Halifax Tops Vancouver To Inch Toward .500

Halifax
Photo Credit: James Bennett (www.jbphotos.ca); photo courtesy of the NLL

Eduardo Curros – Western Correspondent, All Lacrosse All The Time

Week 10 in the NLL kicked off with the Halifax Thunderbirds hosting the Vancouver Warriors Friday night. Halifax was looking to get back in the win column after splitting two games with Rochester. The Warriors were fresh off a split with Ottawa, trying to keep pace with the group of 5-win teams atop the Unified Standings. Thunderbirds transition player Ryan Terefenko had a monster night, tallying five points in a 10-9 victory. Halifax improves to 3-4 heading into a home-and-home series with Philadelphia the next two weeks. Vancouver falls to 4-4 on the season; they host Calgary in Week 10 and play at Las Vegas in Week 11.

Halifax

Halifax first half

Marcus Klarich struck first for Vancouver, with help from Keegan Bal and Adam Charalambides at 1:23. Halifax replied with a three-goal barrage, the first one coming from Cody Jamieson with help from Mike Robinson and Randy Staats at 5:11. Next, Terefenko scored off a pass from Colton Armstrong at 7:18. Lastly, Mike Robinson with assists from Staats and Clarke Petterson at 11:37 for a 3-1 lead. Vancouver would go on their own run, starting with Charalambides, assisted by Johnathan Peshko and Bal at 11:52. Ryan Martel and Charalambides then set up Bal for another score at 13:46. Kevin Crowley finished the run with help from Charalambides and Klarich at 14:11, and Vancouver led 4-3 after one quarter.

Martel extended the lead to 5-3 with a power play goal 29 seconds into the second quarter. Halifax retook the lead with another three-goal run. Petterson scored at 7:20, then the Thunderbirds scored two shorthanded goals in a span of 11 seconds late in the quarter. Dawson Theede tied the game at 12:48, then Terefenko’s second at 12:59 gave Halifax a 6-5 lead at the half.

Halifax second half

The Thunderbirds’ run continued into the second half. A power play goal from Theede with help from Staats and Jamieson 40 seconds into the third quarter. Terefenko followed with his hat trick goal at 1:18, then Jake Withers made it 9-5 off a pass from Trevor Smyth at 3:15. Vancouver got back within two as Crowley scored his second at 10:33, and Klarich his second at 14:32, with assists from Bal and Charalambides.  

Peshko made it a one-goal game with his marker at 2:45 of the fourth quarter. Petterson, with help from Robinson and Jason Knox at 6:30, pushed Halifax’s lead to 10-8. Martel pulled the Warriors within one again off a pass from Brett Mydske at 13:22. However, Thunderbirds goaltender Warren Hill would make several huge saves in the final 30 saves to keep the Vancouver from forcing overtime.

Curros’s Corner

Halifax unleashed 54 shots on goal, while Vancouver only managed 38. In a rare feat, Alec Stathakis of the Warriors dominated Jake Withers at the faceoff dot as Vancouver won 16 of 23 draws. Reid Bowering led all players with 10 Loose Ball pickups on the night. Vancouver went 1 for 3 on the power play, while Halifax scored in their only opportunity on the man advantage. Warriors goaltender Connor O’Toole saw his first action of the season, playing just over a minute.

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Halifax