Christopher Crane, NLL Correspondent
Lacrosse is Awesome©
Featured Image Photo Credit: Jaclyn McKee
On Friday January 24, 2025, the Ottawa Black Bears (4-3) traveled to Rogers Arena to take on the Vancouver Warriors (4-3) for the first ever meeting of the two teams. It would be a close contest throughout until the third quarter when the Warriors would gain a three-goal cushion and keep Ottawa at bay to secure an 8-4 win.
Both teams’ goaltenders played amazingly between the pipes. Black Bears goaltender Zach Higgins would make 41 saves on 49 shots (83.67%) with Warriors netminder Aden Walsh making 33 saves on 37 shots (89.19%). Ottawa’s offense was led by newly acquired Eric Fannell (2g, 2a) and Connor Kearnan (2g), with teammate Jeff Teat finishing the night with three assists. Vancouver’s offense was led by Adam Charalambides (3g, 3a), Keegan Bal (1g, 4a) and Ryan Martel (1g, 3a).
The Black Bears got on the board first at 12:28 with Eric Fannell netting his first score with Ottawa after being traded from the Albany FireWolves. Both teams would be at a defensive standstill until Vancouver netted their first scores of the night at the hands of Adam Charalambides who would tally back-to-back scores at 8:25 and 7:52, giving the Warriors a 2-1 lead. Vancouver would add one more at the 2:24 mark from Johnathan Peshko (1g) putting the Warriors ahead 3-1 at the end of the first quarter.
Vancouver extended their lead early in the second on a score from Marcus Klarich (1g, 1a) at 13:35 making it a 4-1 game. Ottawa took advantage of two power play opportunities with Fannell and Kearnan both finding the back of the net at 12:24 and 7:33 making it a 4-3 game heading into the half.
The Warriors begin to pull away in the third and would net the first two of the frame coming from Bal at 11:44 and Charalambides netting his hat trick at 9:06 making it a 6-3 game. Ottawa would once again capitalize on a power play opportunity on a score from Kearnan. Vancouver would extend their lead to three scores late in the quarter when Jeff Cornwall (1g) found the back of the net at 1:49 making it a 7-4 game at the end of the third quarter.
Both teams’ goaltenders and defenses battled it out throughout the fourth with no one finding the back of the net for the majority of the frame. It wasn’t until the 3:02 mark that Vancouver’s Ryan Martel (1g) would finally find some daylight and beat Ottawa’s goalie Zach Higgins making it a 8-4 game securing the win for the Warriors. Vancouver now improves to 4-3 on the season with Ottawa dropping to 4-3 on the season.
GAME STATS:
Ottawa Black Bears—SOG 37; Saves 41; Sv% .837; FO 4-17; PP 3-4; PIM 6
Vancouver Warriors—SOG 49; Saves 33; Sv% .892; FO 13-17; PP 0-3; PIM 8
NEXT UP:
The Vancouver Warriors (4-3) will be back in action on Friday January 31, 2025, when they travel to the Scotiabank Centre to take on the Halifax Thunderbirds (2-4), game time 6:30 p.m. EST. Fans in the USA can see the game on ESPN+. For Canadian fans, this game is the featured NLL Friday Night on TSN, and the game can be seen on TSN1; TSN5 and TSN+.
The Ottawa Black Bears (4-3) will play host to the Calgary Roughnecks (3-3) at Canadian Tire Centre on Friday January 31, 2025, game time 7:00 p.m. EST. Fans in the USA can see the game on ESPN+ while fans in Canada get to catch the action on TSN+.
Christopher Crane, NLL Correspondent
Lacrosse is Awesome©