The Halifax Thunderbirds defeated the Toronto Rock 14–12 in front of over 9,957 fans at the Scotiabank Centre in Halifax on Saturday night.
This was a massive win for the Thunderbirds. They came into the game tied with the Philadelphia Wings for fourth place in the East with a 5-7 record while on a three-game losing skid. Philadelphia lost to Georgia on Saturday, so Halifax winning moves them past the Wings and also in a better state of mind.
“I think when your backs are against the wall, and everything is on the line, you just give everything you got, and that’s the way we were tonight,” said Halifax forward Eric Fannell, who led the Thunderbirds with six points. “Philadelphia lost, and we had a chance to get back into playoff mode, and it was a must win, so we just came and grinded it out.”
The Thunderbirds are now up to 6-7. They are not where they want to be as a team with championship aspirations, but Thunderbirds forward Chris Boushy is still confident.
“Anybody who’s doubted us up until this point can check the game notes next time,” said Boushy. “We’re a team that deserves to be here. We’re playing side by side with Buffalo, beating Toronto, like we’re here. We just got to get our spot in the playoffs and make our run, and I think we can do it .”
The Toronto Rock opened the scoring a minute into the game. Corey Small had the ball on the high on the right side and ripped it past Halifax’s goalie, Warren Hill.
However, Ryan Benesch responded two minutes later for Halifax. He managed to reach out and grab a pass into the slot from Cody Jamieson with one hand and shoot to score.
Latrell Harris and Tom Schreiber scored to get the Rock up 3-1. But Benesch added another for Halifax to limit the lead to one at the end of the first quarter.
Benesch’s goal seemed to boost Halifax because they had a big second quarter. Clarke Petterson scored for Halifax two minutes in, Chris Boushy followed with two goals, and Randy Staats added another. Corey Small scored in the middle of that run.
The Rock were not going to let the run derail them. Dan Craig scored from a crazy shot. He got knocked down from the outside but shot as he fell and scored. Sheldon Burns also scored for Toronto to tie the game at six.
However, Randy Staats scored to give the Thunderbirds a 7-6 lead going into half-time.
During half-time, the team honoured long-time defenceman Scott Campbell. Campbell retired in the off-season after a 17-year career, with 11 seasons being with the Thunderbirds/Knighthawks franchise. He was a part of the Rochester Knighthawks’ three-peat championship teams from 2012-2014.
Boushy has played with Campbell since the team moved to Halifax in 2019-20 and has had nothing but good things to say.
“For the past three years now, he’s been one of the best people. Lacrosse aside, he’s just one of the best guys, and I am really lucky to have learned a lot from him off the floor,” said Boushy.
The Rock came out strong in the third quarter. Former Thunderbird Stephen Keogh received the ball all alone on the right side and sniped it into the back of the net. Tom Schreiber followed up with his second of the game to put Toronto up 8-7.
The Thunderbirds punched back. Chris Boushy scored his third goal of the game by sneaking into the slot undetected and receiving a pass to score. The fourth-year forward leads the team in goals with 29, surpassing his career high of 26 set last year. He’s emerged as one of Halifax’s best weapons.
“I have a knack for finding the net or finding myself in a good position to score,” said Boushy. “I’m not one to get many assists. I leave the ball out of my stick typically, and I do the dirty work. I have got rewarded this year, so kudos to my teammates, they’re really making it look easy for me.”
Dawson Theede created some offence for Halifax. He set up Eric Fannell for the Thunderbirds’ ninth goal and scored right after for his first two points of the year. Now that Theede’s hockey season has ended with Saint Mary’s University, he should be in the lineup more often.
However, Dan Craig scored two goals to tie the game at 10 to end the third quarter.
Eric Fannell and Colton Armstrong scored for Halifax early in the fourth quarter to get the Thunderbirds up by two. Craig scored his fourth of the game with just over three minutes left to get the Rock within one, but Jake Withers won the next faceoff and took off down the floor. Withers, Fannell and Petterson connected on a tic-tac-toe goal to restore the two-goal lead.
Toronto wasn’t going away easily. With two minutes left, Zach Manns got loose in the slot and scored his second of the game to make the score 13-12.
Halifax has had a difficult time holding leads this year. They’ve blown fourth-quarter leads three times and had a challenging task to keep it against Toronto. Stephen Keogh had a few excellent chances to score, but Warren Hill was up to the task. Then Ryan Terefenko picked up a loose ball and took off down the floor to score on the empty net to seal the victory.
“This season, we have had losses and a couple of wins by one goal, and when (Toronto) was starting to come back in the fourth, we would be lying if we said we weren’t thinking about those times where we would have lost by one,” said Boushy. “So I think just staying true to how we play and digging deep, I think that was it. Everybody worked their hardest tonight.”
The shots were tied at 52, with Warren Hill making 40 saves for Halifax and Nick Rose stopping 38. Dan Craig led Toronto in scoring with four goals and two assists, while Fannell led the Thunderbirds with two goals and four assists.
“He’s our secret weapon,” said Boushy of Fannell. “Whether or not he scores in a game, he’s surely going to bang bodies and get a couple of assists on the board. He really does a lot of things that really make a difference, and we’re a really lucky team to have him.”
The Thunderbirds improve their record to 6-7. They have a massive game next week in Philadelphia, because they can further separate themselves from the Wings with a win. The Rock are on the road again next weekend when they face the Albany FireWolves.
