The Halifax Thunderbirds wrapped up the regular season with a bang. Playing in front of 10,595 fans, the first sell-out in team history, the Thunderbirds pulled away with a 14-10 win over the Colorado Mammoth.
The Mammoth wasted no time getting on the board. Goalie Tyler Carlson launched a pass down the floor to Zed Williams, who went on a breakaway and scored 40 seconds into the game.
But Halifax answered right back. Jake Withers won the faceoff and passed it to speedster Ryan Terefenko, who took off down the middle of the floor to score.
Aaron Woods and Cody Jamieson added goals for Halifax, but Connor Kelly and Sean Kriwokon also scored for Colorado, tying the game at three with under five minutes left in the first quarter.
In the middle of those goals there was a scrum in front of Colorado’s net that led to Warren Jeffrey and David Brock dropping the gloves, both players landed punches but Jeffrey scored the takedown.
After Jameson tied the game at four, Jake Withers won the ensuing faceoff and took the ball down the floor to score, giving Halifax the lead.
Dawson Theede for Halifax and Eli McLaughlin for Colorado added power play goals to end the high scoring first quarter with the Thunderbirds up 5-4.
Halifax opened the scoring 37 seconds into the second quarter. Randy Staats ran in on goal but turned around when he didn’t have a lane. As he was running back, he nonchalantly threw a behind-the-back pass to Cody Jamieson at the other side of the offensive zone. The pass was anything but easy, but Staats threw it so smoothly that it caught the defence off guard. Jamieson shot the ball into the top right corner of the net to score his second goal of the game.
Austin Shanks and Johnny Pearson scored to stretch Halifax’s lead to 8-4. Clarke Petterson ended the scoring at the half. Shanks found Petterson behind the net and he dove to tuck the ball into the back of the net to score his 100th point. The first Thunderbird ever to do so. The Thunderbirds outscored Colorado 4-0 in the second quarter to take a 9-4 lead at halftime.
The Mammoth came out swinging early in the third quarter. Owen Dowd scored his first career goal on a breakaway to open the scoring. Zed Williams put the ball into the back of the net right after to narrow Halifax’s lead to 9-6.
However, Petterson made two behind-the-back passes to Randy Staats on the left side and Staats scored twice to stretch Halifax’s lead. However, McLaughlin scored the last goal of the quarter, making the score 11-7 going into the fourth quarter.
Clarke Petterson opened the scoring in the fourth quarter on the power play. However, Eli McLaughlin took advantage of a great pick by Jalen Chaster to run in on goal and dive over the crease to complete his hat trick.
A minute later, Zed Williams had his back to the goal and made some fake turns to get himself some space to spin and fire the ball past Halifax’s goalie, Warren Hill, to complete his hat trick. Connor Kelly scored another goal for the Mammoth to shrink Halifax’s lead to 10-12.
With under five minutes left, Dawson Theede scored to regain Halifax’s three-goal lead.
Just like they’ve done all night long, Petterson made a behind-the-back pass to Randy Staats on the right side, and he scored his third of the game, bringing the final score to 14-13.
Clarke Petterson led the Thunderbirds with two goals and five assists. Randy Staats had a hat trick and two assists. Cody Jamieson scored two goals and two assists. Austin Shanks also had four points. Dawson Theede and Ryan Benesch scored three points. Graeme Hossack had five loose balls, four caused turnovers, and two blocks. Jake Withers had a goal and an assist, 11 loose balls, and three caused turnovers. Warren Hill stopped 44/54 shots.
For Colorado, Eli McLaughlin’s three goals and five points led the team. Zed Williams scored a hat trick, Connor Kelly had two goals and goalie Tyler Carlson had three assists. Carlson also stopped 38/52 shots.
With the win, Halifax finishes the year with a 10-8 record and will move on to the post-season.
They had some big seasons from many players. Jake Withers broke the league record of most loose balls collected in a single season with 282, breaking Jay Thorimbert’s record set in 2015 by 36. His 360 face-off wins tie his personal best set last season and are two off the single-season record.
Clarke Petterson had a monster season, scoring 104 points, breaking his previous career high by 20 points set last season. Austin Shanks was second on the team with 85 points, breaking his career high by 20 as well. Ryan Benesch led the team in goals with 42, which is the third-highest total of his 18-year career. Dawson Theede was able to play a full season for the first time in his career because he no longer was playing U SPORTS hockey. This allowed him to be a solid contributor with 58 points. Aaron Woods came out of nowhere to score 32 points in 11 games. These breakout performances helped the Thunderbirds overcome the loss of Eric Fannell, who was out all season with a knee injury, and Randy Staats, who was limited to nine games.
It was a disappointing season for the Mammoth. After making it to the NLL finals the past two seasons, they finished in last place this season with five wins and 13 losses. Eli MacLaughlin led the Mammoth with 93 points, besting his previous career high set during the past two seasons by 10. Connor Kelly was a big addition to the Mammoth after coming over from Albany this year. His 64 points were second on the team. The 2019 first overall pick, Tyson Gibson, refound his game in Colorado this year with a career-high 55 points. However, there were some disappointing seasons, too. Zed Williams and Connor Robinson’s point totals both dropped from 71 to 55 this year.
Halifax will play the San Diego Seals in the first round of the playoffs. In the past two years, Halifax has lost in the quarterfinals to the Toronto Rock, so they will be eager to win and host a playoff game in Halifax for the first time. San Diego beat Halifax 12-9 during their only meetup this season on March 9.
