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Game Preview: Thunderbirds welcome Bandits for Valentine's Day Showdown

Feb 14, 2026

The Halifax Thunderbirds will wrap their season series with the Buffalo Bandits when the two teams meet up for a Valentine's Day clash on Saturday night at Scotiabank Centre. Opening face-off is set for 7:30 p.m. AT. 

Scouting the Thunderbirds

The Thunderbirds are looking to get back to winning ways after dropping three straight games. Randy Staats (11G, 22A) and Clarke Petterson (14G, 18A) lead the Thunderbirds in scoring on the year. Thunderbirds captain Cody Jamieson (12G, 9A). He led all Halifax players in scoring in the team’s last outing, putting up four assists. 

Jason Knox (5G, 5A) had his best outing of the year to date, scoring a hat trick against Georgia. He also had two more goals in the first meeting of the year against Buffalo. Brendan Bomberry (1G, 8A), Will MacLeod (4G,3A), and Mike Robinson (2G, 5A) have all been contributors for the Thunderbirds’ offence this season. 

Ryan Terefenko has 12 points in transition, with Tyson Bell and Nonkon Thompson following up with five points apiece.

Graeme Hossack and Colton Armstrong each sit tied with 10 caused turnovers apiece. 

Warren Hill holds a 9.74 goals-against average and an .820 save percentage for the season. He has a 3-3 record at the halfway mark of the year.

Scouting the Bandits

The pairing of Dhane Smith (20G, 35A) and Josh Byrne (12G, 31A) continues to pace the Bandits in scoring, while Ian MacKay (14G, 15A) has made the move seamlessly from transition to forward. 

Kyle Buchanan (14G, 10A) is a strong secondary scoring option once again, and Tehoka Nanticoke (10G, 9A) is one of the top power forwards in the league. Former Thunderbird Ryan Benesch (4G, 10A) and Clay Scanlan (5G, 6A) round out the offence for Buffalo. 

Smith finished the last game against Halifax with three goals and seven points, while Byrne also had a hat trick and six points. Benesch added a goal and two assists. 

Defensively, Nick Weiss leads the team with 11 points in transition, while captain Steve Priolo has nine points of his own. Dylan Robinson is also a threat to push the ball up the floor

Matt Vinc has had an up-and-down year, sitting with a 3-5 record on the year along with an 11.40 GAA and a .756 SV%.

Milestone Watch

  • Cody Jamieson needs two assists to become the 12th player in NLL history to reach 650 assists for a career…Needs 10 loose balls to reach 900 for his career
  • Stephen Keogh needs three goals to reach 250 for his career...Needs 11 points to reach 500 for his career...Needs five loose balls to reach 600 for his career
  • Jason Knox needs one point to reach 100 for his career
  • Ryan Terefenko needs two points to reach 100 for his career
  • Brendan Bomberry needs 10 goals to reach 100 for his career
  • Jake Withers needs eight points to reach 100 for his career
  • Tyson Bell needs 12 points to reach 100 for his career

Broadcast Information

Thunderbirds fans can tune into TSN on Saturday to catch the Thunderbirds as part of the Game of the Week. The game can also be watched on TSN+ in Canada and ESPN+ in the United States.

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