HENDERSON NV – A six-goal run stretching from late in the first quarter to early in the third quarter launched the Vancouver Warriors to an impressive 12-8 victory over the Las Vegas Desert Dogs in front of 4,925 attendees in Henderson, Nevada.
Marcus Klarich had a breakout night for the Warriors in the win, chalking up four goals and adding an assist while Keegan Bal had another stellar game, scoring twice and adding seven assists for nine points on the evening. Also scoring for Vancouver were Adam Charalambides with a pair, Payton Cormier, Kevin Crowley, Owen Grant and Riley Loewen with singles. Bal’s seven assists and nine points propelled him past the 300 assist and 500-point marks in his career, while the veteran Loewen’s two points on the evening moved him to 400 career points as well.
Aden Walsh turned aside 34 shots for the victory.
Game Highlights:
- Marcus Klarich – ACTIVATED: Marcus Klarich is making strides this season. Now having been a regular part of the lineup for the past five games, he has helped ignite the left side of the offenc Klarich had a career-high four goals and added one assist for a five-point night. Over his six games this season, Klarich has scored at least a goal in each game and now has 11 in his six games played. In addition, he is opening space for the likes of Adam Charalambides (who has scored no fewer than six points each of his last five games), and Riley Loewen (eight goals in his past five games).
- Bal continues to bounce along: When the Warriors measure offensive excellence, they can use Keegan Bal as the ruler. Nine points versus Las Vegas (2 goals, 7 assists) now has Bal with a team- leading 56 points this season. Bal has been a distributor the past two games, doling out 13 assists in the past two games alone.
- Defensive Contributions: You can officially call the entire defence core ‘THE COMMITTEE’. Strap on the lunch box and get it done.
Owen Grant – 4 blocks, seven loose balls, five caused turnovers.
Brayden Laity – 9 loose balls
Ryan Dilks – 9 loose balls, three caused turnovers
Reid Bowering – 7 loose balls
Jeff Cornwall – 5 loose balls and one caused turnover
Alex Stathakis – 6 loose balls, 1 caused turnover, 14-10 on faceoffs.
Every member of ‘The Committee’ picked up at least two loose balls, and the team on the whole outfought the Desert Dogs 71-63 on the loose ball battle.
- Milestones Marked Off: You can go almost every game and find a milestone if you were looking, but three significant career milestones were hit on Friday night.
Keegan Bal – among his nine points, Baller hit 300 career assists and 500 career points. Bal is now at 199 career goals, one short of 200.
Riley Loewen – his two points against the Desert Dogs lifted the talented veteran to 400 points in his career.
Up Next:
The Warriors, now 5-5, will take on the Saskatchewan Rush next Friday night at Rogers Arena. This will be the lone meeting between the two clubs this regular season. Saskatchewan is 7-2 on the season and have made the biggest move in the standings this season, pending their game tonight at home to Rochester, the Rush will be in first or second place overall in the league by the time they roll into downtown Vancouver.
Game time: 7 :00pm PT at Rogers Arena. Watch live on NLL+.
