Thunderbirds grind out road victory over Wings
Mar 27, 2026
PHILADELPHIA, PA (March 27, 2026) -- The Halifax Thunderbirds didn't hold a lead until the final 12 minutes of regulation, but they were able to come out with an 8-6 victory over the Philadelphia Wings at Xfinity Mobile Arena on Friday night.
Mike Robinson led the way for Halifax, finishing with a pair of goals and four points on the night. Austin Blumbergs also had two goals and three points, while Cody Jamieson added three assists.
Brendan Bomberry, Clarke Petterson, and Stephen Keogh each finished with two points apiece, and Jason Knox had a goal in the win.
Warren Hill made 43 saves to secure his sixth win on the season.
The game started out with the Wings jumping out to an early 2-0 lead, with the newly acquired Lukas Nielsen getting both markers for the hosts. Halifax crawled back to end the quarter, with Robinson stinging a low-to-high shot while shorthanded. Blumbergs followed that by scoring off a solid cut through the middle before finishing off a Jamieson feed.
The teams went into the second frame locked at two, where they continued to trade goals.
Landen Sinfield got his first of the game to put Philadelphia back ahead, but Robinson's second of the game came just over a minute later, with the lefty getting a step on his defender and outwaiting the goaltender. Dalton Young and Jason Knox traded markers, but the Wings took the lead into the half, thanks to Sam LeClair's first of the game with 43 seconds left in the half.
Out of halftime, the goaltenders and defences locked things down, with only one goal finding twine in the stanza. That came out of the stick of Blumbergs, who outran his defender around the outside before finishing in tight to tie things back up at 5-5.
With both teams looking for a go-ahead goal, it was the Thunderbirds who found the tiebreaker. Robinson jumped to grab a loose ball before finding an open Bomberry through a double team. The veteran finished it off with a crease dive to put Halifax up 6-5 with 12 minutes to play -- it was their first time holding the lead the entire night.
They'd get the insurance goal just five seconds later, with Jake Withers instantly winning the ensuing face-off and feeding Petterson for a quick strike. Halifax's run continued with a stroke of luck, as a missed shot was mishandled by a Wings player, with the ball crossing the goal line to make it 8-5 for the Thunderbirds -- Bomberry was given credit for the goal.
Philadelphia would pull one back, as LeClair scored on the power play with over five minutes to play, but Hill and the Halifax defence stood tall to close out the game and the win.
Halifax sits at 6-9 on the season with this victory. They return home in a week's time for a matchup against the Rochester Knighthawks at Scotiabank Centre. Opening face-off is at 7:00 p.m. AT.