Photo Credit: Vancouver Warriors.com
The Vancouver Warriors defeated the Ottawa Black Bears 10–8 Friday night at Rogers Arena, and with the win, the Warriors improved to 11–4 on the season, matching last year’s win total and clinching a playoff spot.
This was a super tight, back-and-forth game, like most are at this point in the season, as both teams were fighting for playoff spots. The game was tied at an 8–8 gridlock late in the fourth quarter. That was until Keegan Bal, like he has done so many times not only this season but his whole career, stepped up for the Warriors and gave them a one-goal lead with 2:51 left in the game. The defence shut the door, and Curtis Dickson added the empty-netter for the icing on the cake. Bal said it was massive for his team to be able to pull out a gritty win, especially at this point in the season.
“ ( These) are the games that (we) really need to win. (I’m) proud of the group for staying super resilient. We were positive on the bench the entire time, they tied it up a few times in the fourth quarter, and it was never ( a feeling of) angst or a feeling of we might not get it done.”
Bal, who is a big Kobe Bryant fan, seemed to channel his inner Mamba Mentality in the fourth quarter, scoring the winning goal in clutch time to send his team to the playoffs. Much like how Kobe Bryant became a legend hitting game-winning shots over the course of his illustrious NBA career, Bal’s winning goal may be his signature moment of his potential MVP season. He is currently leading the NLL in points and assists and is fourth in goals. Bal had 112 points last year, which is his career high. He currently sits at 107 with three games left to smash it. He has perhaps been the NLL’s most underrated player over the past few seasons, and I still don’t think he’s gotten all the recognition he’s deserved, despite being the league’s leading scorer.
Adam Charalambides was asked if he thinks Bal is still underrated among the rest of the players in the league. He said they think he’s the best in the world.
Head coach and general manager Curt Malawsky had some high praise for Bal postgame.
“ He got the game ball tonight, and I think every week he could get the game ball… (He’s) just a special special player. When I first got here, he could hit his shots, and he’s got great feet, but getting to the middle of the floor now, he’s fearless. He goes right down the pipe, knows he’s going to get hit, and he leads by example. He scored some really big goals for this club.”
This is Malawsky’s third year coaching the team, and they’ve made the playoffs in back-to-back years. The last time they did that was when they were the Washington Stealth in 2010 and 2011.
Since he took over, the culture has started to change. The goal was always to build a winning team in Vancouver. Many people thought that would take a few years, but credit to the organization as a whole, they’ve taken this team to new heights. In my opinion, the Warriors are BC’s best sports team at the moment. Is that crazy to say? I certainly don’t think so.
Malawsky spoke on what it meant to clinch a playoff spot.
“It means the world to us. We start early (in) November, and that’s your first goal is to make the playoffs and to be able to clinch at home in front of our fans. We hadn’t played great this season (at Rogers Arena), now we’re 4–3 at home, and we want to just keep it rolling. It’s awesome for British Columbia and very grateful to be a part of the organization, and super proud of our guys in that room.”
With how much was at stake, it seemed like a playoff game heading into it, and it certainly felt like it. Two teams playing physical, not giving their opponent much, and it was a game that went down to the wire. Star goaltender Christian Del Bianco made huge stops all night, especially at key moments to keep the Warriors in the game. However, Keegan Bal was the Warriors’ star on the night, but defenseman Ryan Dilks also had a great game. Some might say at 35 years old Dilks may have shown signs of age catching up to him earlier in the year, but he’s certainly drinking from the fountain of youth as of late. He picked off a pass last week against Georgia to score and made a similar play on the penalty kill this week, setting up Jeff Cornwall for the tying goal late in the second quarter. Dilks also picked up nine loose balls on the night, blocked one shot, and caused three turnovers.
The biggest area for improvement for the Warriors was the offense. They needed to find more guys to fill the back of the net. So that’s what Malawsky did, bringing in Jesse King and Curtis Dickson, two players who had 100-point seasons last year and know what it takes to win in the league. Adam Charalambides, who had three goals and an assist Friday, said King and Dickson bring more than just their scoring touch to the squad.
“ They bring really high IQ, a lot of talk on the bench and (we) can learn from them. Jesse (and) Curtis practice so hard and the way they approach this game… their careers speak for themselves, it’s been a treat having them and (I’m) glad Curt went out and got them.”
The Warriors are currently tied for first with the Saskatchewan Rush, who do have the tiebreaker over Vancouver due to their head-to-head win. The Warriors have a much-needed bye week next week before heading to Buffalo to face the three-time defending champion Bandits on April 4th.
