The final Friday night game of the regular season featured two teams with opposite goals. On one side, the Vancouver Warriors have been on an absolute heater as of late, and were fighting for their playoff lives. A win at San Diego and some help across the league very easily could accomplish that. On the other hand, the Seals sat pretty in second place, had their playoff spot and first round home playoff game solidified, but were looking to get hot at the right time.
There were a bunch of milestones reached in this game, as well as San Diego absolutely showing out in their final home game of the year. First, Austin Staats reached the 50-goal mark on the season. Next, Curtis Dickson took sole possession of seventh all-time in goals scored. Finally, not really a milestone, but the Seals turned on the gas, beating up on Vancouver, 16-9.
San Diego got their point across right from the get in the first quarter. The birthday boy, Wesley Berg, kicked off the scoring and was followed up by Dane Dobbie on the power play. Ryan Martel buried his first for Vancouver, but that’d be all for their scoring in the opening frame. Kyle Jackson and Curtis Dickson both got their first to close out the quarter. 4-1 Seals after one.
Vancouver has clearly shown their resiliency the last few weeks when it came down to their playoff lives, so don’t expect them to just roll over. The Warriors started their comeback (that fizzled out quickly), for a good majority of the second quarter. Much like the Seals in the first, Vancouver doubled up to start, as Keegan Bal and Kevin Crowley went back-to-back. Jackson got his second, but was quickly answered by two more from Martel. That’s where the comeback fizzled, as San Diego notched the final three goals of the half. Tre Leclaire, Danny Logan, and Dickson all scored, and we sat at 8-5 at the break. Dickson’s goal was the big one, number 528 of his career, giving him seventh place all time.
“It’s a cliche answer, but my teammates obviously,” said Dickson about the accomplishment. “It’s been a ton of fun playing on a lot of high-powered offenses like that. We want to go in there (playoffs) on a high note, we’re going to give it all we got in the second half.”
Another quarter, another frame where San Diego outscored Vancouver. Dickson and Logan went back-to-back to end the second and again to begin the third. Vancouver answered with two of their own, one from Adam Charalambides and the other from Bal, but San Diego got the last laugh as Leclaire buried his second. 11-7 Seals after three.
Vancouver’s season was slipping and San Diego seemed like they knew that. Foot on the gas was clearly the message for the Seals, as they overpowered Vancouver again in the fourth. Bal got his hat trick, but San Diego answered with three-straight. Talk about a back breaker. Scorers for the Seals were Austin Staats, Jackson, and Berg. Bal got his fourth, but that’d be it for the Warriors’ scoring, and realistically, their season. Berg and Staats each scored again to close this one out. Your final from Pechanga, 16-9 Seals.
Players of the game for Vancouver were Bal (4+2), Martel (3+1), and Charalambides (1+4). Aden Walsh has his shining moments, ultimately coming up short. He stopped 32 of 47. For San Diego, you had your pick of the litter. Berg (3+5), Dickson (3+4), and Jackson (3+3) led the way. Christopher Origlieri continued his dominant play, stopping 37 of 46.
“We had to come into playoffs hot,” said Berg. We have a chance to get that killer instinct and start winning games that were really meaningful.”
San Diego preps for their opening round home playoff game. A 16 goal explosion is definitely a good start in order to make a run. Vancouver isn’t out yet, but they need a lot of help.
