The Vancouver Warriors and San Diego Seals played Sunday night at Pechanga Arena in their second matchup this season. Both teams were also playing their second game of the weekend, with San Diego losing to Colorado and Vancouver beating Las Vegas on Friday. The Warriors were looking to gain a series split with an opponent that has historically dominated them, while keeping pace with the league leaders. Vancouver overcame a slow start with a big fourth quarter run to win 9-7 and improve to 9-3 on the season. San Diego drops to 6-6 after losing both ends of their weekend doubleheader, but still remain in the final playoff spot at the moment.
Vancouver trails after a slow start
The Seals jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first quarter on goals from Connor Robinson (1:26) and Pat Kavanagh (2:31). Vancouver did not get on the board until 34 seconds into the second quarter, when Steph Charbonneau scored in transition. Wes Berg (6:25) pushed the lead back to two for San Diego, but a power play goal from Keegan Bal (7:00) made it 3-2. Marquez White, a San Diego native making his NLL debut for the hometown team, scored his first career goal (8:32) to give the Seals a 4-2 lead going into halftime.
Fourth quarter run gives Vancouver another crucial win
Vancouver and San Diego continued to trade goals in the third quarter. Curtis Dickson (0:58), Bal (9:21), and Adam Charalambides (11:41) scored for the Warriors, while the Seals countered with Berg’s second goal (1:26 power play) and Zach Currier (9:54) to maintain a 6-5 lead after 45 minutes of play. The Warriors, who rank last in the league in fourth quarter scoring, quickly turned the game on its head with an extended run. Charbonneau (2:43), Dickson (4:05), and Charalambides (5:48) each scored their second goal, and Jesse King (7:33) finished the run to give Vancouver a 9-6 lead. Noah Armitage (12:12) closed the gap to 9-7 for San Diego, but they were unable to muster any additional offense the rest of the way.
Other Stats Of Note
Vancouver: Bal (2g, 2a); Dickson (2g, 1a); Charalambides (2g, 1a); Charbonneau (2g, 1a); King (1g, 1a); Reid Bowering (2a)
San Diego: Berg (2g, 1a); Kavanagh (1g, 2a); Robinson (1g, 2a); Armitage (1g); Currier (1g); White (1g); Tre Leclaire (2a)
Faceoffs: VAN 2 of 20; SD 18 of 20
Power Play: VAN 1 for 5; SD 1 for 7
