Keegan Bal had the hot hand as he led the Vancouver Warriors to a 10-8 win over the Ottawa Black Bears on Friday night in Vancouver.
Bal finished the game with three goals and five assists to lead the Warriors with eight points. Adam Charalambides also had a hat trick for Vancouver, while Curtis Dickson had a pair of goals.
The win now puts the Warriors in a tie for first place with the Saskatchewan Rush at 11-4. However, the Rush hold the tiebreaker over Vancouver. With Halifax’s loss on Friday night, Vancouver can clinch a playoff spot if San Diego loses on Saturday night.
Christian Del Bianco was once again stellar in goal for the Warriors, stopping 42 of 50 shots in the win.
Ottawa was led by Jeff Teat with two goals and five assists, while Rob Hellyer had two goals and two assists. Zach Higgins kept the Black Bears in the game between the pipes, stopping 41 of 51 shots in the loss.
First Quarter
Vancouver opened the scoring 1:35 into the game, with Charalambides scoring on a behind-the-back floater.
Marcus Klarich then made it 2-0 with a close-in shot at the 5:20 mark.
Ottawa got on the board at 7:49, with Teat finding Sam Firth down low to make it 2-1.
The Black Bears tied the game on the power play at 9:18, with Teat scoring on a bounce shot from the outside.
Teat then gave the Black Bears the lead at 10:01 with a low-to-high shot to make it 3-2.
With 54.3 seconds left on the clock, Charalambides found Bal, who dove across the crease to make it 3-3 at the end of the first quarter.
Second Quarter
The low-scoring affair continued into the second quarter.
It wasn’t until the 7:07 mark that Hellyer stepped up in the middle and scored on the power play to give Ottawa a 4-3 lead.
Vancouver tied it back up shorthanded with 3:24 left on the clock. Ryan Dilks intercepted a pass to create a two-on-one, finding Jeff Cornwall open to make it 4-4 at the half.
Third Quarter
Vancouver started to pull away in the third quarter as Ottawa ran into penalty trouble.
With a two-man advantage, Charalambides scored on the doorstep at the 3:14 mark.
On another power play, Dickson scored with a low, outside bounce shot at 6:35 to give Vancouver a 6-4 lead.
Bal then extended the lead at the 7:15 mark with a howitzer that went far side.
Connor Kearnan made it a two-goal game, 7-5, with 3:33 left on the clock, as a soft shot got by Del Bianco.
Kevin Brownell rounded out the scoring with an awkward underhand shot that beat the buzzer, as the Black Bears trailed 7-6 heading into the fourth quarter.
Fourth Quarter
Ottawa appeared to tie the game just 56 seconds into the fourth quarter when Hellyer found Teat cutting across the front of the net. The goal was challenged and, after a lengthy review, it was ruled that Teat’s foot was in the crease before the ball crossed the goal line, resulting in no goal.
It proved to be costly. At the 1:19 mark, Charalambides scored off a jumper to put the Warriors ahead 8-6.
Ottawa replied with Hellyer scoring on a bounce shot on the power play at 2:09. Reilly O’Connor then converted a pass from Teat at 6:43 to tie the game 8-8.
Bal scored the game-winning goal with 2:51 left, coming off the bench and ripping a high-to-low shot to make it 9-8.
Dickson added a goal with 37 seconds left on the clock as the Warriors secured a 10-8 win.
Bal, Charalambides and coach Curt Malawsky commented after the game:
Top Scorers
Vancouver Warriors
- Keegan Bal, 3g 5a
- Adam Charalambides, 3g 1a
- Jesse King, 3a
Ottawa Black Bears
- Jeff Teat, 2g 5a
- Rob Hellyer, 2g 2a
- Reilly O’Connor, 1g 1a
- Connor Kearnan, 1g 1a
Don’t forget to check us out every Sunday night at 8pm (ET)
