Halifax lacrosse star eager to play at home in front of friends and family
Alex Pace always dreamed of playing professional lacrosse but the Halifax native never thought he'd be able to play here at home.
"I could never have really imagined playing professional in lacrosse in Halifax growing up," said Pace. "So it's even more than a dream come true."
The 24-year-old left Nova Scotia after graduating high school, to play Junior 'A' lacrosse in Ontario with the St. Catherines Athletics and to compete against some of the best players in the country.
At that time, there wasn't a professional lacrosse franchise in Halifax, but that has since changed, as the former Rochester Knighthawks and owner Curt Styres decided to move the lacrosse franchise to Halifax in 2019, rebranding as the Thunderbirds.
Pace is entering his third season in the National Lacrosse League with the Philadelphia Wings and finally has the opportunity to play at home, in front of friends and family.
"I've had to make a lot of sacrifices to get to this point but, it's cool to see it all pay off now," said Pace, following a pregame shoot around at the Scotiabank Centre.
Pace managed to get 100 tickets for the game.
"All my family is going to be here," said Pace. "All my friends and a lot of guys that maybe haven't even seen me play lacrosse before will be there."
On the other side of the ball, the Halifax Thunderbirds are looking to bounce back after another season interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, and they have some unfinished business to take care of.
"We haven't played a full season here in Halifax," said Thunderbirds head coach Mike Accursi. "The first year, we got shut down by COVID-19, and last season, we got shut down by COVID-19 again for a portion of the season as well."
Halifax started last season with an impressive 8-1 record and then COVID-19 struck the team hard and they went on a losing skid, dropping six of their next seven games.
"A lot of our guys got it so we don't know if it was COVID-19 or what was going wrong but we were just butting heads," said Colton Armstrong, a defender with the Thunderbirds. "We weren't playing as a team and we weren't playing sixty minutes."
Provincial public health restrictions also forced Halifax to relocate to Hamilton, Ontario, to play some of their home games last season, which disrupted the team from competing in their home rink and in front of their home fans.
The Thunderbirds are eager to get this season going on their home turf. Armstrong says the home crowd makes a difference and adds a home-field advantage.
"This fan base here is unbelievable. It gives us another person on the floor," said Armstrong. "So when teams come here, it's hard for them to play here."
The Halifax Thunderbirds open the 2022-23 regular season at home Friday, when they host the Philadelphia Wings at 7 p.m.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Maple Leafs fall to Bruins in Game 3, trail series 2-1
Brad Marchand scored twice, including the winner in the third period, and added an assist as the Boston Bruins downed the Toronto Maple Leafs 4-2 to take a 2-1 lead in their first-round playoff series Wednesday
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
'It was instant karma': Viral video captures failed theft attempt in Nanaimo, B.C.
Mounties in Nanaimo, B.C., say two late-night revellers are lucky their allegedly drunken antics weren't reported to police after security cameras captured the men trying to steal a heavy sign from a downtown business.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
New Indigenous loan guarantee program a 'really big deal,' Freeland says at Toronto conference
Canada's Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was among the 1,700 delegates attending the two-day First Nations Major Projects Coalition (FNMPC) conference that concluded Tuesday in Toronto.
'Life was not fair to him': Daughter of N.B. man exonerated of murder remembers him as a kind soul
The daughter of a New Brunswick man recently exonerated from murder, is remembering her father as somebody who, despite a wrongful conviction, never became bitter or angry.