Thunderbirds get back on track against Rock

Mar 19, 2023

The Halifax Thunderbirds (6-7) got back into the win column on Saturday night, besting the Toronto Rock (10-4) 14-12 at Scotiabank Centre. 

Eric Fannell finished with one of his best games of the year, pacing the Thunderbirds with two goals and four assists on the night. Halifax also got strong performances from Ryan Benesch (2G, 2A), Randy Staats (2G, 1A), Clarke Petterson (2G, 1A), Chris Boushy (3G), Cody Jamieson (3A) and Dawson Theede (1G, 2A). 

While Halifax came out on top in the end, the visitors jumped out to a quick lead in the first quarter. Corey Small, Latrell Harris, and Tom Schreiber got the Rock three goals. Benesch answered back with a pair of his own, with the second coming with just seven seconds remaining in the first. 

Toronto’s one-goal lead was short-lived, however. Clarke Petterson tied things up at the 12:49 mark of the second. The teams bounced back and forth from there to the end of the half. 

Small added his second before the Thunderbirds rallied for three straight. A pair of Chris Boushy markers bookended a Staats goal. But the Rock bounced back with two of their own to knot things at 6-6. Staats’ second of the quarter put the Thunderbirds ahead after 30 minutes. 

Coming out of the half, Toronto grabbed the first two goals, courtesy of Stephen Keogh and Schreiber. Another three-goal run from the Birds was countered with two from Toronto to end the third, sending us into the final frame deadlocked at 10-10.

Fannell would be the man to step up with a big goal to break the tie at the 11:56 mark of the fourth before a transition marker from Colton Armstrong brought the Thunderbird record crowd of 9,957 to its feet. 

Craig cut into the two-goal advantage, but the Rock only got as close as one the rest of the way. Petterson and Zach Manns traded tallies, but Ryan Terefenko sealed the victory, going the length of the floor in the final minute to score on the empty net. 

With the victory, the Thunderbirds move to 6-7 on the season. They’ll travel to Wells Fargo Center on Mar 25 for a matchup with the Philadelphia Wings. Opening face-off is at 8:00 p.m. AT.