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NLL San Diego Seals

Seals Head to Toronto to Kick off Pivotal Two-Game Road Trip as They Reach the Midpoint of the 2024-25 NLL Season

February 5, 2025 - National Lacrosse League (NLL)
San Diego Seals News Release


The San Diego Seals (3-5) will cross the Canadian border in search of their fourth win of the season when they face the Toronto Rock on Saturday night (Feb. 8) at the Paramount Fine Foods Centre in Mississauga, Ontario. Faceoff is 4 p.m. PT.

It's a pivotal game for the Seals, who've lost three-straight for the first time since the 2021-22 season. At 3-5, the Seals find themselves tied with the Rock for 11th place in the NLL as the 2024-25 season approaches its midpoint. Ironically though, just a season ago, the Rock posted the NLL's best regular-season record at 15-3, while the Seals posted the League's second-best mark at 13-5.

And while the Seals come in having lost three straight, the Rock come in having won their last three after opening the season 0-5. Those three wins coming against Saskatchewan (11-8), Calgary (14-9) and Colorado (9-8, OT). To contain the Rock and get back in the win column, the Seals will need to slow the Rock's top two scorers, forwards Josh Dawick and Chris Boushy. Dawick leads Toronto with 18 goals and 13 assists, while Boushy is second with 17 goals and 10 assists. Defenseman Mitch De Snoo also presents a challenge as he ranks fifth in the NLL with 77 loose balls secured and third with 15 blocked shots.

Broadcast Information: Saturday night's game will be televised locally in San Diego on KUSI-TV and streamed to a global audience on ESPN+.

Seals-Rock Head-to-Head: Saturday night will be an opportune time for the Seals to secure their first-ever win against Toronto. All-time, the Seals are 0-4 against the Rock, including a 15-13 loss last season at Pechanga Arena.

A Look Back at Last Season's Meeting: Toronto scored three goals in the final 1:59 to defeat the Seals, 15-13, at Pechanga Arena. It was San Diego's first loss of the season at Pechanga Arena. During a chippy first quarter, the Seals exploded for six goals. They fell behind 3-1 early before outscoring Toronto 5-2 to close out the period and take a 6-5 lead. The six-goal outburst included a pair by Wes Berg and another from Tre Leclaire. The second quarter had more offensive fireworks as the teams combined for eight goals, four by each side. It was a completely different story in the third quarter as the teams went scoreless for the first 9:28 until Marley Angus scored for Toronto to tie the game, 10-10. A late Seals goal put them up 11-10 after three quarters. Both teams' offenses warmed back up in the fourth. Toronto scored two quick goals to go up 12-11, but the Seals answered with a pair of scores to reclaim the lead, 13-12. The score remained as such for the next 7:50 until Toronto tied the game with a goal at the 1:59 mark and took the lead 53 seconds later. The Rock added an empty-netter for the final goal of the night as they closed out the win.

Ticket Information: Tickets to all Seals home games at Pechanga Arena, are available at https://sealslax.com/.

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.

Milestones on the Horizon - (Playoffs and Regular Season Included)

- Ryan Benesch (760 career assists) needs 19 more to pass John Grant Jr. (778) for 7th all-time.

- Benesch (1,329 career points) needs 29 more to pass Josh Sanderson (1,357) for 6th all-time.

- Benesch (1,377 career loose ball recoveries) needs 23 more to reach 1,400 for his career.

- Wes Berg has 246 career goals and needs just 4 more to reach 250 for his career.

- Berg (374 career assists) needs 26 more to reach 400 for his career.

- Zach Currier (97 career assists) needs just 3 more to reach 100 for his career.

- Jesse Gamble (98 career points) needs 2 more to reach 100 for his career.

- Rob Hellyer (288 career goals) needs 12 more to reach 300 for his career

- Cam Holding (1,158 career loose ball recoveries) needs 42 more to reach 1,200 for his career.

- Holding (92 career assists) needs 8 more to reach 100 for his career.

- Kyle Jackson (139 career goals) needs 11 more to reach 150 for his career.

- Jackson (182 career assists) needs 18 more to reach 200 for his career.

- Ben McIntosh (291 career assists) needs 9 to reach 300 for his career.

- Kyle Rubisch (97 career points) needs 3 to reach 100 for his NLL career.

- Trevor Baptiste (1,545 career faceoff wins) needs 32 more to pass Bob Snider (1,576) for 9th all-time.

Stats Leaders

- Zach Currier ranks 3rd in the NLL with 83 loose balls secured and he's 2nd in the League with 18 caused turnovers.

- Eli Gobrecht is tied for 3rd in the NLL with 15 forced turnovers, while Kyle Rubisch is tied for 6th with 13.

- Chris Origlieri owns the NLL's 6th-lowest goals against average (11.25) among goaltenders who've played at least 350 minutes.

- Rob Hellyer leads the Seals with 35 points on 15 goals and a team-leading 20 assists.

- Ryan Benesch leads the Seals with 16 goals on the season and has added 15 assists to rank second on the squad with 31 total points.

- Wes Berg is third on the team with 29 points (14 goals and 15 assists) while Ben McIntosh is fourth with 27 points on 10 goals and 17 assists.

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 56-36 (.609) since joining the Seals in 2018. He has guided the Seals to the playoffs in each of the four full seasons he's been at the helm.

Honors and Awards

Seals goaltender Chris Origlieri was recently named as a 2024 Star of the Year by the San Diego Sports Association. Origlieri, who finished the 2023-24 season with the National Lacrosse League's second-lowest goals against average (9.79) among starting netminders was honored at the 77th Annual Salute to the Champions Dinner in San Diego on Jan. 13.

A Closer Look at the Seals New Additions

- One of the Seals' early offseason acquisitions, Ryan Benesch had pondered retirement before signing a one-year deal with the Seals and he wasted no time making a big impression on his new team with a nine-point night in his first game as a Seal with five goals and four assists. He scored four more in the Seals' game against Georgia on Dec. 21 and three against Las Vegas on Jan. 18. The 19-year NLL veteran is a two-time All-Pro and one of the most prolific scorers in League history. He was also the first overall pick by San Jose in the 2006 NLL entry draft. All-time including playoffs, Benesch fourth in NLL history for games played (281) and he ranks fourth in NLL history in goals (569), eighth in assists (760) and seventh in points (1,329). Benesch was traded to Toronto by San Jose in 2006 and played there for two seasons before moving on to play for Edmonton (2009), Minnesota (2010-13), Buffalo (2014-17), Colorado (2018-19), Rochester (2019), Halifax (2020 and '23), Albany (2022) and Panther City (2022).

- Now in his 12th NLL season, Rob Hellyer also joined the Seals during free agency. His impressive regular-season resume includes 266 career goals and 465 assists for 731 career points. He's also secured 666 loose balls while playing in 149 career regular-season games. Hellyer also brings valuable playoff experience to San Diego as well having suited up in 14 career postseason games where he's scored 18 goals and chalked up 39 assists for 57 additional points. The 30th overall pick in the 2010 NLL Draft by the Toronto Rock, Hellyer spent the 2023-24 season in Las Vegas after spending his first 10 NLL seasons in Toronto.

- Ben McIntosh: McIntosh, the number one overall pick by Edmonton in the 2014 NLL Draft, joined the Seals as well via free agency after spending the last two seasons playing for Philadelphia. McIntosh brings a wealth of offensive prowess to the Seals as he's scored 292 career regular-season goals and racked up 251 assists (543 career points), while scooping up 557 loose balls in just his ninth NLL regular season (141 career games). McIntosh's playoff ledger is just as impressive as in 19 career postseason games, he's scored 35 goals and recorded 31 assists (66 points) to go along with 72 loose balls secured. Originally drafted by Edmonton, McIntosh's first eight NLL seasons were spent in Edmonton (2015), Saskatchewan (2016-20) and Philadelphia (2022-24).

- Zach Currier: Currier joined the Seals as part of a blockbuster trade with Calgary in July and this season, he ranks third in the NLL with 83 loose balls secured and second with 18 forced turnovers. The third overall pick in the 2017 NLL Draft, Currier won a championship with Calgary in 2019. He's a two-time NLL Transition Player of the Year as well as a two-time All-NLL first-team and second-team selection. Including playoffs, Currier has played in 119 career games, scoring 55 career goals while registering 90 career assists (145 career points). He's also scooped up 1,239 loose balls during his career and in 2022, he set the NLL single-season mark with 62 caused turnovers.

- Dylan Watson: Just prior to their game against Las Vegas on Jan. 18, the Seals acquired Watson in a trade with the Desert Dogs and Watson scored a goal in his first game as a Seal. A second-year NLL pro, Watson was the Desert Dogs' fifth-leading scorer as a rookie during the 2023-24 season, having tallied 19 goals and 16 assists (35 total points) while appearing in all 18 games. He also showed tenacity, securing 42 loose balls.

- Trent DiCicco: The first of the Seals' three first-round draft picks in September's NLL Draft, DiCicco scored his first NLL goal in the Seals' Dec. 7 game at Georgia and he had a team-leading three assists in the Seals' last outing against Saskatchewan. A four-year letterman at Ohio State University, DiCicco was a team captain as a senior and he was the team's hammer recipient in 2023-24, an honor that is bestowed upon a senior leader in the Buckeyes' weight room each offseason. The Guelph, Ontario native played 47 career games for the Buckeyes, tallying 88 ground balls, 17 points and 10 caused turnovers.

Seals Top Returnees

- Seals Team Captain Wes Berg finished the 2023-24 regular season with 108 points, second-most in a season in team history, behind the 109 he scored during the 2022-23 season. His 108 points were sixth-most in the NLL. Berg's 67 assists led the team and were tied for seventh in the NLL, while his 41 goals were second on the team and tied for 12th in the League.

- Goalkeeper Chris Origlieri finished the 2023-24 season with the National Lacrosse League's second-lowest goals against average (9.79) among starting netminders. He played the third-most minutes in the League, a team-record 1,059:57; he recorded the NLL's fifth-highest save percentage among starters (79%), also a team record, and he finished the year ninth in the League with 661 saves on the season. "Rigs'" 13 wins as the Seals' starting goaltender were also a team record.

- Defenseman Kyle Rubisch led the Seals and ranked 7th in the NLL a season ago with a team-record 29 takeaways.

- Trevor Baptiste, the renowned faceoff specialist, finished third in the NLL in faceoff wins last season, his first in San Diego, with a team-record 308. Baptiste's 71% faceoff win percentage ranked third in the League among players with at least 250 faceoffs taken. Baptiste also set a team single-season record for loose balls secured (177), a figure which ranked 3rd in the NLL.

Game Summaries

Game 1 vs. Philadelphia: In a high-scoring affair that featured 33 combined goals, the Seals bounced back from an early 5-1 deficit to knock off the Philadelphia Wings, 18-15, in their 2024-25 National Lacrosse League opener on at Pechanga Arena. It was a fast and furious first quarter that saw the Seals and Wings combine for 12 goals as Philadelphia staked out to an 8-4 lead. San Diego struck first with veteran newcomer Ryan Benesch scoring his first goal as a Seal before the Wings went on a five-goal run. Down 5-1 with 4:34 left in the first quarter, Benesch halted the Philadelphia run with a goal that trickled thru the legs of Wings goaltender Nick Damude. Zach Currier and Ben McIntosh each scored their first goals as Seals just 42 seconds apart during the opening quarter. The second period was all Seals as they outscored the Wings 7-1, including four power play goals, to claim an 11-9 edge at the break. Rob Hellyer scored his first three goals as a Seal, including one on the power play on a beautiful pass from Wes Berg. Midway thru the period, Berg scored his first goal of the season on a pass from Benesch during a power play and 1:44 later, Berg returned the favor, finding an open Benesch for his third of the night, also on the power play, to draw the Seals within one at 9-8. After another Philadelphia penalty, McIntosh tied the game at 9-9 off a nice assist from the Seals top pick in the 2024 NLL Draft, Trent DiCicco. At the 1:38 mark, Berg went behind the back to Hellyer to give the Seals a lead 10-9, their first since they led 1-0 early in the contest and McIntosh netted his third with 50.2 left in the half for the final goal of the opening 30 minutes. The teams combined for seven goals in the third period with San Diego outscoring the Wings 4-3 to stretch their lead to 15-12. Benesch scored twice more, his fourth and fifth of the night, while Adam Noakes and Eli Gobrecht both scored their first of the season for the Seals, with Gobrecht's coming on a runout after a long pass from goalkeeper Chris Origlieri. There was a pivotal moment late in the third period when Rubisch was whistled for a five-minute major penalty for high-sticking, but the Seals put up a wall on defense and held the Wings scoreless while scoring a goal of their own shorthanded 51 seconds into the fourth with Tre Leclaire scoring off a pass from DiCicco. The Seals would go on to play the Wings even in the fourth period with both teams scoring three goals apiece. The Seals' final scores coming from McIntosh, who logged his fourth of the night and Drew Belgrave, who scored into an empty net with 3:13 left in the contest.

Game 2 at Georgia: For the second year in a row, the Seals and Georgia Swarm required extra time to settle matters, but this time it was the Swarm who came out on top as Andrew Kew's goal 2:55 into overtime gave the Swarm a 13-12 win in their season opener at the Gas South Arena in Duluth, Georgia. It was a high-scoring and back and forth affair early that saw the teams combine for 17 goals in the first 30 minutes. The Seals scored a pair in the first period before adding seven in the second to jump out to a 9-8 lead at halftime. Among those seven was a goal by Trent DiCicco, the Seals' top pick in the 2024 NLL Draft, which was his first professional NLL goal. Rob Hellyer accounted for three of the Seals' first half goals while Wes Berg chipped in with a pair. The Seals jumped out to an 11-8 lead 1:29 into the third quarter but Georgia scored the next three and the game was tied 11-11 going into the fourth. The score remained as such until the 9:24 mark of the fourth when Ryan Benesch ended a 19-minute scoring drought for San Diego with his second goal of the night to give the Seals a 12-11 lead. With just over four minutes left in regulation, Seth Oakes scored for the Swarm to tie the game at 12 apiece. That goal was Georgia's first in more than 13 minutes as they too endured a long scoring drought. Neither team would score again in the fourth, setting up the overtime finish. Notable: Wes Berg scored four points against the Swarm to reach the 600-point plateau for his career. Ben McIntosh had 4 loose ball recoveries to reach 600 for his career. Kyle Rubisch had nine loose ball recoveries to up his career total to 1,707 on route to becoming just the eighth player in NLL history with at least 1,700. Zach Currier scooped up 11 loose balls giving him an even 1,300 for his career.

Game 3 vs. Colorado: The Seals continued their dominance over Colorado but had to hold on late for a hard-fought 14-11 win at Pechanga Arena. Wes Berg had a stellar night for the Seals with a team-leading seven points on four goals and three assists. After being tied 3-3 at the end of the first quarter, the Seals outscored the Mammoth 7-2 in the second to jump out to a 10-5 lead at halftime. Berg and Kyle Jackson, who was making his season debut, both netted three first-half goals while Zach Currier scored a pair. The most impressive goal of the first half though was scored by Danny Logan at the end of the first quarter. With time winding down in the quarter, the Mammoth pulled goaltender Dillon Ward to gain a man advantage, but Colorado's shot with seconds remaining in the half missed the net and was rebounded up by Logan, who fired a length of the field shot into an empty Mammoth net sending Pechanga Arena into a frenzy. Logan did it again late in the Seals' three-goal third period, scoring on the run out, beating Ward one-on-one after taking a long pass from goaltender Chris Origlieri. Down five heading into in the fourth, Colorado closed to within two at 13-11 before Eli Gobrecht's goal with 25.8 seconds remaining sealed the win for the Seals. Notable: Origlieri recorded 32 saves against the Mammoth, passing the 1,000 career save mark in the process.

Game 4 vs. Georgia: Despite getting four goals from Ryan Benesch, the Seals fell to the Georga Swarm, 11-8, at Pechanga Arena. It was a low-scoring game that was tied 4-4 at halftime before Georgia outscored the Seals 3-1 in the third quarter to jump out to a 8-5 lead. Early in the fourth, the Seals climbed to within a goal at 8-7 after Ben McIntosh's goal with 9:32 remaining, but Georgia countered with a pair of goals in a 2:45 stretch to jump back ahead 10-7. Benesch scored his fourth goal of the night for the Seals on a power play with 5:12 left in the fourth to make it a two-goal game, which it remained until Georgia added an empty netter with 47 seconds left as they closed out the win.

Game 5 vs. Ottawa: In a tight, low-scoring, defensive affair, the Seals picked up a key 6-5 win over the Ottawa Black Bears at Pechanga Arena and in the process, they become the first team in NLL history to win a game when scoring just six goals. The Seals' defense and goaltender Chris Origlieri were the story of the night as the team held Ottawa scoreless for the final 37:02 of regulation, while Origlieri made 31 saves. It was a 2-2 game after one quarter. The Seals goals were scored by a spinning Ben McIntosh at the top of the crease 1:24 into the contest, and Rob Hellyer who scored on the power play off a nice feed from Wes Berg at the 5:39 mark. The Seals added another pair in the second but were outscored by Ottawa 3-2 in the period and trailed 5-4 at the break. Both Seals goals were scored by players who netted their first of the season. Graydon Bradey scored first, 3:28 into the quarter before Matt Wright put one in 24 seconds later. Wright's was also the first of his career. San Diego came out of the locker room roaring after halftime and the Seals were consistent, scoring another pair in the third. Just 40 seconds into the quarter, Berg took a beautiful pass from Hellyer and scored on a diving shot down the middle to tie the game at 5-5 and just 58 seconds later, Berg did it again with a shot from the top of the crease to put the Seals up 6-5.

Game 6 at Vancouver: A defensive battle for three quarters turned into an offensive shootout in the fourth and the Seals came up on the short end, falling 11-9 to the Vancouver Warriors at the Rogers Center in British Columbia, Canada. After combining for just nine goals in the game's opening three quarters, the teams dropped the gloves and tallied 11 in the fourth and final quarter, but eight of those were scored by the Warriors, including a game-high six by forward Keegan Bal, all in that fourth and final period. A 6-3 game heading into the fourth quarter, Vancouver scored twice in the first 3:57 to climb within a goal at 6-5. Ryan Benesch halted the Warrior run on a run down the middle, taking a nice feed from Cam Holding and beating Warriors' goalie Aden Walsh low on the stick side to put the Seals back on top by two, 7-5. Vancouver came back however and went on a 4-0 run to jump ahead 9-7 with 4:33 left in the game. Holding put an end to the run, coming up with a loose ball near midfield and putting it into the net unassisted to draw the Seals back within one at 9-8. Still down a goal, and a player, after Wes Berg was called for a holding penalty with 2:01 left in fourth, Seals Head Coach Patrick Merrill made a gutsy decision to pull goaltender Chris Origlieri to draw to even strength and Rob Hellyer rewarded Merrill's faith, scoring a goal with 1:27 left to tie the game at 9-9. Still on the power play though, Bal scored his fifth of the night just 19 seconds later to put the Warriors back up, 10-9 and less than a minute after that, Bal dashed the Seals hopes of a comeback, scoring an empty netter with just 14 seconds left for the final goal of the night.

Game 7 at Las Vegas: The Seals fell to the Las Vegas Desert Dogs, 12-10, at the Lee's Family Forum in Henderson, Nevada. The Seals trailed for most of the night, but climbed to within a goal (9-8) after three quarters before being outscored by the Desert Dogs, 3-2, over the final 15 minutes. Ryan Benesch had a team-high three goals for San Diego, including a pair of power play goals, while Rob Hellyer and Kyle Jackson, who was playing in his 100th career NLL game, both scored twice. And Dylan Watson, who had just been acquired from Las Vegas days before the game, scored his first goal as a Seal in the second.

Game 8 vs Saskatchewan: A 7-0 halftime deficit was too much to overcome as the Seals fell to the Saskatchewan Rush, 12-8, at Pechanga Arena. The Seals fought back valiantly to make it a game in the third period, outscoring the Rush 5-2 to climb back within 9-5. Rookie Trent DiCicco was a bright spot for the Seals as he set up three straight goals in the quarter, including two to Ben McIntosh and another to Rob Hellyer. They, along with Zach Currier, all finished the night with two goals apiece to lead the team. Notable: Ryan Benesch played in his 281st career game, moving past former Seal Brodie Merrill for the 4th-most games played all-time in NLL history.

San Diego Seals 2024-25 Regular-Season Schedule & Results (3-5)

Date Opponent Arena Theme Start Time TV / Final Score

Sunday, Dec. 1 PHILADELPHIA WINGS Pechanga Arena Opening Night 3:00 p.m. W, 18-15

Saturday, Dec. 7 at Georgia Swarm Gas South Arena 5:00 p.m. L, 12-13 (OT)

Friday, Dec. 13 COLORADO MAMMOTH Pechanga Arena Emo Night 7:30 p.m. W, 14-11

Saturday, Dec. 21 GEORGIA SWARM Pechanga Arena Heroes Night 7:00 p.m. L, 8-11

Saturday, Jan. 4 OTTAWA BLACK BEARS Pechanga Arena Country Night 7:00 p.m. W, 6-5

Friday, Jan. 10 at Vancouver Warriors Rogers Arena 7:00 p.m. L, 9-11

Saturday, Jan. 18 at Las Vegas Desert Dogs Lee's Family Forum 7:00 p.m. L, 10-12

Saturday, Feb. 1 SASKATCHEWAN RUSH Pechanga Arena Mexican Heritage Night 7:00 p.m. L, 8-12

Saturday, Feb. 8 at Toronto Rock Paramount Fine Foods Centre 4:00 p.m. KUSI & ESPN+

Saturday, Feb. 15 at Buffalo Bandits KeyBank Center 4:30 p.m. KUSI & ESPN+

Saturday, Feb. 22 BUFFALO BANDITS Pechanga Arena Margaritaville Night presented 7:00 p.m. KUSI & ESPN+

by Margaritaville Hotel San Diego

Friday, March 7 VANCOUVER WARRIORS Pechanga Arena SUFAC Night 7:30 p.m. KUSI & ESPN+

Sunday, March 16 LAS VEGAS DESERT DOGS Pechanga Arena Native American Heritage Night 2:00 p.m. KUSI & ESPN+

Saturday, March 22 at Calgary Roughnecks Scotiabank Saddledome 6:00 p.m. Fox 5 & ESPN+

Saturday, March 29 at Rochester Knighthawks Blue Cross Arena 4:00 p.m. KUSI & ESPN+

Saturday, April 5 at Halifax Thunderbirds Scotiabank Centre 3:00 p.m. KUSI & ESPN+

Saturday, April 12 at Albany Firewolves MVP Arena 4:00 p.m. KUSI & ESPN+

Friday, April 18 ALBANY FIREWOLVES Pechanga Arena Fan Appreciation Night 7:30 p.m. KUSI & ESPN+

All Times Pacific.

Check out the San Diego Seals Statistics

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