The Saskatchewan Rush were the first team to reach the 10-game milestone during the 2024-2025 season. Word must not have traveled all the way east to Halifax, as evidenced by the Thunderbirds’ 17-9 thrashing of the fellas from Saskatoon. In the opening battle of Week 16 supremacy, 10,595 Atlantic Coasters filled the Scotiabank Centre, with the electric crowd treated to a highly impressive showing from the hometown lacrosse guys.
They led 9-2 after the 1st quarter and never let up. @HFXThunderbirds take it 17-9 over Saskatchewan in The Nest.
GAME RECAP 👀 pic.twitter.com/719rT4w79T
— NLL (@NLL) March 15, 2025
The Thunderbirds raced to a 9-2 lead after the first 15 minutes of play. This first-quarter domination featured both four-goal and three-goal outbursts from the victors. Halifax led 12-4 at halftime, with the game getting no closer than nine goals, until the last minute, when the Rush connected on a garbage time score, lowering the concluding deficit to eight.
Hat tricks were in high demand for the team with 17 next to their logo, as Clarke Petterson, Randy Staats, and Mike Robinson notched three goals apiece, with the trio combining on 12 assists. Cody Jamieson, Cole Kirst, and Thomas Hoggarth contributed two each on what was a night chock-full of offensive providers.
On the other side of the playing surface, Warren Hill made his name known, knocking down 39 of 48 shot attempts.
Clark Walter and Adam Jay were the lone multi-goal scorers for Saskatchewan, blasting two a player, on a night the now 10-4 Rush would like to forget.
328 days after last appearing in an NLL game, 2023 league MVP Christian Del Bianco returned between the pipes, making his debut for the Vancouver Warriors. Del Bianco showed some early rust, allowing a goal on the very first shot hurled in his direction. In the wake of a subsequent assist on a Brett Mydske goal, CDB settled in beautifully, allowing a mere eight scores in Vancouver’s 13-8 triumph over the Toronto Rock in front of just shy of 10,000 attendees at Rogers Arena. All told, the 27-year keeper stood tall against 48 of the 56 endeavors directed towards the back of the net.
In his first NLL game in 328 days, Christian Del Bianco returned and stopped 48 of 56 shots on goal for the @VanWarriors.
Del Bianco highlight reel 📽️ pic.twitter.com/aOdDi67QBK
— NLL (@NLL) March 15, 2025
The Warriors and Rock traded initial goals before the British Columbians rattled off five straight and eight of the next nine scores, setting themselves up for a comfortable 8-2 halftime separation. Vancouver led 13-4 after three, with Toronto ending the night in a slightly more respectable fashion, closing the spread to five as the final horn sounded.
Keegan Bal and Adam Charalambides starred for the winning side, with Bal scoring four and assisting on five, alongside the Rutgers alum, who posted three goals and three assists.
Can’t beat a hot Keegan Bal! The @VanWarriors forward led his team with 4 goals & 5 assists in a big win over Toronto.
Bal highlights 👀 pic.twitter.com/1Wa97NUnag
— NLL (@NLL) March 15, 2025
Tom Schreiber, Josh Dawick, and Corey Small were responsible for two goals per player, but the Rock were unable to muster much of anything beyond the exploits of this trio.
Del Bianco and the Warriors look to build some momentum next Saturday night when Lyle Thompson and the Georgia Swarm trek their way to Western Canada.
