Warriors Look to Continue Momentum Against Albany Firewolves

The Vancouver Warriors (3-8) take on the NLL’s second place Albany Firewolves (9-2) in Albany at MVP Arena Friday, March 8th. 

The Vancouver Warriors are building their momentum after they earned their third win of the season against the defending NLL champs on First Nations Night at Rogers Arena. Aden Walsh notched his first win of the season, holding it down between the pipes, turning aside 39 of the 51 shots he faced.  

Coming into the game with the second-best penalty kill percentage in the league at 62%, the Warriors stopped four of Buffalo’s six attempts on the power play and Vancouver outshot Buffalo 57-51. 

The Warriors had hat tricks from Riley Loewen, Kevin Crowley and Keegan Bal. Adam Charalambides had two goals in the win while both of Ryan Martel and Kyle Killen had singles.  

Charalambides is still top of the leaderboard in points for the Warriors with 23 goals and 31 assists. Bal is second in point-production, scoring 18 goals and tallying 30 assists through 11 games. 

Vancouver’s tough defense has caused 137 turnovers, and the group isn’t afraid to put their bodies on the line, blocking a whopping 78 shots compared to the Firewolves’ 52. The Warriors’ power play has a 38% success rate with 39 opportunities on the man-advantage, scoring on 15 occasions. Vancouver’s penalty kill is still 2nd overall allowing just 18 goals on 48 chances. Albany holds the advantage over Vancouver in the faceoff circle, winning 68% of their draws, compared to the Warriors’ 50%.  

While the Warriors are looking to bounce back in the second half of their season, the Firewolves are having a turnaround season of their own. They’re looking for their tenth win of the season and are coming off a three-game winning streak, winning their most recent contest 14-8 win over the NLL 10th place New York Riptide. 

Firewolves’ rookie forward Alex Simmons had a seven-point outing with three goals and four assists and Ethan Walker also had a hat trick and two assists. Ty Kurtz and Travis Longboat tallied two goals each and Marshall Powless, Colton Watkinson, Sam Firth and Nathan Grenon all poured in a goal as well. 

Goaltender Doug Jamieson stopped 45 of the 53 shots he faced and made clutch saves down the stretch. Jamieson has made at least 45 saves in the last three of Albany’s games and reached over 4,000 minutes against the Riptide in the NLL, which he’s achieved over seven seasons in the pros. 

Simmons leads his team with 61 points (25-36-61) and Walker is second on the team with 54 points (23-31-54).  

Face off for the game is at 4 p.m. PT. 

For season tickets, group tickets, suites, and individual tickets, and Spring Break Camp information head to www.vancouverwarriors.com.