San Diego Seals 14 – Las Vegas Desert Dogs 12

Things aggressively went back and forth in San Diego to open the weekend, but it was San Diego led by 5 goals and 4 assists from Zach Currier getting themselves the win to open up their weekend. Ben McIntosh and Noah Armitage each had 3 goals and an assist while Connor Robinson distributed 5 assists. Jonathan Donville led the Desert Dogs with 3 goals and 4 assists.

With the win, the Desert Dogs now needed two Rochester wins and a win of their own Saturday to still make the playoffs and, well…

Georgia Swarm 13 – Rochester Knighthawks 6

The Swarm had no interest in letting up with a home playoff game on the line. After giving up the first two goals of the game, the Swarm scored the next 3, 9 of the next 10, and 13 of the next 15 on their way to the win. Shayne Jackson had a goal and 5 assists, while Kaleb Benedict and Richie Connell each had 2 goals and 2 assists. Noah Byrne had 3 goal and an assist. Brett Dobson finished with an even 50 saves. Connor Fields led the Knighthawks with a goal and 3 assists.

So that win assured that the Seals had a ticket punched into the playoffs. Who would pick up the 8th?

Halifax Thunderbirds 12 – Ottawa Black Bears 6

The Thunderbirds defense came out of the second half and made a statement only allowing 5 total shots on goal the entire quarter. That performance helped to insulate their 6-2 second quarter, and another 4 goals in the fourth meant that they would be the final team to enter the dance. Warren Hill made 34 saves in the win. Offensively, Jason Knox, Bo Bowhunter, and Graeme Hossack had 2 goal games as 13 Thunderbirds registered a point, led by a goal and 3 assists for Clarke Petterson. While Jeff Teat had 3 goals and 2 assists, the Black Bears for the third year in a row find themselves on the outside looking in at the conclusion of the final week of the season. Rob Hellyer and Riley O’Connor were the only other Black Bears with multiple points, assisting on 3 goals each.

The rest of Saturday Evening would determine the rest of the matchups and most of the seeding, starting with a wrench in the Durham Region.

Oshawa FireWolves 12 – Buffalo Bandits 8

The FireWolves build on their 1-0 lead after 1 with a 6 goal run to go up 7-0. While Buffalo scored the next four goals to finish the half, the FireWoves held on with a 12-8 win to wrap up their first season in Canada. Alex Simmons had a goal and 6 assists, while Dawson Theede had 3 goals and 3 assists and Tye Kurtz had 2 goals and 3 assists. Doug Jamieson made 45 saves in the win and found himself right in the action in the end of the game’s extra-curriculars. For Buffalo, Dhane Smith had 2 goals and 4 assists while Josh Byrne had 2 goals and 3 assists and Joe Resetarits had a hat trick.

Buffalo’s loss meant that the dream of a top 3 spot in the standings evaporated, but a home playoff game wasn’t out of the cards; they just would need to wait until Sunday to find out the rest.

Calgary Roughnecks 9 – Colorado Mammoth 8

At the top of the standings, the Roughnecks erased an early 3-0 deficit on their way to a season-closing 9-8 win in front of over 15,000 at the Saddledome. Tanner Cook’s 2 goals got him to 49 and solidified his league lead in the goal scoring race. Brayden Mayea had 4 goals and an assist, while Tyler Pace added 2 goals and 3 assists. Colby Bowman once again was phenomenal with 47 saves on 53 shots faced in 58:23. Calgary’s season did not go as planned, but their youth made plenty of strides as the season went on.

For the Mammoth, the loss meant that as long as the Warriors beat the Wings, they’d relinquish the one seed. Jack Hannah had 3 goals and 2 assists, while Will Malcom had a goal and 5 assists.

Vancouver Warriors 17 – Philadelphia Wings 10

And the Warriors did indeed win their final game of the season to enter the playoffs as the top seed. getting out to a 7-1 lead and steering things smoothly back to the garage, led by 6 goals and 5 assists from Keegan Bal. With 45 goals and 79 assists, Bal won the scoring crown with 124 points. For a depleted Wings roster, Sam LeClair and Lukas Nielsen had 2 goals and 3 assists each. If they return next season, they will own the #1 overall pick for the second time in 3 years.

Saskatchewan Rush 10 – Toronto Rock 9 F/OT

Goals in the final 2 minutes from Levi Anderson and Robert Church tied the game at 9, and Brock Haley sent the Rush crowd home happy with an overtime win, and after the rest of the out of town scoreboard fell into place, they ensured that they would not only be home in the first round but also welcome these Toronto Rock back to town. Zach Manns and Ryan Keenan combined for 10 points in the winning effort. CJ Kirst led the Rock with a goal and 3 assists.

The final seeds to be determine were now Buffalo and Georgia. The Swarm would just need to win their season-ending game to ensure it would be played in Georgia.

Georgia Swarm 17 – Rochester Knighthawks 12

And that they did. A 9-3 first half set the tone for the wire-to-wire win in front of the largest crowd at Blue Cross Arena in 12 years. Lyle Thompson led with 3 goals and 5 assists, Shayne Jackson had 2 goals and 5 assists, and Richie Connell had another 4 goals and an assist. Brett Dobson made another 47 saves in 55:26 before Devlin Shanahan came in to finish the season out.

For Rochester, the loss placed them in the third slot of the draft order in a season they would like to throw to the dumpster and come back fresh next season. Connor Fields finished with a goal and 6 assists to finish the season with 119 points, only trailing Bal for the league lead. Ryan Lanchbury’s 6 assists put him at 82, giving him the assist crowd. Zed Williams and Thomas McConvey each had 3 goals and 3 assists, while Ryan Smith had 4 goals and an assist.

Las Vegas Desert Dogs 18 – San Diego Seals 16

While this game didn’t end up mattering after the earlier results, the offenses ended the regular season with a loud bang and the home team treated the sold out crowd at Lee’s Family Forum to a win to send off their most successful season in franchise history. Jonathan Donville had a goal and 11 assists to finish his season out. Chris Cloutier had 5 goals and 3 assists to surpass the 40 goal mark in his first season in the desert. Connor Robinson led the Seals with 3 goals and 3 assists.

First Round Matchups

(8) Halifax Thunderbirds @ (1) Vancouver Warriors – Friday March 24, 10:00 pm

Halifax played the Warriors tough two weeks ago but came up just short with an 8-7 loss. If they can play that defensive game again, there’s no reason to think that it won’t at least be a competitive 1 vs 8 game to open up the playoff slate on Friday Night. In 4 Halifax vs Vancouver matchups, the home team has won all 4 (2-2). Dating back to their past identities, they would have played only one playoff game against each other. That of course was the 2013 championship game, as the Knighthawks won their second of three-straight against the Washington Stealth in a goal that was actually played in Langley.

(5) Buffalo Bandits @ (4) Georgia Swarm – Saturday April 25, 7:30 pm

We’ll preview this fully tomorrow

(6) Toronto Rock @ (3) Saskatchewan Rush – Saturday April 25, 9:00 pm

The Rock return to the playoffs after their one year hiatus, heading right back to Saskatoon aiming to keep the Rush from returning to a second straight finals. Their lone playoff history came in the 2015 finals where the Edmonton Rush won both games.

(7) San Diego Seals @ (2) Colorado Mammoth – Saturday April 25, 9:00 pm

The Mammoth won the lone matchup this season 14-12 in Denver on February 27. While the Seals own the head-to-head series 12-7 all time, the Mammoth have won 3 of the 4 playoff matchups, including a three game series in the 2022 Western Finals. The Mammoth went on to win the championship.

(Photo Credit: David Pickering)