Jake Withers finished with six points to help the host Halifax Thunderbirds defeat the Rochester Knighthawks 15-10 on Saturday night.
Withers, who scored his first two goals of the season, led a balanced Halifax (7-9) attack. Clarke Petterson contributed three goals and three assists, while Jason Knox also recorded a hat trick. Goaltender Warren Hill made 42 saves. Trevor Smyth added an empty-net goal in his season debut.
For the Rochester Knighthawks (6-9), Connor Fields led the offense with one goal and a game-high five assists. Ryan Lanchbury (two goals, three assists), Ryan Smith (two goals, two assists), and Thomas McConvey (two goals, two assists) also had multigoal games. Riley Hutchcraft made 22 saves before Rylan Hartley stopped 19 shots in relief.
Rochester opened the scoring thanks to a goal from Smith, but Halifax ended the first quarter with a 4-3 lead. The Thunderbirds broke the game open in the second quarter, outscoring the Knighthawks 7-2 to take an 11-5 lead into halftime. The teams traded goals in the second half, but Rochester was unable to close the significant gap. Withers' second goal of the game at the 6:18 mark of the third quarter made it 12-7 and kept the Knighthawks at bay.
Up next: The Halifax Thunderbirds visit the Vancouver Warriors at Rogers Arena on Friday at 9 p.m. ET. The Rochester Knighthawks visit the Buffalo Bandits at KeyBank Center on Saturday at 7 p.m. ET.
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