Surging Seals set to host Halifax on Margaritaville Night
The surging San Diego Seals, 5-4 and winners of four of their last five, will look to climb two games above .500 for the first time this season when they host the Halifax Thunderbirds (3-6) this Saturday (Feb. 21) on Margaritaville Night at Pechanga Arena. Faceoff is 7 p.m. PT. The first 2,000 fans in attendance will receive a FREE Seals visor and special for Margaritaville Night, the cover band Jimmy’s Buffet will perform at halftime.
The Seals have been an interesting paradox nine games into the season. They are the NLL’s only undefeated team on the road where they’re a perfect 4-0, but the team is just 1-4 inside Pechanga Arena (aka “The Electric Factory”) so they’ll look to right the ship when they host Halifax on Saturday night. The Thunderbirds started their season 2-0 but have since lost four straight and five of their last six. They’re 2-2 on the road this season.
Having just passed the midpoint of the 2025-26 season, the Seals are tied for fifth in the NLL standings while Halifax is 11th.
One of the biggest reasons for the team’s recent success has been the play of goaltender Chris Origlieri, who’s stopped 180 of 221 shots (81.4%) and allowed only 42 goals during this recent five-game stretch.
The Seals also have two of the League’s top two transition players in faceoff specialist Trevor Baptiste and Zach Currier. Baptiste, who is expected to play in his 100th career NLL game on Saturday night, leads the League in faceoff wins (181) and faceoff win percentage (79%) and he’s doing so by a wide margin. His faceoff win percentage is a full seven points ahead of Halifax’s Jake Withers (72%), who he’ll square off against this weekend. Currier meanwhile paces the NLL in loose balls secured (113), two ahead of Withers (111). Currier secured 14 loose balls in last Saturday’s win in Oshawa and has 11-or-more in each of the team’s last four games and he also leads the squad with 13 blocked shots on the year.
Offensively, fourteen different players have scored goals for the Seals this season, led by forwards Tre Leclaire (20), Dylan Watson (14) and Connor Robinson (13). The Seals have also been bolstered by the return of Ben McIntosh, who scored a season-high five goals in last Saturday night’s win in Oshawa. McIntosh was held without a goal in the Seals’ first two games of the season and then he spent the following three weeks on Injured-Reserve, but since returning, McIntosh has had a hot stick in his hand with 9 goals and 8 assists for 17 points. And speaking of hot sticks, team captain Wes Berg had a season-high seven assists in the win over the FireWolves as he paces the Seals with 28 helpers on the season. Berg also flashed his goal-scoring stick against Oshawa, putting two past FireWolves goaltender Doug Jamieson, including one on a rare “Around the World” wraparound shot.
Broadcast Information
For fans unable to make it to Pechanga Arena on Saturday night, the game will be broadcast locally in San Diego on Spectrum Cable Channel 4 and streamed to a global audience on ESPN+.
Seals-Thunderbirds Head-to-Head
The Halifax Thunderbirds are the NLL’s original Rochester Knighthawks, having played in Rochester from 1995-2018. The Seals played those Knighthawks once during their inaugural 2018-19 season, winning 12-10 inside Pechanga Arena. In 2019, the franchise moved to Halifax and rebranded as the Thunderbirds and since then, the Seals and Thunderbirds have met three times with Halifax holding a 2-1 series edge. Halifax won the first meeting in Nova Scotia during the 2019-20 season by a score of 8-5; the Seals beat the Thunderbirds in San Diego, 12-8, during the 2023-24 season, and Halifax won the most recent meeting, 13-10, last season at the Scotiabank Centre.
A Look Back at Last Season’s Contests
April 5, 2025 at Halifax: The Seals took their longest road trip of the season, traveling nearly 3,700 miles to Halifax, Nova Scotia, but came up on the short end, falling to the Thunderbirds, 13-10, at the Scotiabank Centre. San Diego got off to a fast start, scoring two goals in the opening 1:12 and five through the first quarter, but could not maintain the pace as they scored just five more over the final three quarters. The power play was a deciding factor in the game as well, as San Diego went just 2-of-7 with a man advantage, while Halifax was a perfect 3-for-3. The Seals led 5-3 after one quarter with five different players scoring goals. The Thunderbirds flipped the script in the second, outscoring the Seals 6-2 to take a 9-7 lead at the half. The scoring pace slowed dramatically in the third quarter with each team finding the back of the net just once and the game went to the fourth with Halifax up 10-8. The score remained as such for the opening 7:55 of the fourth before Halifax’s Curtis Romanchych scored to give the Thunderbirds a 11-8 lead. Just 1:10 later, the Seals scored to get back within two, but Halifax countered with two late goals, including an empty netter by Clarke Petterson as they pulled away for the win. Ben McIntosh scored a game-high three goals for the Seals, while Wes Berg and Zach Currier both scored twice.
Roster Breakdown
The Seals’ current 21-man regular season roster sees the team carrying nine forwards, seven defenders, four transition men and two goalies. The breakdown is below:
Forwards: Wes Berg, Ben McIntosh, Tre Leclaire, Chris Kavanagh, Pat Kavanagh, Dylan Watson, Connor Robinson, Corey Small, and Noah Armitage.
Defensemen: Danny Logan, Graydon Bradley, Eli Gobrecht, Matt Wright, Patrick Shoemay, James Barclay and Zack Deaken.
Transition: Zach Currier, Trent DiCicco, faceoff specialist Trevor Baptiste and rookies Ari Steenhuis and Cam Acchione.
Goaltenders: Chris Origlieri and Cam Dunkerley
Pat Kavanagh and Matt Wright are currently on Injured-Reserve. Kellen LeClair is on the League’s holdout list while he completes his probationary period as a firefighter. Jake Govett, Tyden Redlick, Aidan Carroll and Marquez White are on the practice squad.
National Lacrosse League →