Thunderbirds Head West for Showdown with Warriors
NLL Halifax Thunderbirds

Thunderbirds Head West for Showdown with Warriors

Published on April 24, 2026 under National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Halifax Thunderbirds News Release


The Halifax Thunderbirds head on the road on Friday night, as they face the Vancouver Warriors in the quarterfinals of the NLL Playoffs at Rogers Arena. Face-off is set for 11:00 p.m. AT.

Scouting the Thunderbirds

The Thunderbirds found their way into the playoffs with a final-week victory over Ottawa, and it was a balanced effort between the forwards and transition.

Clarke Petterson (40G, 50A) has been on fire in the second half of the year, finishing with 90 points in the regular season to pace Halifax. He was followed by Thunderbirds captain Cody Jamieson (23G, 33A), who continues to be productive for his team.

Jason Knox (19G, 18A) and Mike Robinson (13G, 17A) have each turned their respective seasons around after slow starts in the first half of the year. Brendan Bomberry (7G, 21A) and Stephen Keogh (10G, 10A) will also play a pivotal role in helping to free up space and finishing the ball.

Ryan Terefenko (5G, 21A) finished seventh in team scoring with 26 points in transition. He registered at least a point in all but one game this season. Graeme Hossack and Jake Withers have also picked up their production on the offensive side of the ball. Hossack had two goals and an assist last weekend to help his team make the playoffs.

Warren Hill is in the midst of his best statistical season in the NLL. He set a new career-high in saves during the regular season (685) while finishing with a 9.89 goals-against average and a career-best .813 save percentage.

Scouting the Warriors

Vancouver has one of the best offences in the league, and it's led by Keegan Bal (45G, 79A), who is likely to be one of the frontrunners for MVP at season's end. While he had 79 assists on the year, he also finished second in goals league-wide this year.

The Warriors also boast five forwards with over 50 points this year, showing their spread-out attack. Veterans Jesse King (34G, 46A) and Curtis Dickson (42G, 33A) are driving forces for the team, while Adam Charalambides (26G, 42A) and Marcus Klarich (21G, 30A) have both become serious threats for this unit.

Defensively, the top seed also has one of the best units in the league, which is equal parts big, strong, and athletic. It's led by Ryan Dilks, Brett Mydske, Matt Beers, Jeff Cornwall, and reigning Transition Player of the Year Owen Grant, among others.

Christian Del Bianco continues to be a dominant presence in the cage for Vancouver. The Warriors starter has a 9.38 GAA and an .814 SV% for this season.

Game Story - Transition

In a single-game elimination situation, the team that does the little things well has an edge. This contest could very well come down to who wins the transition battle.

While they had settled the ball more for five-on-five offence to open the year, the Thunderbirds have found big momentum swings and moments when they take chances pushing the ball from the back end as of late. Terefenko and Colton Armstrong are consistent threats to get out and run. Warren Hill looks for them down the floor because of their speed and touch at the other end. Hossack and Withers are also threats every time they bring the ball up. Look for Halifax to try to push for chances off face-off as well.

Halifax has also gotten some timely goals from the likes of Curtis Romanchych and Trevor Smyth in the previous games. If the Thunderbirds get a chance to grab a goal in transition, they're going to take it.

The Thunderbirds will need to put an emphasis on getting off the floor or slowing down the Warriors in reverse transition. Del Bianco is second all-time in points by a goaltender (113) and has 17 assists alone this season - nine more than the closest goaltender this year. He's a threat to pick up a saved shot and outlet it at any point in the game.

Simpson has been his favourite target over the years, but the likes of Grant, Bowering, and the forwards off the bench are all threats to score in unsettled situations.

Milestone Watch

Cody Jamieson needs two goals to reach 40 for his postseason career

Jake Withers needs 15 face-off wins to pass Jamie Hanford for sixth all-time in postseason league history (190)

Broadcast Information

Thunderbirds fans can tune into all the action Friday night on TSN5, as well as TSN+ and NLL+ in Canada, as well as on ESPN+ in the United States.

Check out the Halifax Thunderbirds Statistics

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National Lacrosse League Stories from April 24, 2026


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

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