The Vancouver Warriors will play at Rogers Arena against the Toronto Rock for the Warrior’s annual Women in Sports Night. This will be the first and only time the two teams will meet this regular season, and with the chase for the playoffs in sight, both teams can find extra incentive to get the win.
The Warriors are coming off a successful double header, beating both the Las Vegas Desert Dogs 14-10 and the San Diego Seals 9-7. They currently hold a 9-3 record - the same as the second-place Colorado Mammoth – and are on a three-game win streak.
While they got off to a slow start against San Diego, the Warriors finished with another complete performance against the Seals, showcasing their scoring depth and putting in a tight defensive effort that is a core part of this team's identity. Keegan Bal finished with a four-point night (2G, 2A), and Curtis Dickson, Steph Charbonneau, and Adam Charalambides each scored two goals, and Jesse King scored a single.
Through 12 games, Bal is 2nd in the NLL with 82 points (28G, 54A), King has tallied 55 points (25G, 30A), and Dickson has a league-leading 32 goals to go along with 22 assists.
Netminder Christian Del Bianco had timely saves against the Seals to secure the win and turned aside 44 of 51 shots faced. Del Bianco also had two assists, putting him second and is now second all-time in scoring amongst NLL goaltenders with 108 assists, passing Dallas Eliuk (107).
Del Bianco has a season goals-against average of 9.09 and a save percentage of 81.9%.
The Warriors beat the Rock in both contests last season – taking the first matchup 13-8 in Vancouver and the rematch 12-10 in Mississauga. The first meeting was Del Bianco’s first game wearing a Warriors jersey, and it sparked a six-game win streak for Vancouver in the last third of their season. The Warriors had two lock-down defensive efforts against the Rock last season, making it tough for Toronto’s forward group.
The Rock are currently in sixth place in the league standings, holding a 6-5 record, and are coming off a 14-9 loss against the Buffalo Bandits. The Rock are currently in a playoff position at sixth in the standings, with the Bandits and San Diego Seals right behind them.
The Rock have also recently acquired face-off specialist Nicholas Rowlett from the Philadelphia Wings, who has played one game with the Rock so far. Rowlett won 11 of 26 draws taken against the Buffalo Bandits. He currently has a faceoff win percentage of 42% so far this season.
Toronto Goaltender Nick Rose has been on the injured reserve list since January 19th, while Troy Holowchuk has stepped in between the pipes and helped the Rock to a 4-2 record over the last six games.
The Rock has balanced scoring this season with six players tallying 30 or more points this season. Leading the way for Toronto is forward Mark Matthews with 55 points (15G, 40A), good for 10th overall in the league. CJ Kirst has recorded 43 points (22G, 21A), and Owen Hiltz and Challen Rogers each have contributed 40 points, Hiltz with 21 goals and 19 assists, and Rogers chipping in 19 goals and 21 assists.
The Warriors will be at Rogers Arena for ball drop at 7:00 p.m. PT, and you can watch the game live on TSN, TSN+ and NLL+.
With NLL+, you can re-watch highlights and full games throughout the season, and you can sign up for the NLL+ here.