Game Preview - Halifax vs New York
Apr 22, 2023
The Halifax Thunderbirds return to The Nest for their final regular-season home game as the New York Riptide come to town for a showdown at Scotiabank Centre on Saturday night. Opening face-off is set for 7:00 p.m. AT.
Head to Head
This will be the third and final matchup between these two teams this season. Halifax has gotten the better of the Riptide in the first two games. They came out victorious on the road in a lopsided 20-11 final in New York in the second game of the season. The Riptide gave the Thunderbirds a run in the second meeting, but Halifax was able to pull out a 14-12 win in front of the home faithful at Scotiabank Centre.
All-time, the Thunderbirds hold a 5-0 record against New York, and on Saturday night, they’ll be aiming to sweep the season series at home.
Scouting the Thunderbirds
Halifax bounced back in a massive way last weekend in Saskatchewan, with another 15-goal outburst – with nine coming in the fourth quarter.
Randy Staats (29G, 51A) and Clarke Petterson (26G, 49A) both stepped up big in the victory, finishing with seven combined goals and 13 combined points on the night.
Despite being without their top two goal scorers in Chris Boushy and Eric Fannell, the team found a way. Ryan Benesch (29G, 38A) potted four while Austin Shanks (12G, 32A) also returned to the lineup and played a massive role with five helpers against the Rush.
But the most impressive outing of the night went to draw man Jake Withers, who made his return after a one-game absence and absolutely dominated the stripe, going 30 of 31 on face-offs while also scooping up 13 loose balls. Graeme Hossack also finished with 15 LBs and a caused turnover.
Warren Hill was strong when his team needed him the most, as he turned away 34 shots on the night for his seventh win of the year. He sits with an 11.45 goals-against average and a .770 save percentage heading into the penultimate game of the season.
Scouting the Riptide
When looking at the Riptide, there’s one name that stands out among the rest. Jeff Teat (51G, 71A) currently sits atop the NLL in scoring. He’s the man that makes the Riptide offence go. In the last meeting between these two teams, he had six goals and had a point on 10 of New York’s 12 goals.
But with the attention paid to Teat every time he’s on the floor, it opens up the Riptide’s other weapons to get loose for chances. Reilly O’Connor (17G, 41A) has been the man working the two-man game most frequently with Teat. Look for him and Larson Sundown (17G, 16A) to have some opportunities in this game.
The same goes for righty Connor Kearnan (26G, 40A), who has been a reliable crease finisher for his entire NLL career. With the mid-season injury to Brett Hickey, Tyler Digby (15G, 20A) and Mike Burke (9G, 11A) have worked in tandem to try and help pick up his production.
New York has a few dangerous players in transition. Scott Dominey is a speedster out the back gate and veteran Kevin Brownell has brought some stability to this unit as a whole. Ron John is also coming along as a defensive prospect on this team.
The biggest revelation for the Riptide to this point has been the play of Cameron Dunkerley, who took over as the team’s starter just a few weeks ago. He’s In seven appearances, he holds a 2-3 record but has a 10.75 GAA and a .790 SV%.
Milestone Watch
- Ryan Benesch needs nine assists to surpass Shawn Williams for eighth all-time in league history
- Graeme Hossack needs five points to reach 100 for his career
- Jake Withers needs 12 loose balls to reach 900 for his career…needs 15 loose balls to surpass John Grant for third in franchise history
Broadcast Info
The Thunderbirds and Riptide will go head to head as part of the NLL Game of the Week on TSN. Fans can catch the game on TV in Canada. Thunderbirds fans in the United States can tune in on ESPN+.