Game Preview - Halifax vs Colorado
Apr 18, 2024
The Halifax Thunderbirds wrap up their regular-season schedule at home when they welcome the Colorado Mammoth to Scotiabank Centre on Saturday night. Opening face-off is set for 7:30 p.m. AT.
Head to Head
This will be the second meeting with the Mammoth for the Thunderbirds since moving to Halifax in 2019. They played Colorado in The Nest back in that inaugural season, beating them 12-9 in front of the home faithful.
Scouting the Thunderbirds
Coming off a bye week, Halifax will be looking to bounce back from a lost on the West Coast.
Randy Staats (20G, 22A) returned to the lineup and posted four goals and five points on the night. But it was Clarke Petterson (38G, 58A) and Austin Shanks (22G, 59A) who had seven points apiece to lead Halifax in scoring for the game.
Petterson has one game left in his best offensive season to date. He sits just four points shy of reaching the 100-point mark for the first time in his career. He would also be the first Thunderbird to reach the mark and the first player in the organization since 2018 to hit 100 points.
Saturday could also be another historical night for veteran Ryan Benesch (42G, 36A). With five points, he would become just the seventh player in NLL history to reach 1,300 points for a career. It would cap off a regular season that has seen the 39-year-old capture a handful of massive milestones.
The Thunderbirds’ defence will be looking to build momentum heading into the postseason. Jake Withers, Graeme Hossack, and Ryan Terefenko are all having fantastic seasons, while the likes of Tyson Bell, Colton Armstrong, and Trevor Smyth are also providing big minutes out the back gate.
Warren Hill will be back in the cage for Halifax. The Thunderbirds’ starter sits with an 8-8 record this season along with a 10.90 goals-against average and a .770 save percentage.
Scouting the Mammoth
Despite the Mammoth’s record to this point in the year, they’re a squad that loves to defy expectations. They’ve made the NLL finals each of the last two years, winning the championship in 2022. In each of those years, they had to open the playoffs on the road as a lower seed in their division.
That has to do with the ability of their forward core, which includes Eli McLaughlin (40G, 48A), Connor Robinson (18G, 37A), and Zed Williams (27G, 25A) as their most veteran pieces.
Connor Kelly (37G, 24A) has also been a big addition to the fold, bringing some solid production to the team’s right side. As has Tyson Gibson (21G, 33A). The former first-overall pick has already set a career-high in points this season with Colorado.
Robinson was forced to leave the Mammoth’s first game last weekend with an undisclosed injury and didn’t play in the second half of their back-to-back against Vegas. So his status will have to be monitored heading into this game. He’s a key piece to the Colorado attack.
The same goes for starter Dillon Ward. The former Goalie of the Year left early against Philadelphia at home and didn’t return. He and Robinson were both placed on Injured Reserve last weekend.
If they cannot play Saturday, it’ll be next man up for the Mammoth. Thomas Vela picked up a bigger role on the lefty side. He’s shown glimpses of his offensive potential throughout his short career to date. But a lot of the attention will fall on McLaughlin and Dylan Kinnear (8G, 14A). Especially after the team moved veteran Chris Wardle at the trade deadline.
Veteran netminder Tyler Carlson and Third String Nate Faccin split time against the Desert Dogs. They each saw 30 minutes, with Faccin putting up 26 saves in a losing effort. Carlson holds an 11.47 GAA and .760 SV% while Faccin has a 14.00 GAA and a .790 SV% from his first appearance of the season a week ago.
Milestone Watch
- Ryan Benesch needs five points to reach 1,300 for his career
- Austin Shanks needs four assists to reach 200 for his career
- Jake Withers needs 23 face-off wins to set the single-season NLL record (362)...Needs 11 loose balls to reach 1,200 for his career
- Trevor Smyth needs six loose balls to reach 200 for his career
- Johnny Pearson needs eight loose balls to reach 100 for his career
Broadcast Information
Thunderbirds fans can catch Saturday’s action on TV as Scotiabank Centre will play host to the NLL Game of the Week on TSN. The game can also be watched on TSN+ in Canada and ESPN+ in the United States