21, 2024) – The Halifax Thunderbirds dropped their third straight game to open the year, falling to the Colorado Mammoth 19-14 on Saturday night at Ball Arena. 

Dawson Theede led the way for the Thunderbirds with three goals and seven points. Randy Staats also chipped in with nine assists and Clarke Petterson had a six-point outing. 

Drew Hutchison entered the game in relief of Warren Hill and made 31 saves in the loss.

Will Malcom opened the scoring early for the Mammoth, getting on the board just 36 seconds in. But Halifax answered back with back-to-back goals from Cole Kirst and Dawson Theede. But Malcom got off to a hot start, scoring another pair for a hat trick in the opening five minutes. 

Connor Robinson added another to make it an early 4-2 lead for the hosts. Clarke Petterson got a power-play goal back for Halifax, but the Mammoth ended the frame with another two goals, making it a 6-3 Colorado lead through 15 minutes. 

Bo Bowhunter and Jason Knox got Halifax closer, but Colorado again answered. A four-goal run with goals from Malcom, Connor Kelly, Zed Williams, and Ryan Lee made it 11-5. A Mike Robinson marker made it a five-goal deficit for the Thunderbirds at the half. 

Halifax looked to slow down the Mammoth’s momentum in the third, and they did a good job for the majority of the frame. Theede scored a pair of goals within a minute of each other midway through the third. However, the Mammoth scored three in the final 2:15 of the quarter to put a stranglehold on the game with 15 minutes left to play. 

Zed Williams and Thomas Hoggarth traded goals to open the fourth. And despite a making a small run down the stretch to try and cut into things, Halifax was unable to overcome the hole they were in 

The Thunderbirds currently sit at 0-3 on the year. They’ll be back in action on Dec 28 as they return home to play the Albany FireWolves at Scotiabank Centre. Opening face-off is set for 7:00 p.m. AT.