Panther City can't spoil party in Halifax
For one half, the luck of the Irish was on the Halifax Thunderbirds’ side Friday night.
In the first-ever National Lacrosse League meeting between the Thunderbirds and Texas-based Panther City, the St. Patrick’s celebration at Scotiabank Centre was in full swing as the host side took a 10-2 lead into halftime.
But the party turned to the Ides of March in the third quarter as Panther City scored five unanswered goals to cut the lead to three, stunning the celebratory crowd.
Order was restored quickly early into the fourth as Halifax tallied three goals in a one-minute span and escaped with a 13-9 victory before a team record crowd of 10,196.
“Obviously we had a great first half but we let up a little bit in the third and they’re a team that’s not going to give up,” Thunderbirds defender Graeme Hossack said.
“They’re a very talented team and had some push back. That helped remind us that we still had to finish the game. We had to get back to what we were doing right in the first half, talking on defence, getting the ball to the offence and letting them do their thing. Luckily it worked out.”
Thunderbirds leading scorer Clarke Petterson collected three goals, including two in that fourth-quarter outburst, and three assists to pace Halifax (8-6), which halted a two-game slide and moved into a tie for fourth with the Georgia Swarm. Panther City falls to 6-7.
Austin Shanks also netted a hat trick while Aaron Woods and Ryan Benesch each had four points for the Thunderbirds, who led 6-1 after one quarter.
They took their foot off the gas in the third and Panther City took advantage as
Jonathan Donville had two of their five goals in the quarter and held Halifax without a goal.
The stunned Thunderbirds quickly regrouped with Petterson scoring at the 12:24 and 11:24 marks and sandwiched in between, Jake Withers tallying in transition as he ran the floor with a defender on his back.
It only took a minute for the party to resume inside the arena.
They won’t see their Thunderbirds at home until April 20 when they host the Colorado Mammoth.
They head into a pivotal three-game road swing which starts next weekend in Hamilton, Ont., against the Toronto Rock.
“At this point in the season, the standings are very tight so having a win over a team in the race with us is huge,” Hossack said. “So, it’s good to put that in our pocket and move on to the next one and an important road trip. They’re all big from here.”
Friday’s win carried extra weight for Hossack, who played against younger brother Matt in an NLL game for the first time in four years.
Matt Hossack, captain of Panther City, has been with the third-year team since he was selected as the franchise’s inaugural pick in the 2021 NLL expansion draft.
The last matchup between the Hossacks came during the 2020 season when Matt Hossack was a member of the Saskatchewan Rush.
“It still carries some special meaning,” said Graeme Hossack, who had his fiancée and seventh-month-old son in attendance.
“It’s been nice watching Matt grow with that franchise, being picked up in the expansion draft and becoming the leader he is today. But at the same time, I still don’t want him to win when he’s playing us. I can cheer for him in the background on other weekends. But it was nice to have everyone out.”