Thunderbirds Seek Out Another Win in Toronto

The Halifax Thunderbirds, after coming off an impressive come from behind win in Calgary, look to maintain their first place standing amongst the North Division.

The Thunderbirds will take on the Toronto Rock this Friday night at Scotiabank Arena. Although a familiar name, Scotiabank Arena looks to be a hostile environment for the Thunderbirds as they head into downtown Toronto with an undefeated 6-0 record.

Leading the way thus far has been the stellar performance of Stephen Keogh. Notching 8 goals in his last 2 games, the veteran has hit his stride at the right time.

With every team gunning for the undefeated Thunderbirds, Keogh has been a bright spot in their recent come from behind victories.

Toronto, coming off of a bye week, looks to recover from their recent 10-8 loss to the Bandits. Rob Hellyer is coming off a six-point performance (5+1). The team looks to capitalize on their power-play struggles and hopes to gain back a few key players to their lineup as Tom Schreiber, Latrell Harris and Adam Jones have all been on the Injured Reserve as of late.

The Thunderbirds will look to improve on their 6-0 record but will have to get off to a better start on the road if they expect to gather another win. Having gone down early in the previous two games to their opponents, the ‘Birds will have to find the will power to start off on the right foot.

“It is always special playing in front of family and friends in Toronto,” said Luc Magnan. “However, this is a divisional match and that means a little more, but we will focus on our principals.”

Having struggled early on in games, the remarkable performances from both Warren Hill and the Halifax defense have allowed this team to stay within reach of their opponents. With only 6 goals total in the teams previous two first half performances, the offense will need to find their groove early on.

"Defensively we have been focusing on ourselves more than our opponents," said James Barclay. "We believe that if we execute our team defensive principles, while making minor adjustments tailored to our opponents tendencies, we will be in a great position to win the game. It also helps having a goalie like Warren Hill behind us.”

This matchup will be the first of three between these two foes. This year, a little more has been added to the Canadian competition as both teams will be competing for the Alterna Cup. Halifax, Toronto, Calgary, Vancouver and Saskatchewan will all faceoff this season with the best record amongst the Canadian teams taking home the Alterna Cup.

Faceoff is set for 8:30PM local time at the Scotiabank Arena in Toronto. The game can be streamed on B/R Live.