The Halifax Thunderbirds pulled off a stunning upset, eliminating the heavily-favoured Vancouver Warriors 10-7 in the NLL quarter-finals.
Vancouver appeared to have the game well in hand with a 7-1 lead at halftime. However, Halifax erupted for nine unanswered goals in the second half, fueled by outstanding goaltending from Warren Hill after a shaky start.
Coming into the game, Vancouver was 9-0 against non-playoff teams but just 4-5 against playoff teams, exposing a potential weakness. Halifax also made history, becoming the only team to record three separate runs of nine or more goals.
In goal for Vancouver, Christian Del Bianco faced heavy pressure, making 61 saves on 71 shots. An uncharacteristically undisciplined Warriors squad gave Halifax seven power plays, converting on three of those opportunities.
The hero for the Thunderbirds was Jason Knox, who recorded four goals and two assists for six points to lead Halifax to victory.
Halifax will now await the winner of the Georgia-Buffalo quarter-final for a best-of-three semifinal series and a berth in the championship game.
First Quarter
Both defences and goaltenders were sharp early on. It wasn’t until the 7:28 mark that Marcus Klarich opened the scoring, diving into the crease to give Vancouver the lead.
Shane Simpson then found Jesse King coming off the bench at 10:19 to extend the Warriors’ lead to 2-0.
Halifax’s lone goal of the half came with 58.6 seconds remaining, as Knox fired a shot between defenders to make it 2-1 after the first quarter.
Second Quarter
Del Bianco stopped 26 of 27 shots in the first half and completely shut Halifax down in the second quarter.
Curtis Dickson opened the scoring at 6:07 on the power play with a low shot.
At 7:54, Keegan Bal was left wide open and converted a shorthanded goal to make it 4-1.
Klarich scored his second of the game at 9:42 with an outside shot that Hill got a piece of, pushing the lead to five.
Just nine seconds later, King set up Bal up the middle to make it 6-1.
Bal capped the first-half scoring with 55.8 seconds left, firing a shot from outside during four-on-four play as the Warriors took a 7-1 lead into halftime.
Third Quarter
The second half belonged entirely to Halifax, as Hill shut the door and the Warriors unravelled.
The Thunderbirds scored six goals in a span of 6:21 in the third quarter to tie the game.
Cody Jamieson started the run on the power play at 8:14 with a bouncing shot past Del Bianco.
Knox followed with a top-corner goal at 10:48 and added another less than a minute later, driving to the net to complete his hat trick.
On a two-man advantage, Clarke Petterson’s shot deflected off Jeff Cornwall’s stick with 2:36 remaining.
Knox then scored his fourth goal on the power play with 1:10 left, firing a sidearm shot to the far side to make it 7-6.
Mike Robinson tied the game with 25.6 seconds remaining, sending it into the fourth quarter at 7-7.
Fourth Quarter
Halifax’s defence and Hill’s goaltending did the seemingly impossible, continuing to shut down Vancouver’s high-powered offence.
Jake Withers capitalized on a turnover and scored on a breakaway 3:53 into the quarter to give Halifax its first lead of the game.
On an odd-man rush, Petterson finished a pass while staying out of the crease at 8:27 to make it 9-7.
Just 27 seconds later, Robinson’s shot beat Del Bianco to seal the 10-7 victory and knock off the heavily-favoured Vancouver Warriors from the playoffs.
The Vancouver Warriors head coach Curt Malawsky, and captain Brett Mydske commented after the game:
Comments from Halifax Thunderbirds’ head coach Mike Accursi after the game:
Top Scorers
Halifax Thunderbirds
Jason Knox — 4g, 2a
Clarke Petterson — 2g, 3a
Cody Jamieson — 1g, 2a
Jake Withers — 1g, 2a
Vancouver Warriors
Keegan Bal — 3g, 3a
Jesse King — 1g, 4a
Curtis Dickson — 1g, 1a
Marcus Klarich — 2g
Adam Charalambides — 2a
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