The Halifax Thunderbirds opened their tenure at Scotiabank Centre in style on Saturday night, though they may have set an unrealistically high bar for their first-time viewers.

The T-Birds, fresh off a move from Rochester to the Canadian Atlantic, opened on an 8-0 run in a one-sided 12-4 win against the New York Riptide, another franchise playing its first-ever game. A reported 6,847 fans took in the action as nine Thunderbirds found the back of the net.

“It felt awesome out there, we came out hot, we came out ready,” Thunderbirds captain Cody Jamieson told halifaxthunderbirds.com. “There was a lot of excitement coming for this game, so we came ready to go right from the first whistle.”

Stephen Keogh, Austin Shanks and Eric Fannell each scored twice, and Warren Hill made 40 saves in his new role as season-opening starter.

For the Riptide, the game marked a rough opening for the expansion team. Like the new Rochester Knighthawks, the Riptide failed to reach five goals. Unsurprisingly, New York and Rochester were involved in the two most lopsided results thus far.

Finishing off strong

The Buffalo Bandits scored the final three goals of the fourth quarter, including two from Dhane Smith and one miraculous leaping tally by Josh Byrne, to best the San Diego Seals 13-10 and start their season with a victory.

Byrne’s goal with just over two minutes remaining in regulation came on a spectacular leaping effort from the former No. 1 overall pick, making the score 11-10.

AIR BYRNE sealed it! pic.twitter.com/598ilQQFEx

— Buffalo Bandits (@NLLBandits) December 8, 2019

“It came down to a five-minute game, then a three-minute game,” Bandits head coach John Tavares said via NLL.com. “We were fortunate to score a couple goals there.”

Buffalo goalie Matt Vinc was peppered with shots in the closing minutes but was up to the task.

The Bandits’ new offense was questioned after key departures from last year — notably expansion draft picks Shawn Evans and Jordan Durston and injured Thomas Hoggarth and Chase Fraser — but they were able to reach 13 goals, a number Tavares thought would lead to a win.

Dhane Smith was his usual self, notching six points on three goals and three assists, and Corey Small and Chris Cloutier each had three goals and two assists.

“We’re going to have to find ways to score because of absences of players from last year,” Tavares said. “When you’re missing key components, you provide that opportunity for somebody else.”

The Black Wolves also won with a late burst, with Callum Crawford earning two of his seven points in a four-goal run to end the game.

Andrew Kew and Nick Chaykowsky had the other two tallies late as the Pack rallied for a 12-8 win in Toronto.

The Rock erased a four-goal lead to tie the game at eight, but New England responded. Joe Resetarits had five points, while Kew notched four in his NLL debut.

Major suspension

The Calgary Roughnecks could be without their captain and the reigning NLL MVP for a large chunk of the season. Riggers forward Dane Dobbie was hit with a six-game suspension following a matchup with Vancouver littered with extracurricular activities in the closing minutes.

Dobbie, whose dive into Eric Penney’s crease sparked one of the skirmishes, was assessed with a gross misconduct penalty by the league on Friday. That penalty carries a one-game suspension. Because of Rule 41.4, Dobbie has been assessed an additional five-game suspension for being deemed a repeat offender of the infraction. Barring a successful appeal, Dobbie would be eligible to return on Feb. 22.

What exactly Dobbie did remains a mystery. The NLL has opted to keep the entire situation in-house, as noted in a statement released by commissioner Nick Sakiewicz.

“This is a private matter that has been resolved by including everyone involved. We consider this closed and are not going to comment further on any details. The resulting judgement came from the input of all involved and speaks for itself. There will be no further comment.”

Noteworthy

Tyson Gibson, this year’s No. 1 pick, scored the first goal in New York Riptide history to end Halifax’s eight-goal run to start the game. He found the net on a diving play from behind the T-Bird crease … Jake Withers scored the first Thunderbirds goal right off the faceoff, 10 seconds into the contest … The Bandits' win was the first for head coach John Tavares as the solo head man. He shared duties with Rich Kilgour last season … Jason Wolf of The Buffalo News wrote this week about Mitch de Snoo, who lost his father days before the Bandits’ East Division final win … It’s been a low-scoring first two weeks of the season, with no team scoring more than 14 times. Six of the 12 teams failed to crack double-digits.

And there it is! The first goal in Riptide history from Tyson Gibson. #GetPulledIn pic.twitter.com/L9EccL0T0W

— New York Riptide (@newyorkriptide) December 8, 2019

Up Next

Week 3 of the season features four games, including the season-opener for the Philadelphia Wings. The second-year franchise kicks off the weekend Saturday night when it travels to Georgia for a 7 p.m. ET faceoff.

The remaining three contests also take place Saturday: New England at Saskatchewan, New York at Vancouver and Toronto at San Diego.