# 2023 Halifax Thunderbirds season

The 2023 Halifax Thunderbirds season is the third season in Halifax, Nova Scotia for the National Lacrosse League (NLL) franchise that began play in 2020 after relocating from Rochester, New York, where they operated as the Rochester Knighthawks. The Thunderbirds opened the 2023 season on December 2, 2022, against the Philadelphia Wings.

## Regular season
### Final standings

Reference:
East Conference :
| P | Team | GP | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | GF | GA | Diff | GF/GP | GA/GP |
| 1 | Buffalo Bandits – xyz | 18 | 14 | 4 | .778 | 0.0 | 7–2 | 7–2 | 215 | 191 | +24 | 11.94 | 10.61 |
| 2 | Toronto Rock – x | 18 | 13 | 5 | .722 | 1.0 | 8–1 | 5–4 | 234 | 164 | +70 | 13.00 | 9.11 |
| 3 | Halifax Thunderbirds – x | 18 | 10 | 8 | .556 | 4.0 | 5–4 | 5–4 | 238 | 210 | +28 | 13.22 | 11.67 |
| 4 | Rochester Knighthawks – x | 18 | 10 | 8 | .556 | 4.0 | 6–3 | 4–5 | 218 | 214 | +4 | 12.11 | 11.89 |
| 5 | Philadelphia Wings | 18 | 9 | 9 | .500 | 5.0 | 4–5 | 5–4 | 200 | 211 | −11 | 11.11 | 11.72 |
| 6 | Georgia Swarm | 18 | 8 | 10 | .444 | 6.0 | 3–6 | 5–4 | 219 | 207 | +12 | 12.17 | 11.50 |
| 7 | New York Riptide | 18 | 5 | 13 | .278 | 9.0 | 3–6 | 2–7 | 201 | 243 | −42 | 11.17 | 13.50 |
| 8 | Albany FireWolves | 18 | 3 | 15 | .167 | 11.0 | 0–9 | 3–6 | 167 | 233 | −66 | 9.28 | 12.94 |
West Conference :
| P | Team | GP | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | GF | GA | Diff | GF/GP | GA/GP |
| 1 | San Diego Seals – xy | 18 | 14 | 4 | .778 | 0.0 | 7–2 | 7–2 | 240 | 193 | +47 | 13.33 | 10.72 |
| 2 | Calgary Roughnecks – x | 18 | 13 | 5 | .722 | 1.0 | 7–2 | 6–3 | 218 | 167 | +51 | 12.11 | 9.28 |
| 3 | Panther City Lacrosse Club – x | 18 | 10 | 8 | .556 | 4.0 | 6–3 | 4–5 | 204 | 193 | +11 | 11.33 | 10.72 |
| 4 | Colorado Mammoth – x | 18 | 9 | 9 | .500 | 5.0 | 7–2 | 2–7 | 190 | 208 | −18 | 10.56 | 11.56 |
| 5 | Saskatchewan Rush | 18 | 8 | 10 | .444 | 6.0 | 5–4 | 3–6 | 204 | 212 | −8 | 11.33 | 11.78 |
| 6 | Las Vegas Desert Dogs | 18 | 5 | 13 | .278 | 9.0 | 4–5 | 1–8 | 179 | 222 | −43 | 9.94 | 12.33 |
| 7 | Vancouver Warriors | 18 | 4 | 14 | .222 | 10.0 | 2–7 | 2–7 | 188 | 247 | −59 | 10.44 | 13.72 |

## Game log

| Game | Date | Opponent | Location | Score | OT | Attendance | Record |
| 1 | December 2, 2022 | Philadelphia Wings (2018-) | Scotiabank Centre | W 18–8 | | 7,778 | 1–0 |
| 2 | December 17, 2022 | @ New York Riptide | Nassau Live Center | W 20–11 | | 3,896 | 2–0 |
| 3 | December 30, 2022 | @ Buffalo Bandits | KeyBank Center | L 13–18 | | 14,040 | 2–1 |
| 4 | January 7, 2023 | @ Albany FireWolves | MVP Arena | W 14–11 | | 3,843 | 3–1 |
| 5 | January 13, 2023 | Albany FireWolves | Scotiabank Centre | L 10–11 | OT | 9,211 | 3–2 |
| 6 | January 14, 2023 | @ Toronto Rock | FirstOntario Centre | L 8–17 | | 9,304 | 3–3 |
| 7 | January 27, 2023 | Rochester Knighthawks | Scotiabank Centre | W 17–7 | | 7,985 | 4–3 |
| 8 | February 4, 2023 | Calgary Roughnecks | Scotiabank Centre | L 11–12 | OT | 9,497 | 4–4 |
| 9 | February 11, 2023 | @ Rochester Knighthawks | Blue Cross Arena | L 14–16 | | 5,219 | 4–5 |
| 10 | February 19, 2023 | New York Riptide | Scotiabank Centre | W 13–12 | | 7,783 | 5–5 |
| 11 | March 3, 2023 | Buffalo Bandits | Scotiabank Centre | L 9–10 | | 6,724 | 5–6 |
| 12 | March 10, 2023 | @ Buffalo Bandits | KeyBank Center | L 9–10 | | 14,896 | 5–7 |
| 13 | March 18, 2023 | Toronto Rock | Scotiabank Centre | W 14–12 | | 9,957 | 6–7 |
| 14 | March 25, 2023 | @ Philadelphia Wings (2018-) | Wells Fargo Center (Philadelphia) | W 14–10 | | 9,819 | 7–7 |
| 15 | April 2, 2023 | Georgia Swarm | Scotiabank Centre | L 7–17 | | 7,661 | 7–8 |
| 16 | April 15, 2023 | @ Saskatchewan Rush | SaskTel Centre | W 15–11 | | 8,746 | 8–8 |
| 17 | April 22, 2023 | New York Riptide | Scotiabank Centre | W 15–6 | | 10,008 | 9–8 |
| 18 | April 29, 2023 | @ Georgia Swarm | Gas South Arena | W 17–11 | | 9,475 | 10–8 |

### Playoffs

| Game | Date | Opponent | Location | Score | OT | Attendance | Record |
| Eastern Conference Quarterfinals | May 5, 2023 | @ Toronto Rock | FirstOntario Center | L 11–15 | | 8,831 | 0–1 |

## Roster

Goaltenders
* 35 Peter Dubenski
* 76 Warren Hill
Defenceman
* 4 Graeme Hossack
* 18 Jake Withers
* 19 Nonkon Thompson
* 25 James Barclay
* 34 Cory Becker
* 37 Scott Campbell
* 45 Luc Magnan
* 68 Trevor Smyth
Forwards
* 7 Eric Fannell
* 16 Mike Burke
* 17 Ryan Benesch
* 21 Chris Boushy
* 24 Clarke Petterson
* 28 Stephen Keogh
* 33 Austin Shanks
* 47 Kyle Jackson
* 88 Cody Jamieson
Transition
* 6 Brad Gillies
* 44 Colton Armstrong
Practice
* 00 Johnny Jimerson
* 12 Chet Koneczny
* 13 Brandon Robinson
* 81 Clay Scanlan
Injured
* 20 Luke Van Schepen
Head Coach
* Mike Accursi
Assistant Coaches
* Chad Culp
* Jason Johnson
* Roger Chrysler
* Billy Dee Smith
Athletic Performance Coach
* Dan Noble
Equipment Manager
* Dave Sowden

### Entry Draft

The 2022 NLL Entry Draft took place on September 10, 2022. The Thunderbirds made the following selections:
| Round | Overall | Player | College/Club |
| 1 | 12 | Wake:Riat Bowhunter | Six Nations – Jacksonville University |
| 2 | 29 | Jerry Staats | Six Nations Chiefs – Syracuse University |
| 3 | 54 | Jon McConvey | Mimico Jr A – University of Vermont |
| 3 | 55 | Cole Kirst | Syracuse University |
| 4 | 70 | Chris Fake | Notre Dame University |
| 5 | 86 | Tanner Cole | Oakville Jr A |
| 6 | 101 | Keaton Brown | Orangeville Jr B |