Nine-Goal second half lifts Thunderbirds over Warriors
Apr 25, 2026
VANCOUVER, BC (April 24, 2026) -- The Halifax Thunderbirds mounted a nine-goal second-half comeback, defeating the Vancouver Warriors 10-7 on Friday night at Rogers Arena to punch their ticket to the NLL Semifinals.
Jason Knox had a career night for the Thunderbirds, posting four goals and six points to lead the team in scoring. Clarke Petterson followed that with two goals and five points of his own.
Jake Withers and Cody Jamieson each had a goal and two assists, while Mike Robinson came up with two massive goals in the second half.
Warren Hill pitched a second-half shutout and turned away 36 Vancouver shots to help his team to the quarterfinal victory.
The first quarter was a tight-checking one on both sides, with just three combined goals being scored. The opening pair of the game went to Vancouver, with Marcus Klarich and Jesse King to make it 2-0 Warriors with 4:41 left in the opening frame. Jason Knox got Halifax on the board in the final minute, but the hosts carried that 2-1 advantage into the second.
It was the second stanza where Vancouver pulled out a big advantage. Curtis Dickson started it off with a power-play goal before Keegan Bal got his first of three in the frame. Klarich got his second of the game alongside the hat trick from Vancouver's scoring leader, and after 30 minutes, Halifax found itself down 7-1.
For much of the third, Halifax was trying to find a way to solve Vancouver starter Christian Del Bianco. Finally, at the 6:46 mark of the third, Jamieson found the twine, ripping his patented twister home on the power play to get Halifax's first goal since the opening quarter.
That would be the start of a historic run for the Thunderbirds. Back-to-back tallies from Knox completed his hat trick. His second came off a bullet while on the run, while the third was scored after Knox lowered a shoulder to beat his defender before sneaking a shot far-side.
Petterson made it four straight shortly after, as his outside shot deflected off a defender's stick and in. Knox continued his scorching third, burying his fourth of the night off an underhand rip on top of the crease. Robinson found the tying marker under a minute later, floating one past Del Bianco to send the teams into the final frame knotted 7-7.
With both teams looking for the go-ahead goal, it was Halifax's transition that broke the deadlock. Jake Withers forced a turnover in his own end before turning on the burners and firing a shot into the top corner with a defender on his back. At the 6:22 mark, it was Ryan Terefenko getting out in transition, feeding Petterson, who outwaited the goaltender to give Halifax an insurance goal.
Robinson's second of the night was the one that put the game on ice, as he bounced one home with six minutes to go.
From there, Hill and the Thunderbirds' defence shut the door, completing their second-half shutout of the Warriors' offence.
The Thunderbirds advance to the NLL Semifinals for the second consecutive year with the victory. They'll now meet the winner of the Georgia-Buffalo quarterfinal matchup in the next round.
Stay tuned to our social media channels for updates on the schedule for the semifinal series.