The third-place Thunderbirds (11-7) will host their first-ever home playoff game at Scotiabank Centre this Saturday, April 26 at 7 p.m. ET (8 p.m. AT) against the sixth-place Calgary Roughnecks.
It’s the first all-Canadian playoff matchup since Halifax beat Toronto in the 2023 East Quarterfinals at FirstOntario Place in Hamilton. Halifax has had moderate playoff success in the past four years; they also lost to Toronto in the 2022 East Semifinals and last year to the Albany FireWolves in the Quarterfinals.
But things feel different this season. Former Thunderbird Stephen Keogh seems to think so.
If the Thunderbirds get a home
playoff game, they will win the NLL cup.— Stephen Keogh (@SKeogh28) February 22, 2025
“I love Stephen, he played with us for a while so he’s obviously quite biased,” laughed alternate captain Withers. “Hopefully he’s able to come and join us and enjoy a playoff game in Halifax because when we were first moving out there, he was a big part of the organization and someone that definitely left the organization better than he found it.”
But Withers doesn’t think Keogh is wrong.
“It’s been about 4-5 years in the making that we’ve been trying to check that box on the way to a championship. It’s something that we’ve been right on the cusp of doing those last four years and [now we] have it in our hands. I think every guy in our room, if you asked him, would agree that playing in The Nest, playing in front of the passionate fans in Halifax definitely gives us a competitive advantage and it’s something that we’re not going to take lightly.”
Partying with 10,798 of your friends…
Electric. pic.twitter.com/YhGlKYMh3b
— Halifax Thunderbirds (@HFXThunderbirds) April 9, 2025
The Thunderbirds don’t play in an NHL-sized arena like the Bandits or Mammoth, but you’d never know it from the noise the crowd makes, according to head coach Mike Accursi. Scotiabank Arena is the premier entertainment in the province. In the days following the Thunderbirds’ first playoff game, Scotiabank Centre will host a showing of the musical Chicago, the Harlem Globetrotters, Bachman-Turner Overdrive, Bush and Avril Lavigne.
“I’ve been able to play in a lot of different venues over my lacrosse career – NFL stadiums, NHL arenas, (my hometown) Peterborough Memorial Centre, wherever it may be – The Nest is definitely up there as one of the most passionate,” said Withers. “To watch the stands fill as you move from warmup to warmup, to game time, the energy builds and the fans pour in. Standing there during the national anthem, you have that brief moment of odd clarity or a little sense of relaxation, you take it all in. It adds an extra level of importance to the game in front of you, the task at hand. It doesn’t matter if we’re up by 10 or down by 10; the fans in The Nest in Halifax never cease to amaze us and get behind us. Whatever kind of energy we need, to keep a lead or come back from a deficit, they’re cheering loud and proud.”
There are just over one million people on the entire island of Nova Scotia, and Halifax sits smack dab in the middle of it with a population of 480k. You can drive the length of the island in five hours, meaning games are accessible to the whole province. The Thunderbirds have forged strong connections with a variety of communities in the area, including the Indigenous Mi’kmaq community, creating a large network of support.
“You would never know we’re not the biggest arena by the amount the fans cheer for us and the atmosphere that they create,” Accursi said. “I’m excited to see what that playoff atmosphere is going to be like – our regular seasons are fantastic – that’s why you fight so hard to have that playoff position where you get home-floor advantage. I’m excited about it, I know the fans are excited about it, and I know the team is super excited to be going back to Halifax for our first game.”
Accursi called the team a brotherhood and said that they’re more tight-knit than ever, something that will only help during the playoffs, which unfortunately had a pall cast over them this week.
National Lacrosse League game between the Halifax Thunderbirds and Ottawa Blackbears on March 21, 2025 (Trevor MacMillan/Halifax Thunderbirds)
Cheryl Bomberry-Hill, mother to goaltender Warren Hill and aunt to assistant coach Stew Monture, passed away suddenly on the weekend. Cody Jamieson revealed last week that his son Konnor had been diagnosed with osteosarcoma and lost his leg.
Our hearts are with Cody, Konnor and the Jamieson family as they navigate this journey together.
Donate here: https://t.co/xq1xMuabto pic.twitter.com/9JF3wYGi9a
— NLL (@NLL) April 19, 2025
“When one person bleeds, when one person’s heart aches, everybody’s does,” said Accursi. “Everybody feels for Warren and their family, and we know how close Warren was with his mom; it’s a tragedy. With Cody, it’s been something that’s been going on for a while and people have been rallying behind him, trying to give him as much emotional and financial support as we can to help him get through it. I will say is this is a very tight crew and the guys treat each other like they are family.”
“We’re going to use [that pain] this weekend,” Accursi said. “These guys play with their hearts, and they play for their family, and it is something that everybody takes with them every time they go on the floor. You have the understanding that this game is bigger than just going out and playing – it is a part of who you are as a person, it is a part of your extended community, it is a part of your friendships and your families. Lacrosse is the medicine game.”
Halifax started 0-3 this season, which included an 18-17 home opener loss to Calgary. Halifax led that whole game until Calgary scored five of the last six goals of the game for the win. An 18-17 game in the playoffs is unlikely, though, now that both teams have had a full season to tighten up their play.
“We played them early in the season which is not really a true indicator of the team that they are now or the team that we are now,” Accursi said. “We know we have some strength that we think we can take advantage of. We knew this might be possibility so we’re preparing as best we can for the matchup that’s coming. I don’t know if there’s too many lacrosse players playing better than Curtis Dickson right now and Nick Rose seems to have a little spark under him since going over to Calgary, so yeah, it’s gonna be a tough matchup.”
Accursi expects Drew Hutchison to get the start in goal. Hutchison saw more playing time as the season played out, with Hill experiencing some ups and downs in the cage.
“Hutchy came off the bench and played really well. Going into the last couple of games, we just kind of wanted to see where Hutchy was, if he was able to carry the load, and I think he’s played really well. I think, you know, with Warren going through the emotional rollercoaster that he is right now, I would expect that Drew will be starting.”
Should the Thunderbirds get past the Roughnecks, they’d be awarded with another home playoff game as the Semifinals (and Finals) are a best-of-three series.
“There’s no easy game out there. There’s no easy team left,” Accursi advised. “You saw the parity in the league this year, how tight everything was, and I expect the playoffs are going to the same. They are going to be tight games, they’re going to be exciting games to watch, and a great product for the NLL.”
