The San Diego Seals are ready to surge into the new year and relight the goal scoring lamp at Pechanga Arena and they’ll do it this Saturday night (Jan. 3) when they host the Calgary Roughnecks on Country Night. Faceoff is 7 p.m.
The Seals (1-1) are looking to bounce back after a disappointing loss to Rochester in their home opener on Dec. 14. Calgary meanwhile comes in at 0-3.
Pechanga Arena (aka “The Electric Factory”) has become one of the toughest arenas to play in for opposing teams in the National Lacrosse League. The Seals have won nine of their last 13 regular-season games at Pechanga Arena and since the start of the 2022-23 season, San Diego is 21-7 in regular-season games played inside The Electric Factory.
For those unable to make it to Pechanga Arena in person, Saturday night’s tilt against the Roughnecks will be broadcast to a national cable television audience on ESPNU and streamed globally on ESPN+.
Regular-Season Milestones on the Horizon
• Wes Berg (283 career goals) needs 17 more to reach 300 for his career.
• Berg (686 career points) needs 14 more to reach 700 for his career.
• Trevor Baptiste has 1,674 career faceoff wins and needs 26 more to reach 1,700.
• Baptiste has 991 career loose balls secured and needs just 9 more to reach 1,000 for his career.
• Eli Gobrecht has 86 career forced turnovers and needs just 14 more to reach 100.
• Corey Small has scored 949 career points and needs 51 more to reach 1,000.
Seals-Roughnecks Head-to-Head All-time, the Seals and Roughnecks have met 13 times in the regular season and once in the playoffs. The Seals lead the all- time regular-season series 10-3 and they are 5-1 in games played in San Diego. The Roughnecks won the lone postseason meeting.
A Look Back at Last Season’s Contest
Zach Currier had a memorable homecoming as the former Roughneck helped lead the Seals to a 16-12 win over Calgary at the Scotiabank Saddledome. Currier scored a late third-quarter goal and two more in the fourth that turned an 11-10 game into a 14-11 Seals advantage with just 5:15 left in the contest. Wes Berg scored a game-high five goals for the Seals, while Ben McIntosh scored three times to go along with seven assists. The teams combined for nine first-quarter goals, five for the Seals and four for the Roughnecks. Berg scored twice while McIntosh, Tre Leclaire and Jake Govett also found the back of the Calgary net. While the Seals outscored the Roughnecks by a goal in the first quarter, Calgary returned the favor in the second, outscoring the visitors 3-2 to send the teams into the locker room at halftime tied 7-7. Both teams’ offenses came back to life in the third as they again combined for nine goals with the Seals again outscoring Calgary 5-4. During the opening 5:01 of the third quarter, Calgary went on a 3-1 run to jump ahead, 10-8. Two of the Roughnecks’ three scores came on the power play. The Seals lone goal during the stretch came off the stick of McIntosh. The Seals responded with a run of their own, scoring four unanswered during a 4:28 stretch to re-take the lead, 12-10. Berg scored twice more, McIntosh scored another and Currier scored his first of the night. Calgary got a late goal from Jack Follows and the teams went to the final quarter with San Diego ahead 12-11. The fourth quarter was all Seals as they outscored the Roughnecks 4-1 to close out the win. Currier had the two aforementioned goals while Leclaire and Trent DiCicco also scored for the
Seals.
A glance at the 2025-26 Seals Roster
The Seals’ 2025-26 roster is a mix of new and old. While the team returns many of its top players from a year ago, they’ve also added a number of new faces. Top returnees include forward and team captain Wes Berg, goaltender Chris Origlieri, faceoff specialist Trevor Baptiste, forwards Pat Kavanagh, Tre Leclaire and Ben McIntosh, transition men Zach Currier and Trent DiCicco, and defenders Eli Gobrecht, Danny Logan and Graydon Bradley. Leclaire leads the team in goals (6), assists (6) and points (12), while Baptiste has been simply dominant in the faceoff
circle, winning 52 of 59 faceoffs (88%) just two games into the season. Meanwhile, Berg ranked second in the NLL a season ago with 49 goals to go along with 39 assists. His 88 points were second on the team. McIntosh chipped in with 24 goals and 42 assists as his 66 points ranked fourth on the team). And Currier scooped up the League’s third-most loose balls (193), while forcing the third-most turnovers (32). And with the ball in his lacrosse stick, Currier’s 47 points (18G and 29A) ranked fifth on the squad.
The team’s top newcomers include forwards Connor Robinson and Corey Small. Robinson, who came over in a trade from Colorado, was the third-leading scorer for the Mammoth a season ago, tallying 67 points on 23 goals and 44 assists, while Small, who signed with the Seals as a free agent, was the third-leading scorer for the Toronto Rock with 51 points on 25 goals and 26 assists during the 2024-25 season. Small scored three goals and had an assist in his Seals debut Nov. 29 at Ottawa.
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