Seals rally from early deficit, Win 13-10
Credit: Nicole Noel/ EVT Sports
The San Diego Seals battled back from a four-goal deficit to beat the Calgary Roughnecks at home by a score of 13-10.
The Seals, who trailed for nearly the entirety of the first three quarters, scored three times in less than a minute at the start of the fourth quarter, propelling them to a lead they would not relinquish. Austin Staats had a hat trick and four assists, and Wesley Berg, Tre Leclaire, and Zack Greer all added multiple goals to help complete the comeback. The Seals win was their fifth straight, propelling them to 5-1 on the season and extending their gap at the top of the Western Division.
The game was chippy throughout, as there were three cases where players had to be separated after play had been paused. Still, the Seals managed to keep their composure throughout all of the adversity, and they were rewarded with a well-deserved win.
Calgary came out and dominated the early stages of the game, taking a 4-1 lead inside the first five minutes, as Seals goalie Frank ‘The Tank’ Scigliano was powerless to stop the rampant Roughnecks. After Calgary scored with under a minute to play in the first period, Scigliano was pulled from the game, being replaced by Christopher Origlieri. The change seemed to fire up the Seals, as they scored four unanswered goals in the first half of the second quarter, leveling the score at six.
Seals rookie Tre Leclaire scored a pair of goals in the run, giving him seven for the year, which ties him for the rookie lead in goals. Calgary scored two goals in quick succession, restoring their advantage and prompting Seals coach Patrick Merrill to put Scigliano back in goal. Calgary scored on Scigliano in less than a minute, extending the gap to three goals, but the Roughnecks scored just one more goal in the final 33 minutes of the game, a huge reason the Seals completed the comeback. The Seals scored twice in the final two minutes of the first half, including the second goal for Zack Greer, bringing them back within one at the half.
The third quarter saw the smallest amount of action, as each team scored just once.
The Roughnecks struck first, but they also committed three penalties in the quarter. The Seals were able to turn one of the three penalties into a Wesley Berg power-play goal, cutting the gap back down to one. Calgary’s final penalty of the quarter came for an illegal substitution, and since it came late in the quarter, the Seals started the fourth off with a power play. They quickly took advantage, as Austin Staats’ third goal leveled the game at 10. Sammy Bradley and Berg struck within a minute of Staats’ goal, putting the Seals up by a pair. The Seals took advantage of another Roughneck penalty to score another power-play goal, giving them a three-goal lead and putting the game out of reach.
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The Seals rallied back thanks to a stout defense and an offense that erupted when it needed to most. Austin Staats took the first star of the game for his hat trick, as well as his quadruple of assists. The Seals’ win extended their gap at the top of the division while also continuing their winning streak that dates back to December 11 of, 2021.
Sam is a Senior in High School. He has been writing for three years, and started at EVT in June of 2021. He’s headed to Syracuse’s Newhouse School of Communications in the fall of 2023.