The final game on Saturday night of the week 17 slate was coming to you live from Rogers Arena in Vancouver. The hometown Warriors were set to do battle with the visiting Georgia Swarm. Both clubs came in logjammed in the middle of the standings, so a win for either side would prove to be crucial when it came to playoff seeding.
Vancouver saw themselves with a five-goal lead late in the second quarter, but Georgia wouldn’t be denied. The Swarm made it a game but unfortunately came up a bit short when the clock struck zero. Vancouver, led by Ryan Martel, Keegan Bal, and of course, Christian Del Bianco, snuck away with a 15-13 win.
With 28 total goals scored in the contest, this game was a complete track meet for all four quarters. Marcus Klarich got the party started for Vancouver with his first but was quickly answered by Lyle Thompson. The Warriors, well, Keegan Bal, answered right back with two-straight, both of which were on the power play. Shayne Jackson and Martel traded goals and then Kaleb Benedict registered his first of the game to close out the first quarter. 4-3 Warriors after one.
Another pair of goals, one from either side opened the second quarter, both of which were on the power play. For Georgia, it was Andrew Kew and for Vancouver, it was Kevin Crowley. Lyle got his second, but that’d be the last goal Georgia would score for quite a while in the second. Vancouver proceeded to go on a five-goal run and solidified their lead. Those goals were scored by Martel three times, Klarich and Bal. Bryan Cole got one back for the Swarm with under a minute left in the second. 10-6 Warriors at the break.
“Honestly we’re just coming in with our gameplan”, said Martel about his four first half goals. “We know every game from here on out is a playoff game, and we’re sticking to our system. I love being in the heads of goalies, D-guys, everything. I love that gritty game, so bring it on. We’ll come out like we did in that half, and I think we’ll be successful.”
Georgia crept back into the game to begin the third quarter with two-straight goals, one from Lyle and the other from Kew. Once again, however, they fell victim to another multi-goal run by Vancouver. This run was to the tune of three-straight, which completely erased the Swarm’s momentum and tacked onto their lead. Those three goals were scored by Owen Grant, Klarich, and Crowley. Georgia bounced right back with the last two of the frame, one from Jackson and the other from Toron Eccleston. Talk about a teeter-totter of a game. 13-10 Warriors after three.
Riley Loewen buried his first to add some insurance for Vancouver to kick off the fourth quarter. Insurance, nah. Georgia, for the millionth time this game, made it very interesting with another surge of momentum. To follow Loewen’s goal, the Swarm proceeded to rattle off three-in-a-row to cut the deficit to only one. Those three were scored by Jackson on the power play, Cole on the power play, and Lyle. That put us at 14-13 with 2:07 to play. Vancouver completely shut down Georgia the rest of the way and Del Bianco continued to show there was no rust on his game. Grant buried an empty netter in the waning seconds to close this one out. The clock struck zero and we had our final from B.C, 15-13 Vancouver.
Players of the game for Vancouver were Martel (4+1), Bal (3+9), and Klarich (3+2). Del Bianco had his shining moments but was extra stout down the stretch. CDB stopped 43 of 56 on the night. For Georgia, Lyle (4+2), Jackson (3+2), and Cole (2+4) led the way. The goaltender situation was a bit uneasy all game long. Brett Dobson stopped 24 of 37 in 42:07 of game play. Angus Goodleaf was stellar in relief, stopping 10 of 11 the rest of the way.
“We didn’t do ourselves any favors at the start of the season,” said Bal. “Every game here down the stretch is super important, and by our record, I think you can see we love playing here at home. We know how much harder games are going to be down the stretch, and how much more important they are, so it’s huge for us.”
Vancouver (7-7) looks to continue their winning ways and stay in the top eight of the standings. Their next game is a tough one, as they travel to Buffalo to take on the first-place Bandits (11-3). That game is this Saturday at 7:30pm. Georgia (7-7) looks to have a short memory and get back into the win column. Their next crack at it is back home, as they welcome in Halifax (9-5). That game is this Sunday at 4pm.
