It’s finally time to dust off your cowboy boots for the Vancouver Warriors Country Night, presented by Yellowstone, which makes its return on Friday. The Warriors (2-1) will face off against the San Diego Seals (3-2) at Rogers Arena.
Prior to last week’s bye, the Warriors enjoyed a hard-earned win in Calgary. Despite a rowdy crowd of over 13,000 vying for a Roughnecks win, the Warriors secured a 14-10 victory, putting a halt to the Roughnecks unbeaten start to the season.
The Warriors took an early lead against Calgary, scoring six goals in the first quarter and four more in the second to build a 10-5 halftime advantage. Calgary narrowed the gap to 10-8 by the end of the third quarter, but the Warriors secured the win with four goals in the final frame.
Commanding the spotlight in Cowtown was Kevin Crowley, who recorded five goals and three assists across 60 minutes of play. Rookie Payton Cormier also made his mark, scoring his first two NLL goals. Reid Bowering added a few points to the score sheet (2G, 1A), and we saw offensive production from Keegan Bal (1G, 5A), Riley Loewen (1G, 3A), Johnathan Peshko (1G, 3A), Ryan Martel (1G, 2A) and Brayden Laity (1G, 1A).
Netminder Aden Walsh made 34 saves to pick up the win.
Warriors’ General Manager and Head Coach Curt Malawsky had plenty to celebrate, not only for his team’s victory, but also for reaching his 100th career win in the NLL. This milestone puts him in exclusive company with just six other coaches in NLL history reaching the century mark.
In the seven weeks since the NLL season began, the Warriors have played just three games, taking three bye weeks in between. Meanwhile, the San Diego Seals have already been on the turf five times. Despite the lack of playtime, Vancouver has built a reputation for its tough defence, allowing just 9.3 goals per game. Owen Grant further strengthens this claim, ranking second in the league for blocked shots. However, the Seals hold a similar reputation across the league.
In their most recent contest, the Seals found themselves in a defensive slugfest against the Ottawa Blackbears, concluding with a final score of 6-5 for the Seals. Net-front action was scarce throughout the matchup, as the Seals limited the Blackbears to just 38 shots on goal. Rob Hellyer (1G, 2A), Wesley Berg (2G, 1A) and Ryan Benesch (2A) were the sole Seals to pick up multiple points.
Despite the offensive struggle, this matchup granted the Seals a spot in the NLL history books, becoming the first team in league history to win a game with fewer than seven goals scored, as well as holding Blackbears scoreless through the final 37 minutes of game time.
Several B.C.-born players will be ones to watch on Friday, including Drew Belgrave of New Westminster and Graydon Bradley of Vernon – both players from the Seals’ inaugural season. Belgrave has appeared in all but one game in the team’s history. The Coquitlam connection is strong, with Wesley Berg, Robbie Turpin, Adam Noakes, and Ben McIntosh all representing. McIntosh is another veteran to keep an eye on, having been named to the FIL All-World Team as a member of Team Canada in 2018. The Seals roster also features Cameron Lumb from Victoria, along with Patrick Shoemay and Tre Leclaire from Surrey.
In the faceoff circle, the Seals will likely be missing their go-to faceoff specialist Trevor Baptiste. Having only played in one game this season, Baptiste is out with an injury, which means the Seals will be using a committee approach for faceoffs. For the Warriors, promising rookie Alec Stathakis will be taking the draws.
The Warriors and Seals will meet for a second time this season, playing in San Diego on March 7th.
Mosey on down to Rogers Arena in your best western attire for Country Night. The whistle blows at 7:00 p.m PT and tickets can be found here.
