Eduardo Curros – Western Correspondent, All Lacrosse All The Time
The National Lacrosse League playoffs have finally arrived. The Vancouver Warriors finished the season on a six-game winning streak to earn the fourth seed, just ahead of the Rochester Knighthawks, who they met at Rogers Arena on Saturday night in a playoff quarterfinal. The Knighthawks won six of their last seven regular season games to finish 10-8 after starting out 4-7. However, it would be Vancouver moving on to the semifinals, as the Warriors ran out to leads of 9-3 and 11-5 before taking home a 15-10 victory. It’s the first ever playoff win for any Vancouver franchise (Ravens/Stealth/Warriors) in NLL history.
Warriors build big halftime lead
The Warriors got started with Marcus Klarich opening the scoring at 2:08, on assists from Adam Charalambides and Keegan Bal. Thomas McConvey scored the only Rochester goal for the quarter, with help from Ryan Lanchbury and Connor Fields at 2:23. Bal gave the Warriors a lead with help from Ryan Martel and Charalambides at 6:09. Dylan McIntosh expanded the lead with help from Bal and Charalambides at 7:29. Ryan Dilks closed the scoring for the quarter assisted by Jeff Cornwall at 13:01, giving the Warriors a 4-1 lead after 15 minutes.
Kevin Crowley kept Vancouver’s run going, with help from Bal and Reid Bowering at 2:11. Riley Loewen scored at 2:41 with help from Crowley and Bal for a 6-1 lead. The Knighthawks showed signs of life with goals from Ryan Smith and Fields, both assisted by Lanchbury, at 5:33 and 9:45. Vancouver went back to work, as Crowley scored at 12:10, Bal at 13:01, and Cornwall at 14:03. The Warriors took a 9-3 lead into the half.
Warriors advance to best-of-three semifinals against Buffalo
Kyle Waters tried to spark the Rochester offense at 1:15 of the third quarter, with an assist from Lanchbury. Owen Grant took a feed from Christian Del Bianco to score at 3:51. Bal then scored at 7:33, with assists from Loewen and Crowley. Rochester would have the last goal of the quarter thanks to Fields, with help from Lanchbury and Smith at 13:11, but still trailed 11-5 after three quarters of play.
The Knighthawks tried to get back in the game in the fourth quarter. McConvey, from Smith and Fields at 2:33, followed by Brad Gillies in transition at 2:54, made it 11-7. Lanchbury fed Smith for another goal at 5:23 to narrow the lead to three. Bal, assisted by Klarich at 7:11, pushed the lead back to four. Smith scored again, assisted by Lanchbury and Curtis Knight at 8:23. Martel would score at 9:35, assisted by Bal and McIntosh, for a 13-9 Warriors lead. McConvey scored again for the Knighthawks at 12:23, but Vancouver sealed the game with empty-net goals from Bal, then Bowering, at 14:12 and 14:26, for the 15-10 final score.
Curros’s Corner
Knighthawks: Smith (3g, 2a); McConvey (3g, 1a); Fields (2g, 4a); Waters (1g); Gillies (1g); Lanchbury (7a)
Warriors: Bal (5g, 6a); Crowley (2g, 2a); Cornwall (1g, 2a); McIntosh (1g, 2a); Bowering (1g, 2a); Loewen (1g, 1a); Klarich (1g, 1a); Grant (1g, 1a); Martel (1g, 1a); Dilks (1g); Charalambides (5a)
Rylan Hartley/Riley Hutchcraft (ROC): 32 combined saves; Christian Del Bianco (VAN): 47 saves
Power Play: ROC 0 for 3; VAN 0 for 1
