Thunderbirds' transition excels in road win over Wings
Feb 8, 2025
(PHILADELPHIA, PA) February 8, 2025 -- Transition was the name of the game for the Halifax Thunderbirds on Saturday afternoon, as they beat the Philadelphia Wings 14-10 at Wells Fargo Center.
The Thunderbirds spread the wealth on the day, seeing 13 different players register a point and 10 players find the back of the net.
But it was a monumental day for the Thunderbirds' defenders on both ends. Ryan Terefenko continued his recent tear, finishing the game with his second straight hat trick, six points, 10 loose balls, and five caused turnovers. Jake Withers had a goal and four points along with 20 loose balls while going 25 of 28 on face-offs.
Not to be outdone, Graeme Hossack chipped in a goal and two assists of his own and set new career highs in both loose balls (18) and caused turnovers (6).
Mike Robinson potted the first hat trick of his NLL career, leading all forwards in goals, while Randy Staats had a goal and two helpers apiece.
Warren Hill earned his second consecutive victory with another strong outing in the net, turning away 37 Wings shots.
The Thunderbirds set the tone with the two-way play early, as Robinson got the scoring started just 1:04 into the opening quarter. Hossack followed up with his tally just over two minutes later to give the Thunderbirds an early advantage.
Joe Resetarits got the Wings' first goal of the afternoon at the 9:49 mark, but Staats got that one back for Halifax, using the earth for a bouncer on the power play. Halifax got two more in transition to end the first, as Withers and Colton Armstrong each found themselves wide open in the opposing end off strong counters in transition.
A Resetarits goal in the frame's final two minutes made it 5-2 Thunderbirds after 15.
The second frame saw the teams net a pair of goals each.
Phil Caputo got the Wings going, and Mitch Jones followed him to cut the Halifax lead to one, but back-to-back tallies from Hoggarth and Robinson in the final five minutes of the quarter gave Halifax a 7-4 halftime advantage.
The Wings looked to swing the momentum coming out for the third quarter, and two goals from Holden Cattoni and Blaze Riorden in the opening three minutes brought the deficit back to one. But off that ensuing draw, Terefenko potted his first in transition to push the lead back to two for Halifax.
However, another two-goal run from Brennan O'Neill and Michael Sowers knotted the game up for the first time. With a quarter and a half remaining, the game was up for grabs.
It was the visitors that took control from that point on. Terefenko got his second of the game off a pass from Withers -- who also sealed off the defender to give his teammate time and space to let a howitzer go on the run.
Bo Bowhunter got in on the scoring, powering an outside shot past Nick Damude to put the Thunderbirds back out in front 10-8 heading into the final 15 minutes of regulation.
Halifax kept the run going into the fourth, with Jason Knox working the two-man game with Cody Jamieson before sneaking to the crease for a massive insurance goal 20 seconds into the fourth.
With Philadelphia pushing for goals to cut into the Halifax lead, they left Dawson Theede alone in the offensive zone, and after coming up short in the offensive end, Terefenko corralled the loose ball and hit Theede with a full-floor outlet pass. He made no mistake, making it 12-8 under two minutes into the fourth quarter.
Robinson completed his hat trick soon after, springing off the bench on the short change for Halifax's fifth straight goal.
Philadelphia pushed back with a pair from Sowers and Resetarits in the late stages, but Terefenko's empty-netter in the final minute sealed the deal for the Thunderbirds.
With the victory, the Thunderbirds are now winners of four of their last five contests. They'll look to continue their strong form next weekend when they welcome the Wings to Scotiabank Centre on Feb 15 to wrap up the season series between the two teams. Opening face-off is set for 7:00 p.m. AT.