Riptide vs. Warriors – Game Preview

The New York Riptide take the floor for the final time this season when they head out west to take on the Vancouver Warriors, with opening faceoff scheduled for 10:00 PM ET at the Rogers Arena in Vancouver, BC. This will be only the second ever meeting between the Riptide and Warriors, the first of which was New York’s second ever game, where they fell 14-10 in Vancouver.

Vancouver has struggled this season, sitting in last place in the NLL’s West Conference with a record of 4-13. Only the Riptide (235) have allowed more than their 231 goals, and only the Albany FireWolves (157) and Las Vegas Desert Dogs (167) have found the back of the net fewer times than the Warriors’ 180. Despite poor team numbers, there are some talented individual players on the Vancouver roster. Second year defenseman Reid Bowering, who was the second overall pick behind New York’s Jeff Teat in the 2020 NLL Draft, is 4th in the league in loose balls with 210, which is first among players who are not faceoff specialists, and second in blocked shots with 22. He has also caused 28 turnovers and chipped in with 17 points on the offensive end. Offensively, the Warriors are led by Keegan Bal, who has 87 points this season on 34 goals and 53 assists, and the veteran two-time NLL MVP Shawn Evans, who is second on the team with 59 points.

For New York, the aforementioned Teat is chasing history, as he needs 11 points to tie the single season scoring record of 137 points set by Dhane Smith in 2016. In order to accomplish this, the Riptide offense will need to recover from their worst outing of the season, as they put up just 6 goals in their defeat to Halifax last weekend, thanks in part due to a 1-8 performance on the power play. Additionally on the offensive side, both Reilly O’Connor and Larson Sundown are looking to reach the 20 goal mark, with both players sitting on 19. For O’Connor, this would be his second time reaching that plateau, and for Sundown, it would be his first, having already set his career high this season. On the other side of the ball, the Riptide defense will look to finish the season on a positive note after allowing 15 goals. Though he was pulled against Halifax, Cam Dunkerley has given plenty of strong performances since taking over the starter’s net, Matt Marinier is third in the league with 21 blocked shots, and Scott Dominey has had a strong season with 89 loose balls, 17 caused turnovers, and 15 points.

Saturday’s game will be available to watch on ESPN+, and listen to on WRHU 88.7 FM, WRHU.org and the WRHU iPhone App. Live stats and periodic in-game updates will be available via Twitter @ NewYorkRiptide.