Balanced Attack Powers Warriors to 15-9 Victory over Las Vegas Desert Dogs
NLL Vancouver Warriors

Balanced Attack Powers Warriors to 15-9 Victory over Las Vegas Desert Dogs

Published on December 14, 2025 under National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Vancouver Warriors News Release


The Vancouver Warriors set the tone early against the Las Vegas Desert Dogs, giving fans an early Christmas present with a 15-9 win at Rogers Arena.

The Warriors were up 7-2 at halftime and scored seven goals in the third quarter to put the game out of reach for the Desert Dogs. Vancouver scored 14 goals at even-strength, and they had balanced scoring, with nine different players finding the twine.

Head Coach and GM Curt Malawsky was happy with the team's start and the way the team moved the ball and spaced the floor.

"We were able to kind of just pick away at some of their guys where we thought we could attack them, and we finished well when we did get inside, Malawsky said. "We played a little bit of a conservative game in the fourth quarter, but I think overall to a man, everybody played well.

Keegan Bal continued his hot start to the season, scoring four goals and adding four assists, Bal now has 15 points his first two games this season, while Adam Charalambides also had eight points on two goals and six assists.

Forwards Curtis Dickson and Jesse King each scored a pair, and the Warriors had singles from forwards Payton Cormier, Marcus Klarich, and Ryan Sheridan. Defencemen Shane Simpson and Tyler Garrison each scored their first goals as Warriors in the contest.

Charalambides said the team had extra motivation in their training sessions the last couple weeks after their loss to Colorado. The offensive group took a step forward this week with more movement and extending the defence.

"I like the pace that we played with. [There were] times we wanted to go early, times that we wanted to use full 30s and slow the clock down. I thought we did a good job of getting through the middle and swinging the ball," Charalambides said. "We felt like we had better ball movement and just more player movement in general."

Charalambides scored the goal that triggered the teddy bear toss at 1:05 in the third quarter. It was his first time playing in a teddy bear toss game and he said once he scored the goal, all his teammates in the offensive end had big smiles on their faces and they enjoyed the moment.

"That was pretty cool," Bides said. "I was blown away by how many teddy bears there were. It looked like we had every hand on deck, so shout out to all the volunteers and the staff getting them all off the floor. It's a great cause, and hopefully we make some kids Christmases."

The defence disrupted the Desert Dogs' offence by getting in shooting lanes and limited their possession time. The Warriors blocked six shots and caused four turnovers and goaltender Christian Del Bianco turned aside 44 of 53 shots he faced. It was Del Bianco's 60th career win, and he became the 13th goalie in NLL history to achieve this milestone.

"Christian always elevates his game. He knows what key moments of the game are, and he always makes a big stop for us," Malawsky said.

"We talked about celebrating the opportunities to get in shooting lanes, and I didn't think we got in that many shooting lanes last week. I think we did a lot of really good things on blocking shots and causing turnovers and I think the other thing was, we didn't want them to have multiple possessions."

The Warriors celebrated First Nations Night, and Squamish Nation Youth joined the Warriors for an on-turf session prior to the game. Malawsky said First Nations Night is always a special one and he talked about the powerful pre-game ceremony and anthem as something he'll cherish forever.

"I had goose bumps, and I had tears in my eyes; it was just heartwarming. The game means so much to them, and I want them to know they mean so much to us for gifting us the game and being a part of our franchise crowd base," Malawsky said.

"If they don't gift us the great game of lacrosse and the Creator's game, we're not in this position. We always feel very fortunate, very humbled by it, very respectful, and it's just special that we're involved in the game, especially on these sacred lands, and having them come out and support us."

Up next for the Warriors is a trip to Oshawa to take on the Firewolves at Tribute Communities Centre on Friday, December 19 at 4:30 p.m. PT.

The next home game is Friday, January 16 at 7 p.m. PT, and the Warriors will be celebrating Country Night. For season tickets, group tickets, premium options and all ticketing options, please go to tickets.vancouverwarriors.com/singlegame.

Check out the Vancouver Warriors Statistics

Share: Facebook | Twitter/X | LinkedIn | Reddit | Email



National Lacrosse League Stories from December 14, 2025


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central