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NLL San Diego Seals

Seals Cap "Never-Say-Die" Season by Matching Their Deepest Run in the NLL Playoffs

Published on May 19, 2026 under National Lacrosse League (NLL)
San Diego Seals News Release


The San Diego Seals came within 19 minutes of reaching their first-ever NLL Finals in what will go down as a memorable never-say-die season for the National Lacrosse League Club.

Faced with the prospect of not reaching the postseason for the first time in franchise history going into the last weekend of the regular season, the Seals beat the Las Vegas Desert Dogs to secure control of their destiny before taking their fans and the City of San Diego on a magical run thru the NLL postseason.

It started with a heart-stopping overtime win in Colorado in the quarterfinals and continued with a dominating 11-6 win over the Toronto Rock in Game Two of their NLL semifinal playoff series inside Pechanga Arena.

Unfortunately, the Seals' playoff run would come to an end in Game Three of the series at Toronto's TD Coliseum, but it was a thrilling run through the playoffs. It matched the deepest postseason run in franchise history and it showed that the future is bright and the NLL Cup within reach for the Seals.

Currier caps season with NLL Transition Player of the Year Award and All-NLL Honors

Zach Currier was named first-team All-NLL while also claiming his third-career National Lacrosse League Transition Player of the Year Award. The well-deserved accolades came after an outstanding season that saw Currier score a single-season career-best 22 goals while scooping up 200 loose balls. It marked the third Transition Player of the Year Award for Currier (2022 and 2023 with Calgary) and the fourth time in his career that he collected 200-or-more loose balls.

Currier almost single-handedly put the Seals on his back to get the team into the postseason and then help it advance to the brink of the NLL Finals. In what were essentially must-win games for the Seals late in the regular season, Currier had a goal and three assists against Georgia, and less then five nights later, he scored a career-high five goals in a 14-12 win over Las Vegas that helped clinch a playoff berth. That performance would ignite a seven-game stretch, including playoffs, during which Currier scored 16 goals, recorded 22 assists, scooped up an astounding 80 loose balls and forced nine turnovers.

Scoring goals in droves

The Seals closed out the regular season and began the playoffs as one of the hottest scoring teams on turf. They finished the year, including playoffs, with 11-or-more goals in five of their last six.

Among the highlights:

Dylan Watson caught fire during the playoffs scoring a team-high nine goals, including a season-best four in the Seals' Game Two NLL Semifinal Playoff win over the Toronto Rock.

Team captain Wes Berg collected a team-high 17 assists, including a beautiful assist on Tre Leclaire's game-winning goal in the NLL Playoff Quarterfinals at Colorado. Berg also found the back of the net himself three times in the win over the Mammoth and for the season, playoffs included, he scored two-or-more goals in 11 of 22 games, including 8-of-10 to close out the regular season.

Ben McIntosh, who battled injuries early in the year, also found his rhythm late in the year when the Seals needed it most. He scored three-or-more goals in five of the team's last six regular season games before doing it once again with a hat trick in Game One of the Seals' NLL semifinal series against Toronto.

And rookie Noah Armitage deserves a nod for his offensive prowess late in the season. Inserted into the lineup ahead of the Seals' 16 th game of the season against fellow NLL semifinalist Georgia, Armitage scored a pair of goals in the Seals 9-7 win over the Swarm that put the purple and gold in control of their playoff destiny. And just five nights later, he recorded his first-career hat trick in the Seals' 14-12 win over Las Vegas that all but put the squad into the NLL Playoffs.

Getting Physical on D

In a sport where offense generally gets the most attention, the Seals defense stole headlines in 2025-26. Throughout most of the regular season, the Seals ranked in the top three in the League in fewest goals allowed. In fact, nine times during the regular season, half the team's games, the Seals held their opponents to nine goals-or-less.

The combination of goaltender Chris Origlieri and defensemen Danny Logan, Trent DiCicco, Eli Gobrecht and Graydon Bradley deserve a ton of credit for the Seals' play on the back end.

Origlieri spent just shy of 949 minutes in between the pipes during the regular season and allowed just 10.18 goals per game. He stopped 576 of 737 shots (78.2 percent) on the season and his solid play carried over into postseason when the Seals needed it most as he allowed just one goal over the final 18:39 of regulation and overtime while the Seals erased a four-goal deficit in Colorado to win in sudden death in the quarterfinals.

Logan meanwhile paced the Seals defense with 108 loose balls secured on the season, while DiCicco racked up 89, Gobrecht 77 and Bradley 70. That feistiness also came with a price (for the opposition) as Bradley and Gobrecht led the team in minutes spent in the penalty box with 26 and 23, respectively.

And Logan wasn't just a pest for the opposition with loose balls as he also paced the D with 22 forced turnovers, while Gobrecht was second with 14. Fellow defenseman James Barclay also deserves a nod for leading the team with 16 blocked shots, while Bradley was second with 13.

Badest man on the faceoff dot

The Seals get a major boost from faceoff specialist Trevor Baptiste, regarded by many as the top faceoff man in all of lacrosse. Baptiste's dominance on the dot was on full display during the Seals' playoff opening win in Colorado when he came away with 26 of the game's 29 faceoffs, an incredible 89.7% success rate.

And during the regular season, Baptiste led the NLL in both faceoff wins (327) and faceoff win percentage (75%), four percentage points clear of Halifax's Jake Withers, who was second at 71%.

Seals Head Coach and General Manager Patrick Merrill

Seals Head Coach and General Manager Patrick Merrill owns a career regular-season won-loss ledger of 70-50 (.583) since joining the Seals in 2018. He has guided the Seals to the playoffs in each of the six full seasons he's been at the helm.

2026 NLL Draft

The 2026 NLL Draft will take place this Fall (date TBD) and when it does, the Seals will have one pick each in rounds 1-6. The Seals hold the seventh overall pick in each round though in round two they'll pick eighth and in round three they'll pick sixth.

Team Captains

Wes Berg served as team captain for the third straight season. Danny Logan and Graydon Bradley were the Seals' assistant captains for home games, while Zach Currier and Eli Gobrecht were assistant captains for road contests.

Follow the Seals on Social Media

For the latest info on the Seals, visit https://www.sealslax.com/ and follow the team on social media at @SealsLax on Twitter, Instagram, TikTok and Facebook.

2025-26 Game Recaps

Game 1 at Ottawa: The Seals opened their 2025-26 NLL in Ottawa and needed every one of the 16 goals they scored as they held off a feisty Black Bears squad, 16-13, to earn their first win of the season. It was a thrilling game that saw the teams combine for an unbelievable 14 goals in the fourth quarter, and it wasn't decided until James Barclay scored an empty-netter with 23 seconds left to seal the win. Tre Leclaire scored a game-high five goals for the Seals, including a clutch goal with 2:12 left in the game that halted a late 4-0 run by Ottawa. It was part of a monster night for the veteran forward, who added four assists for a team-leading nine points.

The Seals came roaring out the gates scoring to start the season, scoring the game's first six goals. Newcomers Corey Small and Connor Robinson didn't waste any time making an immediate impression on their new teammates by scoring the game's first three goals. Small netted a pair, scoring his first 1:51 into the game before scoring again 46 seconds later, while Robinson scored 5:10 into the first to put the Seals up 3-0.

The onslaught continued to begin the second quarter. Faceoff specialist Trevor Baptiste won the battle for the ball to open the second quarter and took it in unassisted for a goal that put the Seals up 4-0. Leclaire would then score his first of the night at the 11:08 mark before rookie Noah Armitage, playing in his first career NLL game, scored to put the Seals up 6-0.

Looking for a spark down 6-0 early in the second, Ottawa's Luc Magnan dropped the gloves with Seals defender Patrick Shoemay with both drawing five-minute major penalties. The move seemed to work as just three minutes later, Ottawa found the back of the net for the first time on the night and the Black Bears would procced to go on a three-goal run to trim the deficit in half and get within 6-3. Leclaire halted the run with his second of the night, but Ottawa's Riley O'Connor countered 42 seconds later and the teams went to the halftime break with the Seals on top, 7-4.

The teams traded goals in the third with each side scoring a pair. Both of the Black Bears' goals were scored on no-look shots, while the Seals' goals came from Dylan Watson and Small on a power play. Small's goal, his third of the night for the hat trick, also came on a rare 4-on-3 power play.

Then came the fireworks with the teams combining for the 14 fourth quarter goals with each team scoring seven times. The Seals outscored Ottawa 5-3 over the first 7:45 of the period before the Black Bears answered with the aforementioned four-goal run to get within 14-13, but Leclaire and Barclay's goals sealed the deal for the visitors who escaped with the win.

Notable: With 28 faceoff wins, Baptiste ran his career total to 1,650, moving him into a tie with Stephen Hoar for eighth-most in NLL history.

Game 2 vs Rochester: The San Diego Seals fell to the Rochester Knighthawks by a score of 15-7 before a crowd of more than 8,000 in their home opener at Pechanga Arena.

Rochester got the better of the Seals early on, scoring the game's first goal 37 seconds into the first and led 3-1 after one period. The Seals' lone goal came off the stick of forward Pat Kavanagh.

After giving up three more goals to Rochester to open the second period, Seals team captain and forward Wes Berg gave the home side a much-needed lift, scoring over the top of Knighthawks goaltender Rylan Hartley at the 8:12 mark to make it a 6-2 game. After giving up a couple more goals to Rochester to fall behind 8-2, the Seals pulled goaltender Chris Origlieri at the 4:12 mark and replaced him with Cam Dunkerley. The move seemed to give the team a spark as Dunkerley was able to get things settled down on the back end, while the offense got goals from Connor Robinson and Kavanagh's second of the afternoon to cut the deficit in half and make it an 8-4 game at the half.

The Seals struck first in the second half with Tre Leclaire scoring from the point off a beautiful feed from Kavanagh at the 11:18 mark of the third and just 21 seconds later, Dylan Watson scored his first of the afternoon to get the Seals within 8-6. Undeterred, Rochester answered the Seals' early goals with a 5-0 run to close out the period, including a goal on a penalty shot by Ryan Smith, and the Knighthawks jumped out to a 13-6 lead after three quarters.

Unfortunately, the Seals weren't able to regain their momentum in the fourth and Rochester outscored them 2-1 with the lone San Diego goal scored by Watson.

Game 3 vs. Calgary: The Seals hosted Calgary at Pechanga Arena and the teams traded goals, gloves, fists and just about everything but New Year's greetings and when it was all said and done, it was Calgary that rode a five-goal fourth period and came away with a 15-11 win.

Things were chippy right from the get-go and Calgary got the best of it early, jumping out to a 4-1 lead after one quarter. That chippiness carried over into the second quarter and set the stage for a massive fight between the Seals' Eli Gobrecht and Calgary's Justin Inacio with 3:55 remaining in the half and the Seals down 6-2. The fisticuffs lit a fire in the Seals and ignited the Pechanga Arena crowd and the Seals rallied with two late goals to draw within 7-4 to close out the half.

The hostilities settled down in the second half and the Seals found their rhythm offensively. They scored five goals to Calgary's two and tied the game at 9-9 with 3:06 left in the quarter on a Tre Leclaire goal off a beautiful behind-the-back pass from Wes Berg that sent the Electric Factory into a frenzy.

Unfortunately though, the Seals couldn't keep the pendulum swinging in their direction as Calgary scored a goal late in the third and outscored the home side 3-1 over the first 3:33 of the fourth to jump back ahead by three at 13-10. Matt Wright scored with 8:08 left in the contest to get the Seals back within two, but Calgary answered with two late goals and kept the Seals off the scoreboard as they walked away with the 15-11 victory.

Notable: A total of 20 penalties were called in the contest with the Seals nabbed for 12 and Calgary eight. There were eight power play goals on the night with five from Calgary and three by the Seals. Berg paced the Seals with three goals and two assists, while Leclare scored three times and had one assist. Seals goaltender Chris Origlieri was forced from the game early in the third quarter due to cramps and was replaced by Cam Dunkerley.

Game 4 vs. Toronto: The Seals fell to the Rock at Pechanga Arena by a score of 12-7.

The Seals got off to a fast start, scoring the game's first goal and jumping out to a 4-2 lead early in the second quarter behind two goals from Wes Berg, including a power play goal, and goals from Corey Small (PP) and Tre Leclaire. The Seals went scoreless though for the final 9:47 of the second quarter while Toronto scraped together three goals in a 3:52 stretch late in the second and took a 5-4 lead into the locker room at the half.

Leclaire scored two more goals in the third quarter to keep it a close game but Toronto netted two late scores over the final 0:47 to surge ahead 8-6 going into the fourth. Neither team was able to dent the scoreboard early in the fourth until Toronto scored goals with 8:29 and 4:06 remaining to jump ahead 10-6. Zach Currier scored with 3:47 left to get the Seals back within three, but Toronto countered with two late goals just 33 seconds apart and took the 12-7 win.

Despite the loss, faceoff specialist Trevor Baptiste had a memorable night for the Seals, going a perfect 23-of-23 in the faceoff circle.

Notable: Cam Dunkerley started in net for the Seals for an injured Chris Origlieri (illness) and made 33 saves on the night. Berg led the Seals with four points on two goals and two assists. CJ Kirst paced Toronto with six points on five goals and one assist.

Game 5 at Vancouver: There were a few heart-stopping moments late, but the Seals went on the road and ended Vancouver's three-game winning streak with a hard-fought 11-9 win before a packed house at Rogers Arena in Vancouver. The win snapped the Seals' three-game losing streak.

The Seals got off to a terrific start, outscoring Vancouver 3-1 during the opening 15 minutes. Tre Leclaire contributed to the Seals' fast start, scoring a goal just 32 seconds in on the first shot of the night by either team. The Seals' special teams were responsible for their next two goals with Connor Robinson scoring on a power play and Zach Currier on a delayed penalty just 32 seconds later. The Seals were stout on defense and Chris Origlieri solid in net as the Seals held Vancouver off the scoreboard for the first 14:07 of the game with the Warriors' lone goal coming off a rare San Diego turnover with 53 seconds left in the quarter.

The second quarter started just as fast for the Seals. Right off the opening faceoff, Leclaire slipped a behind-the-back pass to Danny Logan, who beat Warriors goaltender Christian Del Bianco in the top right corner for his first goal of the season. A little more than two minutes later, the Seals scored again on a delayed penalty with Pat Kavanagh bouncing one between Del Bianco's legs for a 5-1 advantage. That lead didn't last however as the middle of the second quarter was dominated by the Warriors. Adam Charalambides scored a goal at the 10:16 mark that ignited the Warriors and Rogers Arena. Vancouver proceeded to go on a 5-1 run of their own to tie the game at 6-6. Charalambides added a power play goal, while Reid Bowering, Keegan Bal and former Seal Curtis Dickson also scored. The Seals stopped the Vancouver run with a much-needed goal by Dylan Watson with 4:13 remaining in the quarter. Watson made a terrific play, snagging a loose ball out of mid-air in front of the Vancouver crease and he slipped one by Del Bianco to give the lead back to the Seals, 7-6. They would hold onto that lead going into the locker room at halftime.

The Seals struck fast again in the third quarter and outscored Vancouver 2-1 to go up by a score of 9-7. The Seals dented the scoreboard just 1:13 in when Kavanagh slipped a behind-the-back no-look pass to Leclaire who scored from the top of the circle to put the Seals back up by two, 8-6. The Seals' other goal was scored by Watson, while the Vancouver goal was scored by Charalambides, his third of the night for the hat trick.

Not quite as fast as the first three quarters but the Seals struck first again in the fourth. Currier was the beneficiary this time as he got his stick on a loose ball in front of the net and steered it past Del Bianco for a 10-7 lead.

The score remained as such until the 1:04 mark and that's when things got interesting. Bal scored for Vancouver to get the Warriors back within two and just eight seconds later off the ensuing faceoff, Marcus Klarich stripped Trevor Baptiste from behind and bounced one in in front of Origlieri and a three-goal lead was down to one. After another Vancouver steal, Dickson took off down field and got off a shot while diving thru the crease. The shot appeared to sneak by Origlieri, but Dickson was called for a crease violation and the goal was wiped away. The Seals responded with an empty-netter by Eli Gobrecht with just four seconds remaining and that would be the final goal in the 11-9 win.

Notable: Zach Currier had nine loose ball recoveries to run his career tally to 1,405. He became just the 17 th player all-time in NLL history to record 1,400.

Game 6 at Philadelphia: The San Diego Seals spent their second consecutive week on the road and came away with a nearly improbable 9-7 win at the Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia behind a big effort from Ben McIntosh, who returned from a three-game stint on injured-reserve to deliver a game-leading three goals on the night.

It took nearly three full quarters for the Seals to find their footing offensively, but once they did, they outscored Philadelphia 7-2 over the final 20:48 to steal the win.

It was a second consecutive win for the Seals, who evened their record at 3-3. The Seals also improved their road record on the season to a perfect 3-0.

The game was a tale of two halves and though close, Philadelphia controlled the game's opening 30 minutes as they jumped out to a 4-1 lead. It doesn't happen often and it was the first time it happened this season, but the Wings held the Seals scoreless in the game's opening quarter. The last regular season game that the Seals went scoreless in a quarter was nearly a year ago, Feb. 21, 2025 in a game against Saskatchewan. Joe Resetarits and Brennan O'Neill both scored for Philadelphia in the first quarter with Resetarits' goal coming on a power play.

It didn't take long for the Seals to break the scoring drought in the second quarter with Wes Berg doing so 1:19 in, beating Wings goalie Nick Damude to the stick side. The Wings would outscore the Seals 2-1 in the second quarter with goals by Michael Sowers and Resetarits once again on the power play.

It took until 5:48 remained in the third quarter but the Seals finally got their second goal of the night on a diving shot by McIntosh off a great feed from Berg during a power play. The assist was the 700 th point of Berg's highly-decorated career and it came on McIntosh's first goal of the season and in his first game since Dec. 14 th as he'd missed the Seals' previous three contests due to injury.

After taking 39:12 seconds of game time to get their second goal, it took the Seals just 56 seconds to get their third as Connor Robinson took a pass from Pat Kavanagh and scored from just inside the restraining line and what had been a 5-1 Philadelphia lead was suddenly cut in half to 5-3.

Philadelphia would quiet the Seals run with a goal by Eric Fannell less than a minute later, but the Seals came right back with a goal of their own just 26 seconds following as McIntosh took a behind-the-back pass from Tre Leclaire for his second of the quarter to once again make it a two-goal game, 6-4. Then with 1:24 left in the third quarter, Dylan Watson hauled in a loose ball in front of the net and beat Damude for his first of the night to make it a 6-5 game going into the fourth.

Thirty-eight seconds into the fourth quarter, the Seals came all the way back to tie the game when Zach Currier, who earlier in the contest had a goal wiped away due to a crease violation, showed some nifty stickwork to beat Damude for the game-tying goal. Brennan O'Neill, the first overall pick in the 2024 NLL Draft, gave the Wings the lead back on a goal 57 seconds later but that lead would last just 10 seconds as off the ensuing faceoff, Robinson took a pass from Currier as he took the field from the bench and beat Damude low to tie the game once again at 7-7.

The game remained tied 7-7 for nearly five minutes until the 8:33 mark, which is when Robinson found Leclaire, who popped out from behind the net for a point blank goal and Robinson was cross-checked as he delivered the pass and the Seals went straight from a goal to a two-minute power play with their first lead of the night, 8-7. The Seals weren't able to take advantage of the power play from the Robinson hit but less than three minutes later, Berg drew a holding penalty against the Wings and 15 seconds after Philadelphia's Chris Corbeil was sent to the penalty box, Berg found McIntosh in front of the net and McIntosh scored his third of the night to give the Seals their final goal in the 9-7 win.

Game 7 vs. Philadelphia: A week after falling to the Seals on their home floor, the Wings came into Pechanga Arena and started hot, scoring a goal with 1:28 left in the first quarter to take a 4-2 lead. That would be the last goal the Wings would score though for the next 34:07 of game time as the Seals would score the game's next 10 goals on their way to cruising to a 13-7 victory.

Chris Origlieri was fantastic in between the pipes in picking up his fourth win of the season as the team's starting netminder. Origlieri turned away 34 of the Wings' 41 shots on a night when more than 7,000 fans packed Pechanga Arena, creating an electric atmosphere. The Seals' defense caused havoc throughout the night forcing seven turnovers, while every Seal who suited up scooped up at least one loose ball, including a game-high 16 by Zach Currier, who also had a pair of goals and three assists to complement his effort.

On the offensive side, Trevor Baptiste continued his dominance in the faceoff circle winning 18 of the game's 24 faceoffs, while six different Seals scored goals, led by Connor Robinson and Tre Leclaire, who each recorded hat tricks with three goals apiece. Dylan Watson and Pat Kavanagh both scored twice, while Ben McIntosh had a goal to go along with four assists, matching Wes Berg for the most assists on the night.

Philadelphia scored the game's first goal 43 seconds in and led 4-2 after one quarter with Kavanagh and Currier scoring for the Seals.

The second period was all Seals. It took 8:44 into the second to relight the lamp and relight it they did as the Seals caught fire and scored three goals in a 23-second span to turn a 4-2 deficit into a 5-4 lead. McIntosh scored the first after taking a pass from Berg just outside the crease and scoring on a diving shot that beat Wings goaltender Nick Damude to the glove side. Just eight seconds later after Baptiste controlled the ensuing faceoff, the ball found Leclaire, who scored to tie the game 4-4, and 15 seconds after another Baptiste faceoff win, Robinson took a pass from Currier to give the Seals their first lead of the night. Those two would link up again with 2:24 left in the half when Currier served up a quick strike to Robinson, who scored from the top of the crease to give the Seals a 6-4 lead at the break.

The Seals seized control of the game in the third quarter, again outscoring the Wings 4-0. Watson, McIntosh, Leclaire and Kavanagh all scored for the home side as the Seals staked out to a 10-4 advantage going into the fourth.

The Seals scored the first two goals of the fourth period to increase their lead to 12-4 on a pair of power play goals by Robinson and Leclaire. Philadelphia finally ended the scoring drought on a power play goal 2:39 into the quarter and would add a couple of late goals, but Currier slammed the door shut, smashing one home from behind Damude with exactly 5:00 left in the contest as the Seals closed out the win.

Game 8 vs. Saskatchewan: The Seals went toe-to-toe at Pechanga Arena with the NLL's top team, the Saskatchewan Rush, but came up on the short end, 12-9. Saskatchewan outscored the Seals 8-3 in the second half and it proved to be the difference. It was a penalty filled game that featured 16 penalties and eight power-play goals, including 10 penalties against the Seals and it helped the Rush overcome an early 5-1 deficit to claim the win.

The Seals were firing on all cylinders right from the opening whistle. No surprise, Trevor Baptiste won the game's opening faceoff and early on it was all Seals. It took the home side just 1:06 to score the game's opening goal when Trent DiCicco found a hard-charging Dylan Watson on a 3-on-2 fast break for a 1-0 lead. Just 13 seconds later, Pat Kavanagh found Tre Leclaire driving toward the net and Leclaire beat Rush goaltender Frank Scigliano on a low bouncing shot for a 2-0 Seals lead. The Seals stretched the lead to 3-0 just inside the 5:00 mark when Zach Currier found the team's leading scorer on the season, Connor Robinson, who beat Scigliano to the glove side, and three and a half-minute later, Robinson struck again, firing a blast from just inside the restraining line to give the Seals a 4-0 lead.

It took the Rush 17:29 to score their first goal of the night and they needed a two-man advantage to do it, capitalizing on a couple of Seals penalties to score their first goal to draw within 4-1 early in the second. Three minutes and change later, Rush defenseman Mike Messenger was called for a five-minute major penalty for an illegal cross check on Wes Berg in front of the Saskatchewan net that was reduced to a two minute penalty after review, but Berg still made the Rush pay, scoring a power play goal off a pass from Robinson 1:37 later. After Saskatchewan scored to get within 5-2, Watson, scored his second of the night while driving toward the net to put the Seals back up by four, 6-2. The Rush scored on a power play inside of four minutes and they struck again on the man advantage with 41 seconds remaining in the half, capitalizing on a five-minute major penalty against Seals transition player Ari Steenhuis for an illegal cross check to get within two at 6-4 going into the half.

The Rush outscored the Seals 4-1 in the third quarter to go ahead, 8-7. Still on the power-play to open the quarter, Saskatchewan's Robert Church scored 33 seconds in to draw the Rush within a goal, 6-5. A short time later, the Seals returned the favor, capitalizing on an illegal substitution penalty against Saskatchewan and Berg found Leclaire to put the Seals back up by two, 7-5. Saskatchewan scored again midway through the third and then after Currier was called for goaltender interference, the Rush scored their second power play goal of the quarter to tie the game, 7-7. A double-minor penalty against Messenger gave the Seals a four-minute power play late in the third but it was the Rush who got the best of it, scoring a late shorthanded goal to take their first lead of the night, 8-7.

The Seals still weren't able to take advantage of the double-minor against Messenger to open the fourth and Saskatchewan made them pay, scoring a goal 1:58 in to stretch their lead to two at 9-7. The Seals went nearly a full quarter in between goals, but finally got back on the scoreboard with 11:45 remaining when Kavanagh found Robinson for his third of the night to draw the Seals drew back to within one, 9-8. Unfortunately though 1:21 later, Church would score his third of the night and the Rush would go back up by two, 10-8.

The game could've gotten away from the Seals midway through the fourth when they were called for a pair of minor penalties, but the Rush were unable to take advantage of the two-man advantage and the game remained 10-8. Unfortunately, though, the Seals' Matt Wright was called for an illegal cross-checking penalty with 5:33 remaining and Church's fourth of the night gave the Rush an 11-8 lead with just 4:05 remaining. It was Saskatchewan's sixth power play goal of the night. Showing no quit, Robinson slammed home his fourth of the night for the Seals with 1:28 left off a pass from Berg to get the Seals back within two at 11-9 but that was as close as the Seals would get as Saskatchewan would add a late empty netter to close out the win.

Notable: Baptiste had 17 faceoff wins to raise his career total to 1,785 and in the process, he moved past Peter Jacobs (1,774) for sixth all-time in NLL annals. Currier had 16 loose ball recoveries, raising his career total to 1,448 and in the process, he moved past Ian Hawksbee (1,445) for 15 th all-time.

Game 9 at Oshawa: The Seals scored two power play goals in the opening 4:46 and never looked back, rolling to a 13-7 win over the Oshawa FireWolves at the Tribute Communities Centre in Canada.

Ben McIntosh led the way for the Seals, who improved to a perfect 4-0 on the road this season. Big No. 90 for the visitors scored a game-high five goals in powering the Seals to the win. Wes Berg had a night as well for the Seals, tallying a game-high nine points on two goals, including a rare "Around the World" wraparound goal, and a season-best seven assists.

Dylan Watson and Tre Leclaire scored the opening goals of the contest, both on the power play, while Zach Currier and McIntosh both scored a pair as the Seals staked out to a 6-1 lead after one quarter.

Berg scored 34 seconds into the second and Watson added a pair to earn a hat trick as the Seals outscored the FireWolves 3-0 in the quarter to take a 9-1 lead into the locker room at intermission.

Oshawa tried to make a game of it in the third, outscoring the Seals 3-0 during the first 7:11, but McIntosh scored his third of the night with 2:28 left in the quarter to halt the Oshawa run and give the Seals a 10-4 lead going into the fourth.

Both teams scored three goals in the fourth quarter, the Seals off the sticks of Berg and McIntosh, who scored his fourth and fifth of the night to close out the victory.

Notable: Baptiste continued his dominance for the Seals in the faceoff circle, winning 18-of-24 on the night and in the process, he surpassed 1,800 career faceoff wins, becoming only the 6 th player in NLL history to do so. Origlieri stopped 40-of-47 shots (.851) in goal. Currier had three points on the night on two goals and one assists to raise his career point total to 200. Connor Robinson had three points on three assists to raise his career total past 300 to 302.

Game 10 vs. Halifax: The Seals overcame an early 3-0 deficit and went on a 5-0 run late in the third en route to a 9-8 win over Halifax before more than 5,200 screaming fans celebrating Margaritaville Night at Pechanga Arena.

The Seals trailed for nearly three full quarters until Tre Leclaire scored his third of the night to give the Seals their first lead on the way to the win.

Halifax came out firing early in the contest and jumped out to a 3-0 lead. Cody Jamieson scored twice and Randy Staats once for the visitors. It took until 2:54 remained in the first quarter, but the Seals finally got their first goal of the night on a power play when Corey Small, who had a season-high four assists, fired a crossing pass to Wes Berg who scored from just outside the Thunderbirds crease.

Both teams scored twice in the second quarter. Up 3-1 to start the quarter, Halifax scored an early goal before Leclaire scored for the Seals on a long shot from inside the restraining line during a 4-on-4 with exactly 10:00 remaining. And then coincidentally, 2:54 later and on another 4v4, Berg scored while diving through the crease to get the Seals within a goal at 4-3. On the ensuing faceoff, the Seals' Trevor Baptiste was called for a holding penalty on a breakaway attempt and Halifax was awarded a penalty shot that Staats converted and Halifax went back on top 5-3, which is where the teams went to the locker room at halftime.

Goals remained elusive for both sides to open the third quarter and then each team scored 11 seconds apart midway through. Jason Knox scored for Halifax and Berg registered a hat trick with his third of the night on a running shot from just inside the restraining line, the latter of which ignited a five-goal Seals run to close out the quarter. Less than a minute after Berg's goal, Leclaire blasted one from inside the restraining line to get the Seals within a goal at 6-5 and then 1:20 after it, Connor Robinson delivered a backhanded pass to Dylan Watson who scored on a power play to tie the game at 6-6. Fast forward to the 3:02 mark and Leclaire scored his third of the night to match Berg's hat trick and give the Seals their first lead of the night at 7-6, and then with 1:08 remaining, Watson returned the favor, delivering a backhanded pass of his own to Robinson, who scored as the Seals took a two-goal lead (8-6) going to the fourth.

Halifax scored the first two goals of the fourth quarter to come back and tie the game at 8-8, but with 8:37 left in the game, Graydon Bradley broke out from the defensive end and flipped an underhand to pass Watson who scored his second of the night and the eventual game-winner to put the Seals back on top, 9-8.

Game 11 at Colorado: The Colorado Mammoth rallied from an early 5-0 deficit to shock the Seals, 14-12, at Denver's Ball Arena.

Colorado trailed 6-1 after one period and 9-6 at the half, but they outscored Seals 8-3 over the game's final 30 minutes to cap off the comeback. The Seals got a hat trick from Dylan Watson and two goals apiece from Wes Berg, Tre Leclaire, Zach Currier and Connor Robinson, but Colorado got big performances from Andrew Kew who scored four, including the game-winner, and three from Jack Hannah and they proved to be the difference.

The Seals came roaring out of the locker room, scoring the game's first five goals on their way to jumping out to a 6-1 lead after one quarter. Watson scored 1:32 in for the visitors and it was all Seals early on. Robinson scored twice, while Leclaire, Berg and Ben McIntosh each scored once. Berg and McIntosh both scored their goals while diving through the air. McIntosh's in particular was a thing of beauty as he came flying around from behind the Colorado net during a power play and with just one second left in the quarter, he beat Mammoth goaltender Dillon Ward to the stick side. Berg, the team's season assists leader, assisted on three of the Seals' early goals and finished the night with a game-high five helpers, while Robinson and Currier both recorded a pair of early assists. Trevor Baptiste continued his dominance early on, winning five of six first-quarter faceoffs, while Chris Origlieri stopped 11 of the 12 first-quarter shots that he faced.

Colorado's offense came to life during a second quarter that featured runs by both teams as the Mammoth outscored the Seals 5-3 to get back into the contest. The Mammoth scored the quarter's first three goals over the opening 7:04, but the Seals took just 41 seconds to erase all the work put in by the home team. Berg scored his second of the night on a power play with 6:08 left in the quarter, and just 28 seconds later, Currier scored his first of the night. Having seen enough, Mammoth Head Coach Pat Coyle pulled Ward and replaced him with Nathan Whittom, but it didn't make much difference as just 13 seconds later after Baptiste won the ensuing faceoff, Watson scored his second of the night while diving through the crease and his goal put the Seals back on top, 9-4. Colorado would score twice over the final 4:11, including a power play goal, and the teams went to the locker room at the half with the Seals leading, 9-6.

The Mammoth got the better of the Seals in the third quarter, outscoring them 3-1 to get back within a goal. Leclaire scored first for the Seals on a beautiful no-look shot from the top of the crease, but Colorado countered with three goals in a 3:17 stretch and trailed just 10-9 going into the fourth. In a relatively penalty-free game, Colorado was called for two third-quarter penalties but the Seals weren't able to capitalize on either power play opportunity against Whittom and the Mammoth.

The Seals inability to convert on their third quarter power plays would come back to haunt them in the fourth.

Colorado completed the comeback from the early 5-0 deficit just 2:17 into the fourth, tying the game 10-10 on a goal by Tim Edwards. Just 47 seconds later, the Mammoth thought they'd taken their first lead of the night, but Hannah had a goal taken off the board due to a crease violation and just 21 seconds later, Currier scored on a driving shot to instead give the lead back to the Seals, 11-10. It came 2:05 later, but the Mammoth finally got their goal on Andrew Kew's third of the night but instead of a go-ahead goal, it instead re-tied the game at 11-11.

The teams would go back and forth over the final 9:30. First it was Watson who scored for the Seals, his third of the night for the hat trick on a shot that squirted by Whittom and survived a Colorado challenge, but again the Mammoth had an answer, responding with a power play goal just 49 seconds later to again knot things up, 12-12. Colorado's go-ahead goal didn't come on a penalty but immediately after one ended as the Mammoth were able to take advantage of a long run from the Seals' penalty box as Kew scored his fourth of the night to put the Mammoth back on top, 13-12, and Colorado would add a late goal with just 11 seconds left to put the game on ice.

Game 12 vs. Vancouver: The visiting Vancouver Warriors exploded for four goals in the fourth quarter and rallied to stun the San Diego Seals, 9-7, at Pechanga Arena.

The Seals pitched a first-quarter shutout on their way to taking a 2-0 lead and they did it by unconventional means. Down a man just 50 seconds into the contest after Graydon Bradley was sent to the penalty box for cross-checking, the Seals scored a pair of short-handed goals 1:50 apart. The first off the stick of Connor Robinson off a beautiful pass from Wes Berg and the second by Pat Kavanagh the latter of which was assisted on the defensive end by goaltender Chris Origlieri and Patrick Shoemay.

Each team scored a pair of goals in the second quarter as San Diego took a 4-2 lead into the locker room at halftime. Vancouver finally cracked the scoreboard 34 seconds into the quarter when Steph Charbonneau scored on a delayed penalty, but the Seals got a goal back at the 8:35 mark when Berg scored from point-blank range off a pass from Kavanagh. Vancouver's Keegan Bal scored a power-play goal at the eight-minute mark to get Vancouver within a goal at 5-4, but just 1:32 later, Pechanga Arena erupted into the Electric Factory when rookie Marquez White, who was making his NLL debut on Sunday afternoon, scooped up a loose ball and took it the length of the field and beat Warrior's netminder Christian Del Bianco for his first-career NLL goal.

Vancouver outscored the Seals 3-2 in the third to again get within a goal. Special teams were on display for both teams early. Vancouver struck first, scoring a shorthanded goal during a 4-on-3 power play, but just 28 seconds later after starting the game 0-for-5 on the power-play, Berg finally got the Seals on the board a man up, powering one home on a goal that was assisted by Robinson and Tre Leclaire. The teams would trade goals again later in the quarter with Bal scoring his second of the afternoon for Vancouver at the 5:39 mark before Zach Currier slammed one home 33 seconds later to put the Seals back up by a pair at 6-4. Adam Charalambides scored the last goal of the quarter for the Warriors at 3:19 to get them back within one.

Vancouver scored three goals during the first 5:48 of the fourth quarter to jump out to an 8-6 lead. Taking advantage of the short run from the visitors bench, Vancouver scored its first two on quick runouts just one minute and 22 seconds apart before Charalambides scored his second of the day. Jesse King scored for Vancouver with 7:27 left to put them up 9-6. Noah Armitage scored a late goal for the Seals but it wouldn't be enough as Vancouver would hold on for the 9-7 victory.

Game 13 at Saskatchewan: Rookie Ari Steenhuis scored his first career NLL goal and Ben McIntosh buried four, including the 350 th of his career, but a late furious rally by the Seals against the League's top team came up just short as they fell late in Saskatchewan by a score of 10-9.

Just like they did in the first meeting of the season at Pechanga Arena on Feb. 7, the Seals got off to a fast start, scoring the game's first three goals in jumping out to a 3-0 lead 10:34 into the game. Steenhuis started the scoring with the first of his career 5:06 into the game before Tre Leclaire scored, along with McIntosh's first of the night. The Seals had all the momentum early, but that momentum would shift to the Saskatchewan bench after Eli Gobrecht was called for a slashing penalty with 3:09 left in the quarter. Rush forward Robert Church would make the Seals pay with a power play goal just 24 seconds later that ignited a three-goal run in 1:37 and the quarter would end with the game tied 3-3.

Undeterred, the Seals reclaimed momentum in the second quarter, outscoring Saskatchewan 3-1 to take a 6-4 lead into the locker room at halftime. McIntosh scored his second and third of the night for a first-half hat trick, while Connor Robinson would also score for the Seals. The Rush's lone goal was scored by Church.

Momentum shifted back to the home side in the third quarter as the Seals struggled to find the back of the net. The Rush outscored the Seals 4-0 over the opening 11:29, including a second power play goal by Church. Down 8-6, the Seals' Graydon Bradley scored with 2:17 left made it a one-goal game going into the fourth.

Goals were at a premium early in the fourth with the only one scored by the Rush's Zach Manns to put the home side back up by two, 9-7. A short time later, the Seals' Zach Currier appeared to score a goal to get the team back within one, but the officials ruled it wasn't a good goal and officials determined that too much time had elapsed before the Seals could throw the challenge flag and it would prove to be pivotal. The Seals would finally get back within one on a power play goal by Leclaire with 2:05 remaining, but instead of the game being tied, they still trailed by one. Forced to pull goaltender Chris Origlieri in the final minute, the Rush scored an empty netter with 20 seconds remaining to go back up by two. McIntosh would score his fourth of the night with five seconds left in the game but that was all the offense for the Seals as they fell by a final score of 10-9.

Notable: Currier recorded 10 loose ball recoveries against Saskatchewan, raising his career total to 1,503. He became the 15 th player in NLL history to record 1,500 and also moved past Shawn Evans (1,502) and into 14 th on the NLL's all-time loose balls recovered list.

Game 14 vs. Buffalo: A recent rash of heartbreaking losses reared its ugly head once again as the Buffalo Bandits overcame a four-goal deficit deep into the fourth quarter and shocked the Seals in overtime by a score of 9-8.

For 54-plus minutes, the Seals dominated the contest on both ends of the floor, outscoring the Bandits 8-4 while allowing just one goal in each of the first three periods. But that's when things started to unravel for the Seals. Starting with a Bandits goal by Joe Resetarits with 5:25 remaining in the fourth, Buffalo managed to find some holes against the Seals' tenacious defense and scored four times in a 4:41 stretch to tie the game at 8-8, sending it into overtime. Both teams had their chances in the extra session but with 11:01 remaining in OT, Dhane Smith, who also scored the game-tying goal for the visitors, bounced one low off the turf for the game-winner.

Ben McIntosh, who had a game-high four goals for the Seals a week ago in Saskatchewan, did it again, leading the Seals with three goals against the Bandits, while Wes Berg and Zach Currier each scored twice. Berg's goals were both milestone scores as they were the 300 th and 301 st regular season goals of the Seals team captain's career. And rookie Ari Steenhuis, who just a week ago scored his first career NLL goal against the Rush, struck again, this time scoring his first-ever goal inside Pechanga Arena on a breakaway that sent The Electric Factory into a frenzy. Tre Leclaire had a team-high four assists for the Seals.

Game 15 at Toronto: The Seals dug themselves an early 5-1 hole and fought back valiantly on Saturday night at the TD Coliseum in Toronto, but the Rock held on for a 7-5 win. Wes Berg scored twice for the Seals to pace the offense. Chris Origlieri was solid in net, stopping 21 of 28 Rock shots, but they ran into a hot Toronto goaltender in Nick Rose, who stopped 38 of the Seals' 43 shots on the night.

The Seals unfortunately found themselves playing from behind the entire night after Toronto jumped out to a 3-0 first quarter lead. They stretched the lead to 4-0 early in the fourth before Connor Robinson got the Seals on the board with a goal that was assisted by Berg and Ben McIntosh. Toronto's Owen Hiltz scored his second of the quarter to put the Rock back up 5-1 just 43 seconds later before Berg scored his first of the night with 3:21 left and the teams went to the locker room at halftime with the Rock up 5-2.

Just under six minutes into the third, the Seals got back within two when Zack Deaken made a fantastic defensive play, swiping the ball from Hiltz and taking the loose ball the length of the field to score on a breakaway against Rose. Unfortunately though, that would be the only shot that would find the back of the net for the Seals in the third, while Toronto got a late power play score to go back up by three, 6-3, after three quarters.

The fourth quarter was a defensive battle for nearly the first 10 minutes until Robinson found a driving McIntosh, whose first goal of the night got the Seals back again within two at 6-4. Much to the Seals dismay, Toronto again had an answer with CJ Kirst scoring with 2:31 left to stretch the lead back to three. Berg would score a late goal with 1:07 left to get the Seals again within two at 7-5 but the Rock steadied on defense and held the Seals at bay, closing out the win.

Game 16 at Georgia: The Seals went into Georgia's Gas South Arena and pulled off the improbable, knocking off the previously 10-5 Swarm by a score of 9-7 to end their five-game losing streak and keep the team's postseason hopes alive. Veteran team captain Wes Berg and fellow veteran Ben McIntosh led the way offensively as the two combined for 10 points on 5 goals and 5 assists. Rookie Noah Armitage scored twice while fellow rookie Chris Kavanagh scored his first-career NLL goal. And Chris Origlieri continued his dominance between the pipes stopping 33 of the Swarm's 40 shots in outdueling Georgia's Brett Dobson.

The Seals were dominant in all phases of the game while holding the Swarm to just 7 goals. San Diego won 15 of 19 faceoffs behind Trevor Baptiste, they scored on three of their five power play opportunities, and the defense forced nine turnovers. Berg led the Seals with six points on two goals and four assists, while McIntosh had a team-high three goals and an assist.

The Seals got off to a fast start and led 4-1 after Kavanagh's goal 3:03 into the second quarter, and every time Georgia scored to narrow the gap, the Seals had an answer. The Seals went goal for goal in the second and led 6-3 at the half. Early in the third, Georgia scored a power play goal to get back within a pair, but Armitage scored his second of the game just 19 seconds later to put the Seals back up by three, and McIntosh would add a power play score late in the third as the Seals took an 8-4 lead into the final period.

The Swarm struck again early in the fourth on the power play to draw within three, but the Seals defense and Origlieri stood their ground for most of the quarter. The Swarm made one final push with another power play goal with 3:23 left in the contest to get back within two, but just 59 seconds following, McIntosh buried his third of the afternoon to put the Seals back on top by three and it was all they would need as they would go on to the 9-7 win.

Game 17 vs. Las Vegas: The odds of the Seals making the 2026 NLL playoffs increased greatly as the Seals dealt a 14-12 blow to the Las Vegas Desert Dogs on an electric night when more than 9,000 fans packed into Pechanga Arena.

For the Seals, it was their highest goal-scoring output since the team's season opener in Ottawa back on Nov. 29 and the majority of the goals came from an unlikely source as it was transition man Zach Currier who found the back of the net a career-high five times as part of a nine-point night.

It also was a resilient Seals defense that clamped down after surrendering eight first-half goals to their rivals from Sin City. Chris Origlieri continued his marvelous play in front of the net, stopping 39 of Las Vegas' 51 shots on the night, while the Seals were faster to the ball, totaling 75 loose balls secured to the Desert Dogs' 50.

And while it was Currier who stole the show on offense, Ben McIntosh and Noah Armitage both recorded hat tricks for the Seals and for Armitage, it was the rookie's first-ever in the National Lacrosse League.

Things didn't look so bright for the Seals early on. McIntosh scored the game's first goal just 1:04 in, rebounding a Connor Robinson shot and sneaking one by Las Vegas' Alex Buque, but then it was all Desert Dogs as they went on a 4-0 run over the next 7:51 to surge ahead 4-1. Armitage would score the first of his three with 2:36 left in the quarter to trim the Seals deficit to 4-2 after one.

The second quarter was an offensive explosion as the teams combined for 10 goals. Tre Leclaire and Wes Berg scored 24 seconds apart in the opening minute of the second to draw the Seals even at 4-4, and just shy of five minutes later, Currier netted his first of the night, igniting a stretch of three straight goals for a natural hat trick. Las Vegas would score twice however in between Currier's first and second as the team's went back and forth. Currier's third gave the Seals a 7-6 lead with 4:13 left in the half. Vegas again would score twice to pull back ahead before McIntosh scored his second of the night late in the quarter and the teams went to the locker room at the half tied 8-8.

The third quarter looked nothing like the second as the Seals held the Desert Dogs scoreless throughout while neither team scored during the opening 11:09. The Seals finally cracked the code when Armitage scored his second with 3:51 remaining and Currier his fourth at the 1:32 mark and after outscoring Las Vegas 2-0, the Seals took a 10-8 lead into the fourth.

The offensive momentum the Seals found late in the third carried over into the fourth as Berg scored his second of the night just 27 seconds in to put the Seals back up by three, 11-8. From there it was simply a back-and-forth affair as the team's literally traded goals. Armitage and McIntosh both capped their hat tricks while Currier scored his fifth of the night. Down 14-11 after McIntosh's goal at the 4:01 mark, Las Vegas' Chris Cloutier scored his third of the night on a power play with 2:09 remaining but the Seals' defense shut the door as they held on for the 14-12 win.

Game 18 at Las Vegas: The Seals and Desert Dogs wrapped up the 2026 NLL regular season at the Lee's Family Forum in in Sin City with the hosts topping the Seals by a final score of 18-16. The 16 goals matched the Seals' season high and the 34 combined goals were the most in a game in Seals history.

Eight different players scored for the Seals, including Ben McIntosh, who scored a team-high four, while Connor Robinson and Tre Leclaire each netted hat tricks.

It was a chippy and physical game that featured 19 penalties and seven combined power play goals.

The Seals outscored the Desert Dogs 3-2 Saturday night's opening 15 minutes. Zach Currier, who scored a career-high five goals for the Seals on Friday night, picked up right where he left off, scoring the first for the Seals 2:57 into the contest. Leclaire and Robinson scored the Seals' other two goals with Leclaire's coming on the power play.

The hostilities that simmered over from Friday night's Seals win came to the forefront early in the second period. On the ensuing faceoff after Tony Malcom's game-tying goal a minute into the third, Desert Dogs defenseman Rhys Blake delivered an illegal blindside hit on Seals faceoff specialist Trevor Baptiste that sent Baptiste sprawling face-first into the turf. Blake was assessed a five-minute major penalty and sent off for the night with a game misconduct penalty. The enraged Seals would go on to score two power play goals during the penalty, one by Leclaire and another by Robinson, but the Desert Dogs managed to score a pair of shorthanded goals themselves as the Seals weren't able to capitalize on the five-minute penalty against Blake. Las Vegas would then go on to outscore the Seals by a 5-1 margin over the final 7:27 of the second as they surged ahead to a 10-6 lead at the break.

The Desert Dogs' hot streak continued after intermission as they scored twice in the opening 1:58 of the third to extend their lead to 12-6. McIntosh cooled things down with a pair of goals 2:19 apart, the latter at the 9:50 mark, as the Seals drew back within four. The teams then traded four goals over the final 8:36, the Seals' goals by Currier and Chris Kavanagh, as Las Vegas took a 14-10 lead into the fourth quarter.

Just like they did to start the third quarter, Vegas struck twice early in the fourth to stretch their lead back to six. Still trailing 16-10 midway through the fourth, Cam Acchione scored a goal with 7:48 left in the contest that lit the fuse on what would become a furious Seals comeback. McIntosh would score his third of the night 23 seconds later and once again the Seals were back within four at 16-12. Las Vegas' Chris Cloutier, who scored a game-high five goals for the Desert Dogs, scored with 6:01 left to put the home team back on top by five, but the Seals came right back with three goals in a 1:13 stretch and Leclaire's third goal of the night got the Seals back within two at 17-15 with 4:34 left. Las Vegas however was able to stymie the Seals run as Cloutier scored his fifth of the night with 1:57 left on a power play to put the hosts back up by three. McIntosh scored his fourth of the night with 18 seconds left but time would run out on the Seals as Las Vegas would close out the 18-16 win.

Game 19 (NLL Playoff Quarterfinals at Colorado): It was none other than the Seals leading scorer, Tre Leclaire, who sent the San Diego Seals into the semifinals of the National Lacrosse League playoffs with an improbable game-winning goal 59 seconds into overtime that propelled the Seals to a 13-12 upset win on the road against the Colorado Mammoth.

Leclaire's game winning goal gave the Seals their first lead since 12:32 remained in the second quarter and it came off a perfect pass from Wes Berg, who himself tallied three goals and four assists for a team high tying seven points on the night. And it was Berg, the Seals team captain and team leader who put the team on his shoulders when they needed it most.

For most of the early going, the game was a back-and-forth affair and after two periods, Colorado led by a goal, 6-5. The first half featured a San Diego aerial assault as Zach Currier, Ben McIntosh, and Dylan Watson all scored while soaring through the crease. But it was defenseman Eli Gobrecht who scored perhaps the biggest goal of the half when he scored with just three seconds remaining and just six seconds after Colorado's Alex Kew scored his third of the night to put Colorado up 6-4. Gobrecht's goal was made possible by Trevor Baptiste winning the faceoff and finding the Seals defenseman. It was one of the 26 out of 29 faceoffs that Baptiste won on the night, an astounding 89.7%.

As the game moved into the third quarter, things started to look bleak for the Seals. The Mammoth came out of the locker room after halftime firing on all cylinders. They scored two goals in the opening 4:01 and outscored the Seals 5-2 over the first 12:29 of the second half. Will Malcom's power play goal at the 2:41 mark of the third gave the Mammoth a four-goal lead, 11-7.

That's precisely the moment when Berg put on his Superman cape and led the Seals to one of, if not the biggest wins in franchise history.

It started when Berg found a driving Dylan Watson who scored with 1:46 left in the third. Then just seconds later after Baptiste won yet another faceoff, the ball found the Seals team captain who scored to get the visitors back within two at 11-9.

That's where the score remained as neither team was able to find the back of the net during the first half of the fourth period. Chris Origlieri formed a veritable brick wall in front of the Seals net on a night when he stopped 33 of Colorado's 45 shots and only allowed one goal over the final 18:39 of regulation and overtime

Finally, with 7:14 left in the fourth, it was Leclaire who broke the stalemate, scoring off a pass from Connor Robinson to get the Seals back within a goal at 11-10. Less than two minutes later, it was Berg striking again, finding Watson yet again for the game-tying goal with 5:33 left in the fourth. But Berg wasn't done as just 53 seconds following he gave the Seals their first lead since the early part of the second quarter when he fired an absolute missile from just inside the restraining line that got by Mammoth goaltender Dillon Ward and gave the Seals a 12-11 advantage with just 4:40 remaining in the contest. That lead would last for just 45 seconds however as the Mammoth would finally get one by Origlieri when Colorado's own McIntosh, Dylan McIntosh, bounced one between Orgilieri's legs and once again the game was tied, 12-12, with 3:55 left in the fourth.

The next 3:55 had the capacity crowd at Ball Arena on the edge of their seats as both teams had multiple opportunities to score. Neither the Seals nor the Mammoth however could sneak one by either goaltender and the game went to sudden death overtime with the teams still knotted up at 12 apiece, setting the stage for Leclaire's overtime heroics.

No surprise, Baptiste won his 26 th faceoff of the night to start the extra session. Ward came up big for the home side with gigantic saves on a pair of shots by Currier, one from distance and the second from close range after Currier rebounded his own shot. Colorado however was unable to get their sticks on the ball as again it was the Seals captain with a heads-up play as Berg scooped up the miss along the boards giving the Seals an extra possession. With that extra possession Berg got the ball to Leclaire who worked his way to the top of the crease where he got off a shot with Ward making yet another big save. After the save however, the ball got loose yet again and this time on the opposite boards, Berg scooped it up with no defenders around and found Leclaire all alone right in front of the Mammoth net where he put the game winner beneath Ward's legs, sending the Seals into an absolute frenzy and onto the NLL semifinals for their first-ever postseason meeting against the Rock.

Notable: Currier scored three goals to go along with four assists as he matched Berg's team-high tying seven point night. Currier's been on an absolute tear as he's now scored 10 goals and recorded 11 assists in the Seals' last three games. And Watson scored three times to register a hat trick for the Seals.

Game 20 (NLL Playoff Semifinals Game 1 at Toronto): Just as you'd expect in the playoffs, it was a physical game in Game One of the best-of-three at the TD Coliseum.

It took the Seals a bit to get the engine fired up as Toronto got off to a fast start in jumping out to a 4-1 first quarter lead. Four different players scored for the Rock while the Seals lone goal was scored by Dylan Watson and it was a thing of beauty as he took a pass behind the net from Zach Currier and dunked it behind Rock goaltender Nick Rose to get the Seals on the board. The Seals got their offense revved up in the second quarter and fought their way back, outscoring the Rock 5-2 to tie the game 6-6 at the half.

The second quarter was action-packed. Watson, who scored three goals in last Saturday night's quarterfinal win in Colorado, picked up right where he left off, scoring his second of the night 1:32 into the second. Just 1:12, later it was another hero from Saturday night's win over the Mammoth with Leclaire scoring the first of his two second-quarter goals. In between, Noah Armitage scored for the Seals with Leclaire's second coming just 48 seconds following.

There would be a pivotal moment in the game a short time later when Seals netminder Chris Origlieri was forced out of the contest due to a head injury. Origlieri who took a couple of shots in the helmet early in the contest left the game with 8:20 left in the half and he was replaced by Dunkerley. It seemed tenuous at first as Toronto's Chris Boushy scored 32 seconds after Dunkerley stepped in between the pipes, but Dunkerley settled down and held the Rock out of the net for the balance of the quarter. Meanwhile Seals lefty forward Connor Robinson scored with 4:40 remaining in the quarter for the visitors' final goal of the first half.

Special teams, which has been an Achilles heel for the Seals this season, reared its ugly head early in the third. The Seals opened the third quarter with a 3:52 man advantage after Toronto's Josh Jackson was handed a five-minute major penalty. That penalty was issued late in the second quarter for an illegal body check against Currier. Coming out of the locker room to start the second half, the Seals were unable to take advantage of the power play opportunity and the Rock made them pay, scoring a short-handed goal 1:34 into the quarter for a 7-6 lead and the only goal during that stretch.

The score remained 7-6 for nearly seven minutes until Toronto scored two goals just 10 seconds apart to surge out to their second three-goal lead of the night. Dan Craig scored the first for the home side after the Rock rebounced a long miss of a Dylan Watson shot and beat the Seals downfield to score on a three-on-two fast break. Then after winning the ensuing faceoff, Sam English scored an unassisted goal to give the Rock a 9-6 lead.

Just as they did six nights ago in Colorado, the Seals showed their resilience, clawing their way back in Toronto by scoring three unanswered goals over the final 5:09 of the quarter to tie the game once again, 9-9. Currier scored the first, weaving his way to the top of the crease and beating Rose to the glove side. A minute and 11 seconds later, Armitage found a cutting McIntosh again at the top of the crease and McIntosh drove one home to get the Seals within a goal, and then with 30 seconds left in the quarter, Berg fired a bullet from just inside the restraining line to a wide open Leclaire at the side of the net and Leclaire jammed it home to tie the game 9-9 heading into the fourth.

The fourth quarter started with the Seals and Rock trading power play goals 62 seconds apart. After Owen Hiltz scored his second of the night for the Rock on the man advantage, Robinson returned the favor and scored his second of the evening. Tied once again, the Seals finally got their first lead of the night with 10:34 left in the contest when McIntosh beat Rose through the five-hole to give the visitors an 11-10 lead. That number 62 would come up again however as 62 seconds after McIntosh gave the Seals the

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National Lacrosse League Stories from May 19, 2026


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