Justin Ivey, Co-Editor
Lacrosse is Awesome©
The Halifax Thunderbirds (1-0) hosted the Oshawa Firewolves (1-1) on Saturday night for the first game of the season at Scotiabank Centre. The Firewolves opened their season last weekend, a tight 8-7 win over the Toronto Rock. The evening game turned into a defensive battle and only 13 goals were scored between the two teams while 13 penalties were assessed. Firewolves netminder Doug Jamieson (8GA, 35SV) and Thunderbirds goalie Warren Hill (2GA, 49 SV) put on a clinic as they turned away a combined 87 shots on goal. Unfortunately for the visiting Firewolves, the Thunderbirds only allowed two goals on the evening, both coming in the first quarter. Oshawa took a 2-1 lead with 1:41 left in the first quarter and did not score for the final 46 minutes and 41 seconds of the game while Halifax continued to stretch their lead. This is the third time in NLL history a team has only allowed two goals. Final Score: Oshawa Firewolves – 2, Halifax Thunderbirds – 11.
The game started on a good foot for Oshawa, as Tye Kurtz (2G) scored the game opening goal on a power play opportunity just 2:32 in. In a bit of a precursor to the rest of the night, the net goal was not recorded for 10 minutes. Ryan Terefenko (1G) evened the score 1-1 with 2:27 on the clock, but just 46 seconds later Kurtz scored his second of the evening. Not to be outdone, Halifax struck back on a goal from Dawson Theede (2G) on a power play with 39 seconds left. At the end of the first quarter, Oshawa and Halifax were tied 2-2.
The goal horn did not sound until Theede scored his second goal in a row, and the first of the second quarter, 6:18 into the frame. Quickly following, Randy Staats (2G, 3A) joined the party with his first of the night and with 4:55 left in the half, Cody Jamieson (2G, 2A) extended the Halifax lead to five. Despite two power play opportunities for the Firewolves, they could not find the net. At the half, Halifax led Oshawa 5-2.
The third quarter started and ended with the same score. Six penalties, three on each team, but no scores as Hill and Jamieson turned into brick walls and the defenses buckled down. With the game still in reach, Oshawa needed to find some offense and they entered the fourth quarter frustrated. The frustration led to an early penalty on Alex Simmons but no scores. Mike Robinson (1G) increased the lead to four with 9:50 left in the game. Jamieson scored his second just over two minutes later and then Staats ripped in a shot from just a few steps outside the bench with 4:47 remaining. Down 8-2, Oshawa elected to pull Jamieson in favor of Andrew Kidd (1SV). Kidd made one save in the remaining time while running back and forth to the bench for the extra attacker. Even with the six on five, Oshawa could not break through. Colton Armstrong (1G, 1A), Clarke Petterson (1G, 5A) and Tyson Bell (1G, 1A) all scored empty net goals to bring us to the final. Final Score: Oshawa Firewolves – 2, Halifax Thunderbirds -11.
Up Next:
The Halifax Thunderbirds (1-0) visit the Buffalo Bandits (1-0) on Saturday, December 13 at 7:00 PM EST.
The Oshawa Firewolves (1-1) visit the Georgia Swarm (0-1) on Saturday, December 13 at 7:30 PM EST.