Patrick Bernard – Philadelphia Correspondent, All Lacrosse All The Time
The Halifax Thunderbirds are flying high right now. With two back-to-back wins over Philadelphia, they look to have everything going for them. Winning faceoff battles, getting creative in the offensive zone, and playing physical defense made it difficult for this Wings team to get into a rhythm on offense. Joe Resetarits, a top-five goal scorer in the NLL, only managed one goal in this game. Brennan O’Neill, who has been playing awesome up until this point, was ineffective as far as scoring goals in this game. Philly made the trip to the penalty box 10 times in this game, doubling their number of trips from their game against the Thunderbirds the week prior. Halifax scored on 6 of the 10 power plays in the 13-10 victory. The Thunderbirds are now 5-4, having won five of their last six after starting the season 0-3.
Petterson has the hot hands for the Thunderbirds
Clarke Petterson played an amazing game tonight by recording a hat trick and four assists. For me, Petterson had the goal of the night. While being defended he makes a backward, over-the-shoulder goal from a distance. That goal was nasty, and Petterson did a sensational job of scoring goals, using great vision on the floor. Halifax also got production from Randy Staats with two goals and seven assists, and Thomas Hoggarth with a hat trick and two assists. Ryan Terefenko also chipped in with two goals and an assist. We shall see if the Thunderbirds can get their third straight win as they fly into Ottawa to take on the Black Bears next week.
Mitch Jones reaches a milestone
There was not too much to cheer for this Philadelphia Wings team as they dropped their third straight game and now losing 4 out 5 games, falling to 10th place in the Unified Standings. However, Mitch Jones did reach a milestone in this game, recording his 700th career point. He looked to be the only one effective, putting up 3 goals and 3 assists. Two of his goals came on the power play. Wings teammates were facilitating the ball to Jones and he placed himself in great scoring opportunities. The Wings head back on the road to face one of their bigger rivals in the Albany FireWolves. In my opinion, Philly must dial up a game plan on how to keep their foot on the gas pedal and limit their trips to the penalty box.
