The Halifax Thunderbirds came into Philadelphia and soared to a 14-10 victory on Saturday afternoon. They dominated the Wings with strong physical play, a barrage of shots and ground ball victories. Both teams wore Marvel-inspired jerseys to celebrate Marvel SuperHero Day.
In the first quarter, with a 5-2 lead by the Thunderbirds, the boos began filling the Wells Fargo Center. The Wings’ seemed to be struggling like it did last week in the 15-12 loss to Rochester.
Quarter 2 saw little goal scoring with each team only netting two goals. The Wings appeared to go into the half on the upswing, ready to regroup—as they have in previous weeks. Unfortunately for the Wings, the Thunderbirds regrouped as well. It was another close period with Philadelphia outscoring Halifax 4-3, and leading 10-8. It looked like they were going to have a thrilling comeback and the hometown crowd began roaring once again. But the Wings, in fact, could not hold on. After scoring the final two goals of the third, Halifax added three more to start the fourth quarter up 13-8.
There were some highlights for Philadelphia. Joe Resetarits continued to lead the league in scoring, hitting the 70-point plateau early in the game. He scored a hat trick and added three assists. Mitch Jones had nine points — one goal and a whopping eight assists. And Michael Sowers made his National Lacrosse League debut after spending several weeks on the practice roster. The hometown kid and Princeton standout quickly silenced the doubting Philadelphia fans who said he “was too small” and “couldn’t be aggressive” with his two goals and one assist.
“It’s surreal, to be able to do this the week the Eagles are playing in the Superbowl,” Sowers said. “Going to Wings games when I was little, going to Sixers games, now being on the floor it really is like a dream.”
Holden Cattoni joined the 300 assist club as he climbs the rankings this season. Nick Damude stopped 48 shots in the loss.
Halifax was led by Mike Robinson’s three goals and Ryan Terefenko’s three goals and three assists. Warren Hill was solid in goal with 37 saves.
Philadelphia will face Halifax again next weekend but this time on Canada’s east coast for Halifax’s Marvel game.
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