The Halifax Thunderbirds ended their four game losing streak, beating the Rochester Knighthawks 11-7 on Friday night at Scotiabank Centre in Halifax, N.S.
“I think we definitely had to work and earn that win; we definitely needed it,” said Halifax goalie Warren Hill. “I think that truthfully (Rochester) probably smelled blood in the water, we basically had to get back to the fundamentals and play a solid 60 minutes. It’s cliché, but there is no more time for talk or video; anything like that isn’t going to solve this losing streak. We just had to go out there, and tonight was proof of that.”
Since the team moved to Halifax in 2019, coincidentally from Rochester, their longest losing streak has been two games. Having a prolonged streak is unusual for them.
“It definitely was not fun since we’re so used to – like let’s be real – we’re used to winning, and winning is fun, and when you’re losing, it’s not fun,” says Hill. “It stresses us out as players, and all you want to do is win and perform for each other and for the fans. Tonight I think we put it all together and put on a good show.”
Rochester opened the scoring five minutes into the game. Mitch Ogilvie got wide open in transition and scored the only goal of the quarter for his first in the league. Hill stopped 14 shots while Rochester’s goalie Joel Watson stopped six shots.
The second quarter was more eventful. Clarke Petterson opened the scoring for Halifax, receiving a pass from Dawson Theede and ripping a shot from the left side into the back of the net. Chris Boushy scored from the same spot to give Halifax the lead.
Turner Evans answered with two quick goals for Rochester to maintain their lead at 3-2.
Eric Fannell and Dawson Theede answered for Halifax. Theede had the nicest goal of the half, spinning away from a defender and diving to score. Theede finished with one goal and three assists to add to his seven goals and 11 points over three games since becoming a Thunderbird.
Theede played with the Rochester Knighthawks the season before they moved to Halifax, and 14 players from that team are on the team now, including Cody Jamieson, Austin Shanks and Chris Boushy on offence. Theede thinks the chemistry has helped him transition.
“I’ve played with a bunch of these guys before, so it’s a lot easier coming into a new team with the chemistry already there, and I’m just happy to help out,” he said. “It’s always easier coming in with guys you’ve already played with, and you know their tendencies, they know yours, so it makes it a lot easier.”
Ryan Smith and Graeme Hossack scored for either side to bring the score to 5-4 for Halifax at halftime.
Charlie Bertrand opened the scoring in the second half. He fired from the outside through a crowd of players to score and tie the game.
Halifax answered: Hill fired a long pass down to Colton Armstrong in transition, and Armstrong shot low left side and scored.
“I definitely look for it, I wish it would happen more times than not. But definitely, if I see a guy up there going alone going one-on-one with a goalie, I’m going to do my best to try to get it to him,” says Hill.
Thomas Hoggarth and Eric Fannell rounded out the scoring in the third quarter to give Halifax a 7-6 lead going into the fourth.
Austin Shanks and Stephen Keogh opened the scoring in the fourth quarter for Halifax. Shanks scored from a back door pass from Cody Jamieson, while Keogh turf swiped a shot past Watson from the left side.
Holden Cattoni scored from the high slot for Rochester to cut Halifax’s lead to 9-7.
A minute later, Nonkon Thompson and Tyler Halls got into a fight. Both landed punches, but Thompson landed the hardest one that stunned Halls and ended it. Thompson walked off the floor with a cut around his eye, licking blood off his hands, and pumping up the crowd.
Damn you wild @shonwahnonkon19 😳 pic.twitter.com/p9ZRh667i6
— Halifax Thunderbirds (@HFXThunderbirds) April 2, 2022
Shanks and Keogh finished the scoring. Keogh’s goal was the highlight of the night. Matt Bennett was hauling him down, but he managed to shoot and score as he was falling. Halifax won the game 11-7.
🎶 DaDaDa, DaDaDa 🎶@SKeogh28 comes in at #5 on the @SportsCenter Top 10 with this spinning beauty pic.twitter.com/QPg28VD6b1
— Halifax Thunderbirds (@HFXThunderbirds) April 2, 2022
This game was an excellent bounce-back performance for Hill, who was the game’s first star. He allowed 16 goals last Saturday against Buffalo and was pulled the following day during their home-and-home meeting against the Bandits. Tonight, he stopped 45/51 shots and made several big saves. The biggest came in the third quarter. Turner Evans pounced on a turnover and went in alone on Hill. He shot top corner from just outside the crease, but Hill got an arm on it.
“It was difficult the past number of games, and I was definitely was not happy with my performance,” said Hill. “At the end, I had to put it aside and again get back to my own game and start having fun again. Tonight we all had fun, and I think that energy is infectious. I had to do my best to stop the ball and fight for saves, and I think it was an all-around win.”
The Knighthawks outshot Halifax 51-45. Watson stopped 33 shots for Rochester, but they switched goalies at the end of the game, and Lukas Coote stopped the only shot he faced. Halifax went ⅓ on the power play, and Rochester went ⅖.
The Knighthawks are home next Saturday against the Toronto Rock. This is the last game at home for the Thunderbirds for the regular season. They embark on a four-game road trip to Calgary, Toronto, New York and Rochester to try to secure a playoff spot.
“We won tonight, but it goes without saying that the job is not done,” says Hill. “We got other teams that are hungry that are the same as us, fighting for a playoff spot. So these games are going to be like playoffs, really it’s going to be like a playoff atmosphere each game. Hopefully, we can keep this going, and it gives us a good run going into the playoffs.”
