The Vancouver Warriors had contributions throughout the lineup in their 17-10 win over the Philadelphia Wings.
The effort helped the Warriors to a 13-5 regular-season record, which is their best since the 2002 season when the franchise was the Albany Attack. The group is proud of what they’ve accomplished, crossing off another goal on their list.
Warriors Head Coach and GM Curt Malawsky was pleased to finish the regular season with a win and first overall in the NLL, noting the importance of doing it in front of their fans and securing home-floor advantage for the playoffs.
“It's just really nice to see the fans out there support us and drive us to being successful tonight,” Malawsky said. “We had fan appreciation night and that the best part of the whole thing really.”
Vancouver took their first lead at 5:27 in the first quarter with a snipe from forward Keegan Bal at the top of the power play. Bal guided the Warriors to victory with an 11–point performance complete with a sock trick.
Bal finished the regular season with a career-best and league-leading 124 points (45G, 79A).
Goaltender Christian Del Bianco stopped 36 of 46 shots he faced. Del Bianco and Bal have long been doing 5 a.m. morning shooting practice and Del Bianco says Bal’s dedication and work ethic are what have driven his results this season.
“A true professional, I think would be the easiest way to describe him,” Del Bianco said.
“He's got a very serious career, and he still manages to wake up at 5:30 and go practice with us on Tuesdays. He's still in the gym, still doing all the physical stuff, he's sending out clips to the team. He's really a prime example of the balance you need to have in our league, and that ability to treat this like true professional sports. He's somebody we lean on, and all the success he's had this year is not an accident.”
While forward Jesse King opened the scoring, Bal scored five of his six goals in the first half, the Warriors holding a 7-3 lead at halftime. In second half, the Warriors scored in transition, and their ball movement on offence had them finishing opportunities all over the floor at five-on-five, tallying 27 assists to go along with 17 goals.
Nine players scored at least one goal in the contest, and Malawsky liked the way everyone contributed and played their role.
“It's always about offence by committee and when there's a lapse on the defence, the offence bailed them out, and when we're having a bit of a dry time [on offence], our defence steps up. So, it's an absolute team effort all the way through,” Malawsky said.
“It's going to come down to poise, composure, special teams that are going to help us be successful. We just have to make sure that we're walking that line and not crossing it and I thought we did that tonight, and I liked how we controlled momentum pretty well, too.”
Bal felt the group started a little flat, holding a 2-1 lead at the end of the first quarter, but they got back to what made them successful in the second.
“Especially on offence we were moving the ball a little bit too slow, and then we started firing it around, and everyone contributed,” Bal said. “I think it's a good game to go into the playoffs for us, get some confidence and just start playing the right way in that second half, so we need to continue that.”
King scored two goals and tallied five assists. Curtis Dickson notched six points (2G, 4A), Adam Charalambides had five points (2G, 3A), while Marcus Klarich, Owen Grant, Jackson Suboch, Ryan Dilks, and Reid Bowering each found the back of the net once.
The Warriors held a 28-19 advantage for shots on goal at halftime and finished the game with 55 shots on target.
On the back end, the Warriors finish the regular season with a 9.44 goals-against average, good for second-best in the league. The group defended well and scored four goals against the Wings, showing their versatility and quickness which Del Bianco said it
“Their ability to adjust and how many different skill sets we have [adds to the success]. The veteran presence, the young athletes, all of that. That ability to match up with different stylistic teams, athletes, and goal scores, and it shows with our goals-against,” Del Bianco said.
The team took in the win as they signed jerseys and autographs and took photos with fans, quickly turning their attention to preparing for Halifax.
“Every game the whole year was a must-win, and obviously there's nothing different in the playoffs. The real season starts now,” Del Bianco said.
The Warriors back at Rogers Arena for their first-round playoff game Friday, April 24th to take on the Halifax Thunderbirds at 7:00 p.m. PT.
For season tickets, group tickets, premium options, and all ticketing options, please go to tickets.vancouverwarriors.com.