On September 13, 2018, the NLL approved a franchise relocation to the city of Halifax. [1] Curt Styres, the previous owner of the NLL's Rochester Knighthawks, moved the Knighthawks' franchise to Halifax, Nova Scotia. The Knighthawks intellectual property (name and logo) was sold to Pegula Sports and Entertainment, owners of the Buffalo Bandits, which founded a new expansion franchise that started play in the 2019–2020 season under the Knighthawks moniker.[2][3] While located in Rochester the franchise won 5 championships.
The Halifax Thunderbirds made their league debut on December 7, 2019, defeating the New York Riptide 12–4 in front of a crowd of 6,847 at the Scotiabank Centre.[4]
The Thunderbirds made their first playoffs in the 2022 season but were defeated in the first round in overtime 14–13 by their rival, the Toronto Rock.
Team name and logoedit
According to the Toronto Star, Curt Styres got the idea for the team's name when he saw a lacrosse stick made from the wood of tree that had been struck by lightning and wanted to reflect the "one in one thousand odds" that was the lacrosse stick's embodiement.[5]
The franchise was founded in 1995 during the Major Indoor Lacrosse League era and first played their home games at Blue Cross Arena in Rochester, New York. The team made the playoffs their first 13 seasons in a row and won 5 championships between 1997 and 2014. In 2018 after losing to the Saskatchewan Rush in the NLL finals, it was announced the franchise would move to Halifax. Franchise owner, Curt Styres sold the team's original name and logo to Terry and Kim Pegula (Owners of Pegula Sports and Entertainment) and relocated the franchise to Halifax. PSE founded a new expansion franchise with the same name but different logo that started play the following season. The new franchise based in Rochester is not a continuation of original franchise as all of the original team's championships and records were transferred to Halifax as part of the relocation.
^"National Lacrosse League Awards Halifax Franchise". Retrieved September 13, 2018.
^Pegulas confirm they will take over the Knighthawks wivb.com
^"National Lacrosse League relocates Rochester Knighthawks to Halifax". Retrieved September 13, 2018.
^"NLL: Halifax Thunderbirds Kick Off New Era With Win in Front of 6,847 Home Fans". Retrieved January 30, 2020.
^"League names new pro lacrosse team Halifax Thunderbirds". thestar.com. 2019-02-16. Retrieved 2023-01-29.
External linksedit
Official Website
January 01, 1970
halifax, thunderbirds, known, colloquially, birds, professional, lacrosse, team, based, halifax, nova, scotia, playing, national, lacrosse, league, member, eastern, conference, team, plays, their, home, games, scotiabank, centre, which, they, share, with, hali. The Halifax Thunderbirds known colloquially as the T Birds are a professional box lacrosse team based in Halifax Nova Scotia playing in the National Lacrosse League NLL as a member of the Eastern Conference The team plays their home games at Scotiabank Centre which they share with the Halifax Mooseheads of the Quebec Maritimes Junior Hockey League Halifax ThunderbirdsSportBox lacrosseFounded2019LeagueNational Lacrosse LeagueConferenceEasternTeam historyRochester Knighthawks 1995 2019 LocationHalifax Nova ScotiaArenaScotiabank CentreColoursPurple Orange White Black OwnerCurt StyresHead coachMike AccursiDivision titles1 2020 Playoff berths3 2022 2023 2024 Websitehalifaxthunderbirds comCurrent season Contents 1 History 2 Team name and logo 3 Previous location 4 Current roster 5 Awards and honors 6 All time record 7 Playoff results 8 Draft history 8 1 NLL entry draft 9 Notes 10 References 11 External linksHistory editOn September 13 2018 the NLL approved a franchise relocation to the city of Halifax 1 Curt Styres the previous owner of the NLL s Rochester Knighthawks moved the Knighthawks franchise to Halifax Nova Scotia The Knighthawks intellectual property name and logo was sold to Pegula Sports and Entertainment owners of the Buffalo Bandits which founded a new expansion franchise that started play in the 2019 2020 season under the Knighthawks moniker 2 3 While located in Rochester the franchise won 5 championships The Halifax Thunderbirds made their league debut on December 7 2019 defeating the New York Riptide 12 4 in front of a crowd of 6 847 at the Scotiabank Centre 4 The Thunderbirds made their first playoffs in the 2022 season but were defeated in the first round in overtime 14 13 by their rival the Toronto Rock Team name and logo editAccording to the Toronto Star Curt Styres got the idea for the team s name when he saw a lacrosse stick made from the wood of tree that had been struck by lightning and wanted to reflect the one in one thousand odds that was the lacrosse stick s embodiement 5 Previous location editMain article Rochester Knighthawks 1995 2019 The franchise was founded in 1995 during the Major Indoor Lacrosse League era and first played their home games at Blue Cross Arena in Rochester New York The team made the playoffs their first 13 seasons in a row and won 5 championships between 1997 and 2014 In 2018 after losing to the Saskatchewan Rush in the NLL finals it was announced the franchise would move to Halifax Franchise owner Curt Styres sold the team s original name and logo to Terry and Kim Pegula Owners of Pegula Sports and Entertainment and relocated the franchise to Halifax PSE founded a new expansion franchise with the same name but different logo that started play the following season The new franchise based in Rochester is not a continuation of original franchise as all of the original team s championships and records were transferred to Halifax as part of the relocation Current roster editHalifax Thunderbirds rosterviewtalkedit Active 21 man roster Inactive roster Coaches Goaltenders 37 nbsp Drew Hutchinson 30 nbsp Warren Hill Defensemen 4 nbsp Graeme Hossack 9 nbsp Max Wilson 15 nbsp Johnny Pearson 18 nbsp Jake Withers 22 nbsp Brayden Hill 45 nbsp Luc Magnan 68 nbsp Trevor Smyth 94 nbsp Tyson Bell 96 nbsp Keaton Thomson Forwards 17 nbsp Ryan Benesch 24 nbsp Clarke Petterson 33 nbsp Austin Shanks 43 nbsp Eric Fannell 83 nbsp Randy Staats 85 nbsp Wake Riat BowHunter 88 nbsp Cody Jamieson Transition 34 nbsp Ryan Terefenko 44 nbsp Colton Armstrong Practice Squad 16 nbsp Kevin Owen Hill 19 nbsp Nonkon Thompson 51 nbsp Dawson Theede 84 nbsp Oakley Thomas Injured Reserve 13 nbsp David Brock Head Coach Head Coach Legend Suspended list C Captain A Alternate captain Roster updated 2023 01 14 NLL TransactionsAwards and honors editYear Player Award 2020 Graeme Hossack Defensive Player of the Year John Catalano Executive of the Year 2022 Pat Gregoire Tom Borrelli AwardAll time record editSeason Division Conference a W L Finish PCT Home Road GF GA Avg Attendance Coach Playoffs 2020 North 8 4 1st 667 6 1 2 3 139 126 7 642 Mike Accursi No playoffs held 2021 Eastern Season cancelled due to COVID 19 pandemic 2022 Eastern 11 7 3rd 611 7 2 4 5 198 195 5 439 Mike Accursi Lost Conference Semi Final 2023 Eastern 10 8 3rd 556 5 4 5 4 238 210 8 512 Mike Accursi Lost Conference Semi Final 2024 Unified 10 8 6th 556 6 3 4 5 223 200 9 164 Mike Accursi Lost Quarterfinals Total 4 Seasons 29 19 604 24 10 15 17 798 731 7 702 Playoff Totals 3 Appearances 0 3 000 0 0 0 3 27 38 No Home Games 0 ChampionshipsPlayoff results editSeason Game Visiting Home 2022 Eastern Conference Semi Finals Halifax 13 Toronto 14 2023 Eastern Conference Semi Finals Halifax 11 Toronto 15 2024 Quarterfinals Halifax 3 Albany 9Draft history editNLL entry draft edit First round selections 2019 Clarke Petterson 5th overall Trevor Smyth 14th overall 2020 Ethan Riggs 11th overall 2021 Max Wilson 12th overall 2022 Wake Riat Bo Bowhunter 12th overall 2023 NoneNotes edit Conference play began in the 2022 seasonReferences edit National Lacrosse League Awards Halifax Franchise Retrieved September 13 2018 Pegulas confirm they will take over the Knighthawks wivb com National Lacrosse League relocates Rochester Knighthawks to Halifax Retrieved September 13 2018 NLL Halifax Thunderbirds Kick Off New Era With Win in Front of 6 847 Home Fans Retrieved January 30 2020 League names new pro lacrosse team Halifax Thunderbirds thestar com 2019 02 16 Retrieved 2023 01 29 External links editOfficial Website Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Halifax Thunderbirds amp oldid 1221957231, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
