Hey, I know you
Two franchises that will forever be intertwined met for the first time on Saturday as the Halifax Thunderbirds, fresh off their move from Rochester, hosted the new Rochester Knighthawks in the Scotiabank Centre.
Unfortunately for the Knighthawks, the more experienced franchise won out.
Rochester led by as much as many as three goals in the first half, but the T-Birds stormed back with an 8-5 run in the final two quarters to secure a 14-12 victory. The Knighthawks scored the final two goals to make it interesting, with one each from Pat Saunders and Holden Cattoni, but time ran out on the comeback effort.
Halifax was backed by six-point performances from Ryan Benesch and Cody Jamieson, and Stephen Keogh and Clarke Petterson each added five points. It was an impressive debut for Petterson, who was playing in his first career game.
“I want to do whatever it takes to get another goal for our team whether it’s a loose ball or a reset,” Petterson told HalifaxThunderbirds.com. “The veteran leaders like Keogh, [Benesch] and [Jamieson], they really help me out by telling me what they’re seeing on the floor, telling me what they think I should do, what I can do to help the team, it’s really their leadership. If they say jump, I say how high?”
Jamieson’s first goal for the Thunderbirds came against the team bearing the same name as his former squad.
“I didn’t even think about that,” Jamieson said. “They’ve rebranded, it’s not the same colors, it’s not the same logo, and I think the biggest part is we got to bring our team with us. It’s the boys who make the team ... that’s family, that’s home.”
Rochester is still searching for its first victory.
“We had a way better effort tonight,” K-Hawks transition player Jay Thorimbert told RochesterKnighthawks.com. “We were two goals away and pressing at the end of the game. Mental lapses hurt us in the third. Maybe we were riding high because we were leading at halftime. We will take those as learning lessons as a new group and go from there.”
Noteworthy
The San Diego Seals announced this week they’ll be hosting a game at Marine Corps Air Station Miramar in February. The Rumble on the Runway will be the first regular-season sporting event played on a Marine Corps base in U.S. history … Rochester’s Jay Thorimbert won 11 faceoffs against Halifax, pushing him past Geoff Snider and into first in all-time wins in league history. “You are proud of any kind of accomplishment that you do in any sport,” Thorimbert said. “But you don’t start playing a sport to set records; it’s to raise that trophy over your head.” … In addition to raising the banner, the Roughnecks also unveiled their championship rings … Calgary’s loss was the first the Roughnecks have ever suffered with Jesse King in the lineup … Halifax’s Ryan Benesch passed Mark Steenhuis to move into ninth all-time on the league’s scoring chart. Up next is Shawn Williams.
Up Next
Next week features the busiest slate yet this year, with eight games on the schedule. A pair of divisional matchups open up the weekend on Friday as New York travels to New England and San Diego hosts Calgary.
Saturday features five matchups: Toronto at Rochester, Colorado at Georgia, Saskatchewan at New York, Halifax at Buffalo and Philadelphia at Calgary. San Diego and Vancouver wrap the week on Sunday with an afternoon showing in British Columbia.