The San Diego Seals aren’t just going to the National Lacrosse League playoffs in their first year of existence. They’re strolling into the playoffs.
With the Seals’ impressive victory against the Saskatchewan Rush this week and Colorado’s victory against Vancouver on Saturday, San Diego became the first team in the West Division to clinch a spot in the postseason. At 8-4, San Diego is now two games up on Calgary and Saskatchewan, with both teams currently at .500.
San Diego got out to an early 4-2 lead on the Rush in the first quarter and retained that two-goal advantage heading into the second half thanks to three goals from each team in the second quarter. Saskatchewan mounted a comeback in the third, including a 4-0 run to tie the game at 10, but the Seals responded.
Dan Dawson scored the final goal in the third, and Garrett Billings opened the scoring in the fourth. From there, San Diego led the rest of the way in a 13-12 triumph.
“They’re a great team,” Seals goalie Frankie Scigliano said. “That’s a great measuring stick for us. I think the last three or four weeks, we’ve treated every game like a playoff game. From here on out, that’s the plan. We’re going to treat every game like it’s the last.”
Furious comeback
The Buffalo Bandits were in a bad spot after the first quarter on Saturday. Down 4-0 to Toronto, it appeared the Bandits were set to let the Rock inch closer to them and fall into a tie for first with the Georgia Swarm.
“It didn’t seem as slow unless you looked at the scoreboard,” Bandits co-head coach John Tavares said. “The guys actually were working hard, getting chances and just didn’t put the ball in the net. It just happened that they were putting the ball in the net.”
Buffalo started canning its shots in the second, responding with a 4-0 run to tie the game at the break. Matt Vinc and the Bandits defense only allowed two goals the rest of the way and shut the Rock out for the final 11 and a half minutes, propelling Buffalo to an 8-6 victory against the Rock at the KeyBank Center on Saturday.
“Our defense was unbelievable and Vino was the main reason why,” Tavares said.
Dhane Smith, Josh Byrne and Thomas Hoggarth each had three points, as the Bandits earned their league-leading 12th victory. Buffalo is one win away from tying its franchise record for most wins in a season, set in 2016.
It was a second loss in two nights for the Rock, who were thrashed at the hands of Georgia on Friday night. The Swarm won a fourth straight thanks to a 10-point performance from Randy Staats and an eight-point showing from Lyle Thompson in a dominant 14-5 showing.
“In order to win in this league and be successful in the season and the playoffs, you have to have full 60-minute games,” Swarm head coach Ed Comeau told GeorgiaSwarm.com. “That might have been our best one.”
Swarm goalie Mike Poulin set single-game personal bests for save percentage (90.4) and goals allowed for a Georgia team that has already secured a spot in the playoffs.
Battle for fourth
The Colorado Mammoth earned a crucial sweep of the Vancouver Warriors in a home-and-home over the weekend, giving the Mammoth a clear upper hand in the teams’ battle for the fourth and final playoff spot in the West Division.
The results broke a tie between the two teams for the last spot, giving Colorado a two-game advantage with minimal time for the Warriors to catch up. The Mammoth also took the season series and thus own the playoff tiebreaker.
“It was a really good weekend for us,” Mammoth head coach Pat Coyle told ColoradoMammoth.com. “Obviously, we knew what was at stake, so that part is great, but to see how we won was really awesome.”
The opener featured a third-quarter comeback for the Warriors, cutting a 7-4 halftime lead to a one-goal deficit after three, but the Vancouver offense couldn’t muster anything from there in an 11-7 outing.
Saturday’s meeting was far more lopsided. Eli McLaughlin had four goals and eight assists and rookie Kyle Killen had five goals and an assist as the Mammoth rode an eight-goal run to a 14-4 victory.
Wings holding on
Philadelphia stayed alive for playoff contention with a victory against the rival New England Black Wolves, but the Wings still needs a miracle to join San Diego as expansion teams in the postseason. Philadelphia needs to win out and for the Black Wolves to lose three of their five remaining games.
Unlike previous games this season, the Wings were able to capitalize on early success, taking a 3-1 lead after one quarter and an 8-3 advantage into the break. New England only managed to string a pair of goals together once in the second in a 13-8 loss.
Kevin Crowley had three goals and five assists, Kiel Matisz dished out five helpers and Matt Rambo recorded two goals and two assists, as Philadelphia earned its first win in over a month.
Luckily for the Black Wolves, they’ll have Callum Crawford back for next week after his suspension was reduced from five games to one by an arbitrator.
Riggers move into second
The Calgary Roughnecks took care of business against the sliding Rochester Knighthawks, pulling away in the second half for a 13-9 victory.
The K-Hawks hung around in the first, trailing by one goal after the first 30 minutes, but only scored twice in the second half. Curtis Dickson had a nine-point performance and Dane Dobbie had three goals and three assists, as the Riggers moved into a tie for second with the Rush.
Week 16 preview
Wings at Rock
Saturday, 7 p.m. ET
Toronto needs to get going if it hopes to get a home playoff matchup in the opening round. The Rock are two games behind the Swarm in the standings but are tied in the loss column. The Wings are coming off a balanced scoring effort, with nine players finding the net.
Seals at Roughnecks
Saturday, 9 p.m. ET
The final game of a three-game season series will determine the tiebreaker, since Calgary won the first meeting and San Diego the second. The Seals defense has been excellent against the Roughnecks both times, allowing nine goals in each game, but the offense mustered only five tallies in the first meeting. San Diego’s offense has been incredibly consistent as of late, scoring 13 goals in four straight games.
Warriors at Rush
Saturday, 9:30 p.m. ET
Vancouver has put itself in tough position with a pair of losses this weekend, needing to make up three games with only four games left. The Warriors remaining schedule features two playoff teams, Saskatchewan and Toronto, and two teams likely missing out on the postseason, Philadelphia and Rochester. The Rush have dropped two straight and have already set a high for losses in a season since moving to Saskatoon with seven.
Knighthawks at Black Wolves
Sunday, 1 p.m. ET
Crawford returns for the Black Wolves against the K-Hawks, who New England beat 16-13 earlier this season. Rochester has lost eight straight, with its last win coming on Jan. 26 against the Bandits. The Knighthawks could use increased production from Ryan Benesch, who only has five points in three games with the team since being acquired from Colorado.