Warriors Celebrate St. Paddy's Night against the Ottawa Black Bears
NLL Vancouver Warriors

Warriors Celebrate St. Paddy's Night against the Ottawa Black Bears

Published on March 19, 2026 under National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Vancouver Warriors News Release


The Vancouver Warriors are back at Rogers Arena this Friday as they prepare for their match up against the visiting Ottawa Black Bears in what will be the second and final time these two teams will meet this regular season.

Last weekend in Atlanta, the Warriors finished with a decisive 14-7 victory over the Georgia Swarm. Their win marks their tenth of the season and pushes them into second place in the NLL standings with a 10-4 record. The Warriors will want to capitalize on this momentum as they enter the final few weeks of their season. Vancouver will clinch a playoff spot with a win on Friday.

The bounce back performance by the Warriors after falling just short of the Rock the week before, was reflective of this team's ability to maintain a high degree of consistent production in every game. Offensive producers such as forward Keegan Bal and Curtis Dickson made it onto the scoresheet throughout the night, registering nine points (4G, 5A) and seven points (3G, 4A) respectively. With Bal adding nine more points last week, he now sits one point shy of 100 with four games remaining and is projected to pass his career high of 112 points last season. He is currently averaging around 7.07 points per game, in comparison to last year where he was producing at a 6.22 points per game pace.

This season, the Warriors have been able to take advantage of their depth scoring and production from both forwards and defencemen across the lineup. The combination of the high-octane forwards and the reliable depth scoring in the lineup, will bode well for the Warriors in the playoffs.

Faceoff specialist Max Adler had a strong game, where he was dominant in the circle, winning 19 of 25 draws taken for a 76% faceoff win percentage. Adler was initially signed by the Warriors on a one-year agreement in December, coming off a three-year hiatus, with the hopes he could help the Warriors.

Earlier in the season, the Warriors beat the Black Bears 12-8 that kicked off a three-game win streak. Netminder Christian Del Bianco was incredibly steady in the net and was able to turn away the flurry of shots by the Black Bears, stopping 42 of 50 shots in the game. Del Bianco's ability to provide high level goaltending has been a large part of the team's success the Warriors have seen this year, and that trust is evident in how the team plays in front of him.

The Black Bears currently have an 8-6 record and are in a playoff position in sixth place. They are coming off a loss in an all-Canadian matchup against the Calgary Roughnecks, breaking their four-game win streak. With Ottawa just two games back of Vancouver for 2nd overall in the NLL, yet just two games ahead of Halifax for 11th, every game will be a measure of whether they can qualify for the playoffs for the first time in their history.

Current NLL point leader Bal will face off against Ottawa forward Jeff Teat, who is second in the league in points with 96 (37G, 59A). Teat sits first across many team offensive statistics and has been one of the main offensive drivers this season. Also with the Black Bears is forward Rob Hellyer, who is fifth in the league with 81 points (25G, 56A). The Black Bears are the only team with two players in the top five in scoring.

The Warriors will face off against the Ottawa at 7:00 p.m. PT for the annual St. Paddy's Night at Rogers Arena. You can watch the game live on TSN+ and NLL+

With NLL+, you can re-watch highlights and full games throughout the season, and you can sign up for NLL+.

Check out the Vancouver Warriors Statistics

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National Lacrosse League Stories from March 19, 2026


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