Warriors Find Their Groove and Carry Win Streak into Clash with Toronto Rock

Sports stats



NLL Vancouver Warriors

Warriors Find Their Groove and Carry Win Streak into Clash with Toronto Rock

April 11, 2025 - National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Vancouver Warriors News Release


The Vancouver Warriors (9-7) are full steam ahead, ready to take on the Toronto Rock (5-10) this Friday as they roll into the final two games of regular season play.

The Warriors secured their fourth straight victory on Saturday at Rogers Arena with a 10-4 win over the Albany FireWolves (6-10).

From Keegan Bal leading a strong offensive push, to a united defensive front, and the support of 9,500 Warriors fans, every element put pressure on Albany.

Warriors' goaltender Christian Del Bianco was rock solid in net, allowing just four goals on 41 shot attempts. The defensive line in front of him supported that effort with 10 blocked shots, including two from Matt Beers, who also picked up six loose balls.

Albany kept it close in shot attempts, but the Warriors separated themselves with accuracy, beating a tough Doug Jamieson in net when it mattered. Veteran Keegan Bal contributed immensely, recording four goals and three assists on the night. Dylan McIntosh and Adam Charalambides each added a goal and two assists, while Riley Loewen, Marcus Klarich, Kevin Crowley, Reid Bowering, and Dylan McIntosh all lit the lamp once.

This week's opponents, the Toronto Rock, had a tightly contested overtime loss to the Desert Dogs in Las Vegas on Sunday. The back-and-forth game looked to be tilting in favour of the Rock in the fourth quarter, until a power play goal with two minutes left gave the Dogs momentum. The Dogs went on to tie the game with one minute left and forward Jack Hannah closed it out with a goal one minute into overtime.

The Rock's Josh Dawick went on a heater Sunday, tallying five goals and one assist. Not far behind him was Nathan Grenon who netted three, and B.C. native Challen Rogers who added two for his team. Troy Holowchuk, who will likely be between the posts on Friday for the Rock, let in 14 goals on 36 shots.

The Warriors defeated the Rock 13-8 earlier this season on St. Paddy's night at Rogers Arena. Between the first and second quarters, the Warriors held the Rock scoreless for 16 minutes and possessed a six-goal lead going into halftime.

That game was Del Bianco's debut for the Warriors after being traded, and he proceeded to turn aside 49 of 57 shots fired his way. Offensively, Keegan Bal led the pack with nine points (4G, 5A), and Adam Charalambides racked up six points (3G, 3A).

Last season, Mark Matthews and Tom Schreiber were the top performers for the Rock. For a large portion of this season, both Matthews and Schreiber have been injured, which is two significant losses for the team.

In his last matchup against the Warriors, Schreiber recorded five points (2G, 3A), and has 43 points (13G, 30A) in nine games this season. Matthews hasn't played a game since December 28, and won't play again this season. Prior to their last game, the Rock also placed transition players Robert Hudson and TD Lerlan on injured reserve.

Although the Rock have lost some star power, other players have stepped up in their stead, including Josh Dawick and Chris Boushy who have racked up a combined 114 points in 15 games. Corey Small has been a threat on the power play, ranking third in the league with 14 power play points, just behind Keegan Bal (15). However, the Warriors don't back down when shorthanded, with Charalambides, Bal, and Owen Grant leading the league in shorthanded points, combining for a total of 16.

As for B.C. talent, Challen Rogers of Coquitlam, B.C. is the only Rock player to watch. In his career, Rogers has nabbed the title of NLL Transition Player of the Year twice, and has two consecutive All-Leage First Team Selections.

In his Junior days, Rogers played four seasons for his hometown Coquitlam Jr. A Adanacs. He was named the 2012 BCJALL Rookie of the Year, scoring 31 goals and 55 assists in 60 games. In 2015, he was named the top graduating Jr. A player.

If the Warriors win either of their next two games against the Toronto Rock or Philadelphia Wings (6-10), they will clinch a playoff spot. If they manage to win both of their next games, postseason lacrosse will likely be coming to Rogers Arena.

Across the league, the Buffalo Bandits (12-4), Saskatchewan Rush (11-5), Halifax Thunderbirds (10-6), and Rochester Knighthawks (10-7) have all secured their spot in postseason, with the Las Vegas Desert Dogs being the only team officially eliminated from contention. Currently, the Vancouver Warriors sit just above four teams who all have an 8-8 record on the season, meaning the push for playoffs is going to continue until the very bitter end.

Cheer on the Vancouver Warriors Friday as they take on the Toronto Rock at 5:00 p.m. PST at Paramount Fine Foods Centre. Catch the matchup on TSN5, TSN+ or NLL+.

Check out the Vancouver Warriors Statistics

• Discuss this story on the National Lacrosse League message board...

National Lacrosse League Stories from April 11, 2025


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

OurSports Central