Surging Seals Set to Host Halifax on Margaritaville Night
NLL San Diego Seals

Surging Seals Set to Host Halifax on Margaritaville Night

Published on February 17, 2026 under National Lacrosse League (NLL)
San Diego Seals News Release


The surging San Diego Seals, 5-4 and winners of four of their last five, will look to climb two games above .500 for the first time this season when they host the Halifax Thunderbirds (3-6) this Saturday (Feb. 21) on Margaritaville Night at Pechanga Arena. Faceoff is 7 p.m. PT. The first 2,000 fans in attendance will receive a FREE Seals visor and special for Margaritaville Night, the cover band Jimmy's Buffet will perform at halftime.

Tickets for Saturday night's game against Halifax start at just $22 and are on sale at https://sealslax.com/.

The Seals have been an interesting paradox nine games into the season. They are the NLL's only undefeated team on the road where they're a perfect 4-0, but the team is just 1-4 inside Pechanga Arena (aka "The Electric Factory") so they'll look to right the ship when they host Halifax on Saturday night. The Thunderbirds started their season 2-0 but have since lost four straight and five of their last six. They're 2-2 on the road this season.

Having just passed the midpoint of the 2025-26 season, the Seals are tied for fifth in the NLL standings while Halifax is 11 th.

One of the biggest reasons for the team's recent success has been the play of goaltender Chris Origlieri, who's stopped 180 of 221 shots (81.4%) and allowed only 42 goals during this recent five-game stretch.

The Seals also have two of the League's top two transition players in faceoff specialist Trevor Baptiste and Zach Currier. Baptiste, who is expected to play in his 100 th career NLL game on Saturday night, leads the League in faceoff wins (181) and faceoff win percentage (79%) and he's doing so by a wide margin. His faceoff win percentage is a full seven points ahead of Halifax's Jake Withers (72%), who he'll square off against this weekend. Currier meanwhile paces the NLL in loose balls secured (113), two ahead of Withers (111). Currier secured 14 loose balls in last Saturday's win in Oshawa and has 11-or-more in each of the team's last four games and he also leads the squad with 13 blocked shots on the year.

Offensively, fourteen different players have scored goals for the Seals this season, led by forwards Tre Leclaire (20), Dylan Watson (14) and Connor Robinson (13). The Seals have also been bolstered by the return of Ben McIntosh, who scored a season-high five goals in last Saturday night's win in Oshawa. McIntosh was held without a goal in the Seals' first two games of the season and then he spent the following three weeks on Injured-Reserve, but since returning, McIntosh has had a hot stick in his hand with 9 goals and 8 assists for 17 points. And speaking of hot sticks, team captain Wes Berg had a season-high seven assists in the win over the FireWolves as he paces the Seals with 28 helpers on the season. Berg also flashed his goal-scoring stick against Oshawa, putting two past FireWolves goaltender Doug Jamieson, including one on a rare "Around the World" wraparound shot.

Broadcast Information

For fans unable to make it to Pechanga Arena on Saturday night, the game will be broadcast locally in San Diego on Spectrum Cable Channel 4 and streamed to a global audience on ESPN+.

Regular-Season Milestones on the Horizon

- Trevor Baptiste is expected to play in his 100th career game this Saturday against Halifax.

- Baptiste has 1,803 career faceoff wins, sixth-most in NLL history. Baptiste has a ways to go but needs 292 more to pass Jamie Hanford (2,091) for fifth.

- Wes Berg (292 career goals) needs 8 more to reach 300 for his career.

- Berg (698 career loose ball recoveries) needs just 2 more to reach 700 for his career.

- Eli Gobrecht has 92 career forced turnovers and needs just 8 more to reach 100.

- Gobrecht also has 453 career loose balls secured and needs just 47 more to reach 500.

- Zach Currier has 1,462 career loose ball recoveries, 15 th -most in NLL history. Buffalo's Steve Priolo is currently 14 th with 1,497 (35 ahead of Currier) and Shawn Evans (retired) is 13 th with 1,502. Further up the list, Halifax's Jake Withers is 12 th with 1,538 and Steve Toll (retired) is 11 th with 1,562.

- Tre Leclaire has 82 career goals and needs 18 more to reach 100.

- Leclaire also has 192 career points on 82 goals and 110 assists and needs 8 more to reach 200 for his career.

- Ben McIntosh has scored 345 career goals and needs just 5 more to reach 350 for his career.

- McIntosh also has 669 loose balls secured and needs just 31 more to reach 700.

- James Barclay has 91 career forced turnovers and needs just 9 more to reach 100.

- Danny Logan has 294 career loose balls secured and needs just 6 more to reach 300.

- Corey Small has scored 957 career points on 421 career goals and 536 career assists. He needs 43 more points to reach 1,000. He ranks 19 th all-time in NLL annals in points scored

- Small's 421 career goals is 17 th all-time in NLL history. With two more, he'll pass Rhys Duch (422) for 16 th all-time.

Seals-Thunderbirds Head-to-Head

The Halifax Thunderbirds are the NLL's original Rochester Knighthawks, having played in Rochester from 1995-2018. The Seals played those Knighthawks once during their inaugural 2018-19 season, winning 12-10 inside Pechanga Arena. In 2019, the franchise moved to Halifax and rebranded as the Thunderbirds and since then, the Seals and Thunderbirds have met three times with Halifax holding a 2-1 series edge. Halifax won the first meeting in Nova Scotia during the 2019-20 season by a score of 8-5; the Seals beat the Thunderbirds in San Diego, 12-8, during the 2023-24 season, and Halifax won the most recent meeting, 13-10, last season at the Scotiabank Centre.

A Look Back at Last Season's Contests

April 5, 2025 at Halifax: The Seals took their longest road trip of the season, traveling nearly 3,700 miles to Halifax, Nova Scotia, but came up on the short end, falling to the Thunderbirds, 13-10, at the Scotiabank Centre. San Diego got off to a fast start, scoring two goals in the opening 1:12 and five through the first quarter, but could not maintain the pace as they scored just five more over the final three quarters. The power play was a deciding factor in the game as well, as San Diego went just 2-of-7 with a man advantage, while Halifax was a perfect 3-for-3. The Seals led 5-3 after one quarter with five different players scoring goals. The Thunderbirds flipped the script in the second, outscoring the Seals 6-2 to take a 9-7 lead at the half. The scoring pace slowed dramatically in the third quarter with each team finding the back of the net just once and the game went to the fourth with Halifax up 10-8. The score remained as such for the opening 7:55 of the fourth before Halifax's Curtis Romanchych scored to give the Thunderbirds a 11-8 lead. Just 1:10 later, the Seals scored to get back within two, but Halifax countered with two late goals, including an empty netter by Clarke Petterson as they pulled away for the win. Ben McIntosh scored a game-high three goals for the Seals, while Wes Berg and Zach Currier both scored twice.

Roster Breakdown

The Seals' current 21-man regular season roster sees the team carrying nine forwards, seven defenders, four transition men and two goalies. The breakdown is below:

Forwards: Wes Berg, Ben McIntosh, Tre Leclaire, Chris Kavanagh, Pat Kavanagh, Dylan Watson, Connor Robinson, Corey Small, and Noah Armitage.

Defensemen: Danny Logan, Graydon Bradley, Eli Gobrecht, Matt Wright, Patrick Shoemay, James Barclay and Zack Deaken.

Transition: Zach Currier, Trent DiCicco, faceoff specialist Trevor Baptiste and rookies Ari Steenhuis and Cam Acchione.

Goaltenders: Chris Origlieri and Cam Dunkerley

Pat Kavanagh and Matt Wright are currently on Injured-Reserve. Kellen LeClair is on the League's holdout list while he completes his probationary period as a firefighter. Jake Govett, Tyden Redlick, Aidan Carroll and Marquez White are on the practice squad.

Berg and Leclaire win the Farmers Insurance Open Pro-am

Seals forwards Wes Berg and Tre Leclaire had a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity last week when they were invited to compete in the Pro-Am ahead of the PGA Tour's Farmers Insurance Open at the world-famous Torrey Pines Golf Course in San Diego. Paired with PGA pros Jhonattan Vegas and Erik van Rooyen, the Seals duo was part of this year's winning team with a score of 16 under par.

Team Captains

Wes Berg is a team captain for the third straight season. Danny Logan and Graydon Bradley are the assistant captains for home games, while Zach Currier and Eli Gobrecht are the assistant captains for the team's road contests.

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 67-44 (.604) since joining the Seals in 2018. He has guided the Seals to the playoffs in each of the five full seasons he's been at the helm.

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 7 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 8 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: Trevor Baptiste continued his dominance for the Seals in the faceoff circle, winning 18-of-24 on the night and Chris Origlieri stopped 40-of-47 shots (.851) in goal. Currier had four points on the night on two goals and two assists to raise his career point total past 200 to 201. Connor Robinson had three points on three assists to raise his career total past 300 to 302.

San Diego Seals 2025-26 Regular-Season Schedule

5-4 Overall; 1-4 Home; 4-0 Road

Date Opponent Arena Theme Broadcast Info Faceoff

Saturday, Nov. 29 at Ottawa Black Bears Canadian Tire Centre W, 16-13

Sunday, Dec. 14 ROCHESTER KNIGHTHAWKS Pechanga Arena Opening Night L, 7-15

Saturday, Jan. 3 CALGARY ROUGHNECKS Pechanga Arena Country Night L, 11-15

Friday, Jan. 9 TORONTO ROCK Pechanga Arena Retro Night L, 7-12

Friday, Jan. 16 at Vancouver Warriors Rogers Arena Spectrum 4& ESPN+ W, 11-9

Friday, Jan. 23 at Philadelphia Wings Xfinity Mobile Arena Spectrum 4& ESPN+ W, 9-7

Friday, Jan. 30 PHILADELPHIA WINGS Pechanga Arena Heroes Night Spectrum 4& ESPN+ W, 13-7

Saturday, Feb. 7 SASKATCHEWAN RUSH Pechanga Arena Rock the Box Night Spectrum 4& ESPN+ L, 9-12

Saturday, Feb. 14 at Oshawa FireWolves Tribute Communities Centre Spectrum 4& ESPN+ W, 13-7

Saturday, Feb. 21 HALIFAX THUNDERBIRDS Pechanga Arena Margaritaville Night Spectrum 4& ESPN+ 7:00 p.m.

Friday, Feb. 27 at Colorado Mammoth Ball Arena Spectrum 4& ESPN+ 6:00 p.m.

Sunday, March 1 VANCOUVER WARRIORS Pechanga Arena Celebrate San Diego Night Spectrum 4& ESPN+ 3:00 p.m.

Saturday, March 14 at Saskatchewan Rush SaskTel Centre Spectrum 4& ESPN+ 5:00 p.m.

Saturday, March 21 BUFFALO BANDITS Pechanga Arena Seals Mania Spectrum 4& ESPN+ 7:00 p.m.

Saturday, April 4 at Toronto Rock Paramount Foods Centre Spectrum 4& ESPN+ 4:00 p.m.

Sunday, April 12 at Georgia Swarm Gas South Arena Spectrum 4& ESPN+ 12:00 p.m.

Friday, April 17 LAS VEGAS DESERT DOGS Pechanga Arena Fan Appreciation Night ESPNU 7:30 p.m.

Saturday, April 18 at Las Vegas Desert Dogs Lee's Family Forum Spectrum 4& ESPN+ 7:00 p.m.

All Times Pacific.

Check out the San Diego Seals Statistics

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National Lacrosse League Stories from February 17, 2026


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