There were plenty of smiles around Rogers Arena for the Warriors’ Fan Appreciation Night as Vancouver beat the New York Riptide in commanding fashion.
In an important game for both teams a win for the Warriors means they are still in the playoff hunt.
Warriors Head Coach and General Manager Curt Malawsky was pleased with how his team started the game and continued to play disciplined lacrosse until the final whistle. Vancouver’s offence was firing on all cylinders, and their defence held the Riptide’s top point scorer, Jeff Teat, to just 6 points (3G, 3A) on the night.
“Trying to limit Jeff Teat [is tough], I don’t think very often does he get three and three, he usually gets five and 10 or easily 13, 14 points a night so I thought Ryan Dilks was just absolutely outstanding on him, he matched up on him most of the night,” Malawsky said. “I just liked our resiliency and our composure. When they made a little bit of a run, we just stuck with it, just kept on grinding and that’s kind of who we are.”
Warriors’ forward Ryan Martel led the team with nine points, four goals and five assists. With this big night, he’s amassed 69 points so far this season, which is more points this season than the 64 in his first five NLL seasons combined.
“Curt’s had a lot to do with it. He’s had a lot of confidence in me this year, giving me the ball and different plays and situations which I really appreciate. I think just getting older, getting in my man body a bit and I’m excited to come to the rink every day. I think about it all week and it’s been a fun year,” Martel said.
Both teams started the game with stingy defence on both sides of the floor, Vancouver’s Brad McCulley scored the Warriors’ second goal of the game on a backhand to give the Warriors a 2-1 lead.
The score was tied 3-3 going into the second quarter.
The Warriors went on a 5-0 run in the second, including three power play goals from Bal and back-to-back goals from Adam Charalambides, with Kyle Killen and Martel joining in on the run with singles.
Vancouver led 8-6 going into halftime and owned the shot share 20-15 at the midway point and would continue the momentum in the second half.
The home team opened the third on a three-goal run from Ryan Martel, Bal and Riley Loewen, taking a 11-7 lead into the fourth quarter.
Vancouver continued tough defence, outscoring the Riptide 8-4 in the second half to take the game 16-10.
In addition to Martel’s nine-point night, Bal and Charalambides each had eight points (3G, 5A) for Bal, (4G, 4A) for Charalambides. McCulley had two goals and Vancouver had singles from Loewen, Kevin Crowley and Killen.
Goaltender Aden Walsh turned aside 23 of the 33 shots he faced.
The Warriors announced their team awards for the season throughout the game and the awards were as follows: Ryan Dilks took home Defenceman of the Year and Teammate of the Year, Owen Grant, Rookie of the Year, Riley Loewen, Unsung Hero, while Keegan Bal and Dilks shared Team MVP.
Next up, the Warriors head to San Diego for their final regular season game of the season against the Seals. Faceoff is Friday, April 19th at 7 p.m. PT.
