Thunderbirds Fall in Game 1 of NLL Finals
NLL Halifax Thunderbirds

Thunderbirds Fall in Game 1 of NLL Finals

Published on May 15, 2026 under National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Halifax Thunderbirds News Release


HAMILTON, ON -- The Halifax Thunderbirds dropped Game 1 of the NLL Finals on Friday night, losing to the Toronto Rock 13-11 at TD Coliseum.

Clarke Petterson, Cody Jamieson, and Jason Knox each finished with four points apiece, while Brendan Bomberry, Mike Robinson, and Bo Bowhunter all had three points each.

Stephen Keogh and Casey Wilson also finished with two points.

Warren Hill made 46 stops, but was saddled with the loss in Game 1

Toronto was the team to get out to a quick start, with Dan Craig and Owen Hiltz scoring the first two goals of the game. But Halifax answered back with goals from Bowhunter, Robinson, Knox, and Petterson. Mark Matthews ended the run, pulling his team to within one after 15 minutes.

But Halifax jumped ahead right off the hop in the second quarter, as Jake Withers won the opening draw and went all the way for a transition goal. Under 20 seconds later, Knox got his second off another quick strike chance.

CJ Kirst pulled back one goal for Toronto, but another three-goal run helped the Thunderbirds grab the momentum. Casey Wilson, Stephen Keogh, and Knox each scored, making it 9-4 Halifax.

Kirst got his second heading into the half to make it a four-goal lead for Halifax at the break.

But in the second half, it was the Rock flipping the script. Kirst had back-to-back goals before setting up Josh Dawick to make it a one-goal game. Chris Boushy knotted the game at nine, sending the teams into the fourth deadlocked.

Toronto found the go-ahead goal with a marker from Challen Rogers, but back-to-back markers from Jamieson put Halifax back into the lead. Unfortunately for Halifax, it was short-lived.

Hiltz found a transition goal 20 seconds later, and Sam English had the go-ahead goal with just under six minutes left.

English scored an empty-netter with 17 seconds left to give the Rock the Game 1 win.

Now down 1-0 in the Finals, the series shifts to Halifax, with the Thunderbirds looking to knot things back up in Game 2 on Sunday. Opening face-off is at 7:00 p.m. AT.

Check out the Halifax Thunderbirds Statistics

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National Lacrosse League Stories from May 15, 2026


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