Thunderbirds Head to Buffalo on Saturday
Dec 26, 2019
The Thunderbirds will return to action tomorrow as they travel to Buffalo, NY for their first road test of the season against the defending East Division Champion, Buffalo Bandits. Halifax enters the matchup with a 2-0 record, after securing their second win of the season against the Knighthawks, 14-12 at the Scotiabank Centre last weekend. This is the Thunderbirds first matchup with the Bandits since relocating to Halifax, with their last meeting dating back to February 22 of the 2019 season.
“We’re excited to be able to get back together against a conference rival,” said Jake Withers. “Buffalo is always a very tough and hostile place to play and it will be a good test for our group. With that said, I believe we have a good game plan and the right pieces inside our dressing room to get win number 3 this weekend!”
Buffalo defeated San Diego 13-10 on December 7th with a strong second half for the Bandits. Since then, the Bandits have had to sit back and watch, coming off back to back bye weeks. As the Thunderbirds prepare for this week’s game, they will see the familiar face of Bandits goalie, Matt Vinc, a seven-time league Goaltender of the Year, and former backstop for the Knighthawks in their historic three-peat run.
The reigning Goaltender of the Year is coming off of an impressive 49 save outing against the Seals, but it was the Bandits’ special teams that stole the spotlight. Buffalo scored four power-play goals on the offensive side of the ball, with the penalty-killing unit going a perfect 3-for-3.
Halifax will keep an eye on top Bandits scorers, Chris Cloutier, Cory Small and Dhane Smith. All players posted hat tricks during their home opener. The Thunderbirds offence will also need to look out for Buffalo’s defenceman Steve Priolo who lead Buffalo in their lone game with 15 loose balls, notching his 800th of his career.
The Bandits were hit the hardest this offseason, with the loss of perennial NLL scorer, Shawn Evans, and the craft lefty forward, Jordan Durston, in the Expansion Draft. The loss of Ethan O'Connor and Thomas Hoggarth also hurts the Bandits on the right side of the floor, and will be something the Thunderbird defenders can take advantage of.
The Thunderbirds have seen offensive power from a variety of players in their two games thus far, spreading goal production out over 12 players, on both ends of the floor. Rookie Clarke Petterson notched his first professional hat trick in his NLL debut, adding a pair of assists to add to an impressive night on the floor. Graeme Hossack solidified his spot as two-time defensive player of the year with contributions on both ends of the floor. He is second in the league in points amongst defencemen with two goals and two assists.
In net, Warren Hill recorded 32 saves, earning his second victory of the season with the win against Rochester. Hill credits his defensive core to his success and making his job in net easier. At the faceoff X, defenceman Jake Withers will be thrown a mix of opponents, as the Bandits have split faceoff duties across the board. Against San Diego they struggled going 9 for 27.
MILESTONES
Ryan Benesch took over 9th place in the all-time National Lacrosse League points list with 1014. Benesch needs four goals to tie Lewis Ratcliff’s record of 440 career goals in the NLL. Kyle Jackson notched his 200th point last game with an assist on an Austin Shanks goal against Rochester.
HOW TO WATCH
The Thunderbirds square off against the Buffalo Bandits at 8:00 p.m. local time on Bleacher Report Live.
UP NEXT FOR THE THUNDERBIRDS
The Thunderbirds will return to home turf on January 11, 2020 to faceoff against Colorado Mammoth. The game is slated for 7:00 p.m. at the Scotiabank Centre. This will be Student Night, as well as You Can Play Night, in support of Halifax Pride.