A win over the Rock Saturday night in Toronto is all that stands between the Seals and their first-ever trip to the NLL Finals
The San Diego Seals are just one win away from their first-ever trip to the National Lacrosse League finals and all that stands between them and that opportunity is a win over the Toronto Rock in Game Three of their semifinal playoff series, set for this Saturday night, May 9, at the TD Coliseum in Hamilton. Faceoff is slated for 4 p.m. PT.
In Game Two on Sunday afternoon, a pair of Toronto natives stole the headlines with backup goaltender Cam Dunkerley holding Toronto to just six goals, while forward Dylan Watson scored a season-high four to power the Seals to a 11-6 win that extended the series and kept the Seals championship aspirations alive.
Recap of Sunday afternoon’s Game Two at Pechanga Arena in San Diego
The Seals defense, which played a large role in the team’s success for much of the season, came up big once again when the team needed it most, holding the Rock to just six goals in a 11-6 win at Pechanga Arena in Game Two of their best-of-three National Lacrosse League semifinal playoff series.
Filling in for an injured Chris Origlieri, Cam Dunkerley played the game of his life in his first career postseason start between the pipes, holding the Rock to just six goals, while stopping 36 of 42 shots, an astounding 85.7 percent save percentage. Dunkerley received a standing ovation from the raucous Pechanga Arena crowd when Head Coach Patrick Merrill subbed him out with 50 seconds left in the contest.
Meanwhile on the other side of the turf, it was forward Dylan Watson, who continued his hot streak in the playoffs, scoring a game and season-high four goals to power the San Diego offense. Watson has now scored a team-high nine goals in the postseason.
Early on there were no signs of what was to come from Dunkerley as the Rock scored the game’s first goal just 1:17 into the contest. But that goal would be the only goal the Rock would score for the next 37-plus minutes while the Seals surged out to a 7-1 lead.
Watson scored twice in the first quarter. The first came on a wraparound shot from behind the net off a beautiful pass from Currier just seconds after the Seals killed a Toronto power play. The second came 3:31 later as he bobbed and weaved his way to the top of the crease before beating the Rock’s Nick Rose to the stick side.
The second quarter was all Seals as they scored twice with Robinson scoring his first of the night on a power play and Leclaire scoring the other. Robinson’s goal came just 16 seconds after the Rock were penalized for an illegal cross check on Currier. Leclaire’s goal came with 1:45 remaining after the Seals killed off yet another Toronto power play as he blasted one from just inside the restraining line to cap off a long offensive possession to give the Seals a 4-1 lead at the half.
The Seals put their foot on the gas pedal in the third as they extended their lead to 7-1 with Wes Berg, Currier and James Barclay all finding the back of the net. Berg and Currier’s goals came 1:54 apart with Berg from mid-range at an angle, while Currier’s shot came from point-blank range. Barclay’s goal at the 6:29 mark was a thing of beauty as it came off a perfectly thrown length-of-field pass from Trent DiCicco with Barclay beating Rose on the breakaway to put the Seals on top by six.
The Rock finally solved the riddle that was Dunkerley, but it took them until 6:05 remained in the third, capping a 37:38 scoreless stretch for the visitors. Toronto’s joy would be short lived however as just 31 seconds later on the very next possession, Watson scored his third of the night and the quarter would end with the Seals ahead by a score of 8-2.
It was a physical game that featured a total of 80 penalty minutes and four ejections with the Seals going 2-for-7 on the power play while the San Diego defense held the Rock 0-for-5 with the man advantage. Things got especially chippy in the fourth quarter.
The quarter began with the teams trading two goals over the opening 7:22 before two brouhahas ensued 30 seconds apart. The body count from them featured two slashing penalties, four misconduct penalties, an illegal body check and three unsportsmanlike conduct fouls and when the dust settled, Seals Team Captain Wes Berg was sent to the locker room along with three members of the Rock. Toronto managed to score a shorthanded goal at the 5:31 mark but Eli Gobrecht returned the favor exactly one minute later, scoring an empty net goal off another DiCicco assist as the Seals all but put the game away. Toronto would score once more with 50 seconds left but that would be all she wrote as the Seals closed out the 11-6 win.
How they got here
The Seals and Rock both had to win single-elimination quarterfinal playoff games on the road to reach the semifinals.
For the Seals, it was a road win over the No. 2 seed Colorado Mammoth in Denver. Down 11-7 late in the third, Seals team captain Wes Berg led a furious comeback to send the game into overtime and 59 seconds into the extra session, Berg found Seals leading scorer Tre Leclaire alone in front of the net where he drove home the game-winner to send the Seals on.
Meanwhile for Toronto, the Rock rolled into the Sasktel Centre, home of the No. 3 seed Saskatchewan Rush and outscored the hosts 8-4 over the final 25:00 to turn a one-goal deficit into a 16-13 victory. The Rock were led by Chris Boushy, who scored five times, while CJ Kirst and Josh Dawick both recorded hat tricks.
Toronto went 11-7 during the regular season to earn the No. 6 seed entering the playoffs and they finished the regular season strong, winning six of their last nine and four of their last six.
Broadcast Information
Saturday night’s Game Three will air on local cable television in San Diego on YurView (Cox Communications Channel 4) and it will be streamed to a global audience on ESPN+.
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