The Vancouver Warriors are preparing for their second game of a double header this weekend against the San Diego Seals at Pechanga Arena.
It will be the second game this weekend for the Warriors and Seals after both teams played on Friday night. The Warriors beat the Las Vegas Desert Dogs 14-10, and improved to 8-3 on the season, while the Seals lost 14-12 to the NLL’s second-place team, Colorado Mammoth and are 6-5 on the season.
This is the second time the Warriors and Seals are meeting this season as they first matched up in Week 8. The Seals edged the Warriors 11-9 at Rogers Arena, but Vancouver is hoping to even the season series.
Vancouver had a slow start in the first meeting, but stayed in the fight, nearly tying the game with 1:04 in regulation, but Curtis Dickson’s goal was waved off with insufficient evidence to determine if his foot dragged through the crease. The Seals scored an empty netter in the last 10 seconds to give them a two-point victory.
There were a lot of positives the Warriors took from that contest. They moved the ball well, stretched the floor in transition, and got 50 shots on net and a 75% ball-on-net shooting percentage.
There were six different scorers for Vancouver in that matchup; Adam Charalambides notched a hat trick, Keegan Bal recorded four points (2G, 2A), while Marcus Klarich and Curtis Dickson each scored one goal and chipped in three assists apiece. Defencemen Shane Simpson and Reid Bowering each had a goal in transition.
Between the pipes, Christian Del Bianco stopped 46 of 56 shots he faced.
The Seals’ scoring was just as spread out, with seven players recording at least one goal. Tre Leclaire led the Seals with five points (2G, 3A), and Zach Currier and Pat Kavanagh each had two goals and two assists. Dylan Watson potted a pair, and San Diego got singles from Danny Logan, Eli Gobrecht, and Connor Robinson.
Seals’ goaltender Chris Origlieri turned aside 41 shots.
San Diego faceoff specialist Trevor Baptiste went 19-for-24 in his first meeting against Vancouver and has a season success rate of 75% in the faceoff circle, going 211 for 280.
Friday Night Momentum
In the Warriors’ 14-10 win over the Desert Dogs, Vancouver showed the depth of their lineup on both ends of the floor, and they’re looking to keep that momentum going on Sunday.
Bal led the Warriors with nine points (4G, 5A), while Jesse King recorded six points (2G, 4A), and Dickson chipped in four points (2G, 2A). Charalambides and Klarich each had one goal and three assists. The Warriors also got singles from Matt Beers, Shane Simpson, and Ryan Sheridan.
The Warriors’ back end shut out Las Vegas in the third quarter, and Del Bianco turned aside 41 of 51 shots he faced.
The Seals exploded out of the gates against the Mammoth, holding a 6-1 lead after the first quarter. The teams traded runs throughout the game, but the Seals took late penalties that shifted the momentum, and the Mammoth capitalized.
Seals’ point leader and Coquitlam native Wesley Berg tallied seven points (2G, 5A), while Watson put up a hat trick, and Robinson and Leclaire each chipped in five points (2G, 3A). Currier had two goals and two assists, and Ben McIntosh had one goal and three assists.
Baptiste went 21-for-29 off the draw and collected 13 loose balls.
Origlieri stopped 41 of 55 shots he faced.
Faceoff on Sunday, March 1st is at 3:00 p.m. PT, and you can watch the game live on TSN+ and NLL+.