The Vancouver Warriors (3-9) are welcoming the Las Vegas Desert Dogs (4-8) in St. Patrick’s Day style for the Warriors’ St. Paddy’s Day game at Rogers Arena.
Vancouver holds a 2-1 record against the expansion franchise from last season and is looking to extend their winning record.
The Warriors have put together tough performances over the last three games, including a win against the Buffalo Bandits two games ago.
“There’s a lot of belief in this room and we want to prove to ourselves that we can get it done. I really think that Buffalo win was a big one – that feeling is a contagious feeling. I know the guys felt really good about their effort and that’s something you strive to get every weekend in the National Lacrosse League,” Warriors’ General Manager and Head Coach Curt Malawsky said.
Their last game was a defensive battle against the Albany Firewolves, and Albany’s four-goal run midway through the fourth quarter gave them the edge 13-8 over Vancouver.
Keegan Bal and Adam Charalambides led the Warriors, each posting a five-point night. Bal scored a team-high four goals and had a helper, and Charalambides notched a goal and four assists. Kyle Killen, Brad McCulley and Owen Grant all contributed a goal in the loss.
Goaltender Aden Walsh turned aside 37 shots between the pipes for the Warriors.
Charalambides continues to pace the way for the Warriors with 24 goals and 35 assists for 59 points through 12 games. Bal has the second-most points with 53 (22-31-53).
The Warriors continue their strong defensive play and are second in the NLL on the penalty kill, posting a 61% success rate. Veteran defender Ryan Dilks leads the league in forced turnovers with 29. Grant and fellow rookie Brayden Laity have each collected 68 loose balls and Matt Beers leads Vancouver with 71 loose ball recoveries.
It will be a tight contest between Vancouver and Las Vegas who are neck and neck with the average number of goals scored per game (Warriors’ average 9.67 goals to the Desert Dogs’ 10) and Vancouver averages 11.58 goals against per game to Vegas’ 12.50.
The Desert Dogs visited the Empire State last week and came up short against the New York Riptide 13-11.
All three of the Desert Dogs’ top-performing forwards are coming off big games against the Riptide. Casey Jackson had an eight-point game, five goals and three assists, captain Rob Hellyer had himself a five-point night (2 goals, 3 assists) and Jack Hannah had two goals and two assists. Other scorers for Las Vegas were transition Connor Kirst and defender John Wagner (Wagner was traded to the Albany Firewolves on the March 12th trade deadline).
Kirst also collected nine loose balls and is third in the NLL with 26 forced turnovers this season and leads Las Vegas with 89 loose balls collected.
Hellyer leads Las Vegas with 59 points (18-41-59), Hannah has 21 goals and 29 assists, and Jackson is the top goal scorer with 26 to go along with his 19 assists.
There are several Victoria-born Desert Dogs playing in their home province: forward Casey Jackson, Thomas Vaesen and defender Griffin Hall. Defenders Tor Reinholdt and Josh Jackson will have the opportunity to play in front of family and friends, hailing from Port Moody and Coquitlam respectively.
Grab your green attire and come down to cheer on your favorite Vancouver Warriors to kick off your weekend St. Patrick’s festivities.
For season tickets, group tickets, suites, and individual tickets, and Spring Break Camp information head to www.vancouverwarriors.com.
