OSHAWA, ON – Two five-goal runs from the Oshawa FireWolves (2-4) helped secure their second victory of the year against the Halifax Thunderbirds (3-3) in a 16-9 win on Saturday night at the Tribute Communities Centre in Oshawa that also honoured the Oshawa Green Gaels. Tye Kurtz led the way for Oshawa with 10 points (7g, 3a), while Doug Jamieson played just over 51 minutes of action and made 39 saves. This was also Kurtz’ fourth career sock trick (6 goals) and second time scoring 7 goals in one game.
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“It certainly gives you a lift, especially when you win at home,” said head coach Glenn Clark after snapping their four-game losing streak. “We desperately needed this game, and we got it, so we’ll enjoy it briefly, and then we’ll be onward to what’s coming next.”
Even though the FireWolves secured the win, it wasn’t the way they wanted to start the game, as they found themselves on the penalty kill and surrendered a power-play goal, going down 1-0. However, after that goal, Oshawa found their winning ways as they went on a five-goal run that Ethan Walker kick-started, and it was followed up by Patrick Kaschalk running in transition and scoring past Thunderbirds starting goaltender, Warren Hill. After the home side gained a lead, they added to it by Tye Kurtz scoring a hat trick to widen their lead to 5-1 after the first quarter.
“Tye is not human. That’s for sure,” said Captain Colton Watkinson about Kurtz’ 10 point night. “He’s a true professional. He works in his craft. And something I think that’s very, very understated about his game is the amount of re-possession loose balls that he gets on the offensive end of the floor.”
In the second, it was the defence that got the scoring going. Jackson Nishimura received a pass from Joel Coyle and ran the floor and went five-hole on Hill to give the FireWolves a five-goal advantage early in the quarter. Clarke Petterson would score for Halifax on the power play to pull the visitors to within four, but the FireWolves ignited their offence once again on another five-goal run that saw Kurtz score twice, Walker, Alex Simmons, and Taggart Clark score, which had all the home fans out of their seats and cheering, and for Walker, his second goal of the game on that run saw him score his 100th career goal.
Oshawa had its largest lead of the season at halftime and wanted to keep it after squandering a lead last week against Ottawa, and they kept it. While on the power play, Simmons found a scoring lane and fired one past Hill, and later on, it was Clark who scored his second of the game. However, after Oshawa was penalized, which sent the Thunderbirds to the man-advantage, they capitalized on it multiple times. Petterson scored and Dawson Theede added another one, but that was when the FireWolves locked it down on defence. They started playing more physically, winning loose ball battles and finding more ways to tire out Halifax, even more who were playing on the second half of a back-to-back.
Later on in the quarter, another FireWolves milestone was set as Oshawa starting goaltender, Doug Jamieson, made a save that saw him surpass 4,000 career saves in the National Lacrosse League–the 20th goaltender all-time to accomplish that.
The fourth quarter was won by the Thunderbirds on the score sheet, but won by the FireWolves mentally as Oshawa kept their composure and didn’t let the Thunderbirds get under their skin as they came away with a home win ahead of a four-game road trip coming up.
“Let’s make sure we’re all healthy and ready to go next weekend,” said Watkinson, reflecting on the end-of-game fireworks. “We don’t do that kind of thing as a team, and we didn’t need to get ourselves caught up in that.”
The FireWolves will look for a third victory on the season when they travel to Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, to take on the Rush next Saturday at 8:00 PM ET on TSN+, ESPN+, and NLL+.
After four games on the road, Oshawa will return to the Durham region on February 14 at 7:00 PM ET for their Star Wars Night against the San Diego Seals.
Visit www.oshawafirewolves.com to buy tickets and for all team news.
About Oshawa FireWolves
The Oshawa FireWolves are Durham Region’s professional box lacrosse team, competing in the National Lacrosse League (NLL) out of the Tribute Communities Centre in downtown Oshawa, ON. For more information, visit OshawaFireWolves.com. Follow the team on Facebook at facebook.com/FireWolvesNLL, Twitter @FireWolvesNLL, and Instagram @FireWolvesNLL.
About National Lacrosse League
The National Lacrosse League (NLL) is North America’s largest professional lacrosse league and welcomed more than 1 million fans for the third consecutive year during the 2024-25 season. Founded in 1986, the NLL is comprised of 14 franchises across Canada and the United States, and recently unveiled its largest brand campaign ever, “Welcome to The Next Major League™” and introduced its comprehensive grassroots initiative, NLL UnBOXed™, that will expand the League’s footprint to 60 communities across North America by 2028. For the latest scores and developments in the National Lacrosse League, please visit: NLL.com and find the NLL on Facebook, Instagram, X, YouTube and TikTok. Games are available live and streaming on TSN, TSN+, the ESPN family of networks, ESPN+, and NLL+.
About Tribute Communities Centre
The Tribute Communities Centre is Durham Region’s premier sports and live entertainment facility and is managed by Oak View Group. The Tribute Communities Centre is home to the Oshawa FireWolves of the National Lacrosse League, Oshawa Generals of the Ontario Hockey League, and hosts a myriad of events including concerts, circuses, ice skating and family shows. Visit TributeCommunitiesCentre.com, and follow on Facebook, Instagram, and X.
About Oak View Group
Oak View Group (OVG) is the global leader in live experience venue development, management, premium hospitality services, and 360-degree solutions for a collection of world-class owned venues and a client roster of arenas, convention centers, music festivals, performing arts centers, and cultural institutions. Founded by Tim Leiweke and Irving Azoff in 2015, OVG is the leading developer of major new venues either open or under development across four continents. Visit OakViewGroup.com, and follow OVG on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and X.
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