Week 3 action came to you from the Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York, as the Halifax Thunderbirds visited the New York Riptide. There is no polite way to put it, this game was ugly. The Thunderbirds walked into New York and put a beating on them. New York really never came close in a game that had plenty of goals, and even more physicality. After a combined 65 penalty minutes, 49 of which were in the second quarter, the Thunderbirds walked out with a 14-6 win.
New York did get the first goal of the game, as Connor Kearnan scored just 24 seconds in. Scoring was scarce for the Riptide, as Halifax proceeded to go on a three-goal run. Goals were scored by Randy Staats, Graeme Hossack, and Cody Jamieson. Kiel Matisz stopped the bleeding for a moment with a power play goal, but Halifax rattled off two more, one from Tyson Bell in an unbelievable individual effort, and the other from Ryan Benesch on the power play. 5-2 Halifax after one.
There were only four total goals scored in the second quarter, but a boatload of physicality. Presumably, New York was a bit frustrated as they were getting outworked in every facet of the game. Ryan Terefenko increased the Halifax lead with his first goal of the game, but was quickly answered by Jeff Teat. Staats and Jamieson each got their second, both on the power play after the chaos that ensued towards the end of the quarter. In the quarter, we saw checking from behind, slashing, high sticking, instigating, fighting, and two game misconducts. Whew. 8-3 Halifax at the break.
“We have to keep on the gas,” said Hossack at half. “We have a very talented offensive group, and they keep putting the ball in the back of the net for us. It makes it easy for us on the back end to play relaxed and go from there.”
Now to the goaltenders. First, Warren Hill was an absolute stud in the first half, stifling any chances from New York, stopping 15 of 18. On the other side, Cameron Dunkerley struggled a bit, making 17 saves on 25 shots.
New York crept a bit closer in the third, but any time they got something going, Halifax had the answer. Jamieson kicked it off with his third of the game, but was answered by Reilly O’Connor’s first. Staats tallied his third, but was answered by two-straight from Matisz, also giving him the hat trick. Halifax, as we said, saw those two from Matisz and matched them, one from Dawson Theede and the other from Clarke Petterson. 12-6 T-birds going into the fourth.
The game came to a screeching halt in the fourth quarter. All the physicality and “track meet” type scoring slowed down considerably, and Halifax put this game to bed. Their defense was stifling, Hill was unreal, and their offense added two goals to their already sizable lead. Goals were scored by Theede and Jamieson on the power play, and that was all she wrote. Your final, 14-6 Halifax.
Players of the game for Halifax were Jamieson (4+1), Staats (3+3), and Theede (2+1). There aren’t enough words to describe how good Hill was, as he made 33 saves on 39 shots. For New York, Matisz (three goals), Kearnan (1+2), and Teat (1+1) led the way. Dunkerley seemed like he couldn’t get into a groove, making 31 saves on 45 shots in 54:08 of game play. Backup Will Johnston saw some action and made five saves on five shots the rest of the way.
Both teams have some time off to recoup. Halifax (2-0) could not have asked for a better start to their campaign. They host Philadelphia (1-2) on December 29th at 6:30pm. New York (0-2) has to get their offense going and find their groove. They travel to Toronto (1-0)* on December 30th at 4pm.
