The San Diego Seals overcame a five-goal deficit in the first quarter and dominated from the second quarter on in their 18-15 win over the Philadelphia Wings to open the 2024-25 NLL season.
They outscored the Wings 14-7 in the final three quarters to finish one goal shy of tying the franchise-record 19 goals in a game. They had only scored more than 18 goals in a game once before on March 7, 2020.
A 7-1 second quarter put the Seals right back into the lead at the half as Mike Poulin, who replaced starting goalie Chris Origlieri with 37 seconds left in the first quarter, allowed just one goal and made six saves.
Poulin allowed two goals within 20 seconds of each other early in the third quarter and Origlieri replaced him. Origlieri allowed just four goals and made 18 saves in the second half.
“I know him and I trust him,” Merrill said of Origlieri. “We have a great goaltending tandem with Mike Poulin backing him up and is a veteran guy … I just felt like Chris is the type of competitor where he wants to be in the net.”
That quarter played by Poulin allowed the offense to get right back into the game and allowed Origlieri to reset before the second half where he looked like his normal self.
Forward Ryan Benesch, who is fourth on the all-time NLL goals list, led the way with five goals and four assists in his Seals debut.
Fourteen of the 18 San Diego goals were scored by players in their first game for the Seals. Ben McIntosh, who spent the last two seasons with the Wings, scored four goals and two assists, and Rob Hellyer scored three goals and assisted three more in their Seals debuts.
“It’s a lot of new guys on our offense and the way it was clicking tonight was really good to see,” Merrill said.
Adam Noakes made his NLL debut after training on the Seals’ practice squad the last two years. He scored his first NLL goal and contributed three assists in the victory.
“He’s great. Very quick feet,” Hellyer said of Noakes. “He’s having a blast and shooting the ball well and he played great tonight.”
Noakes’ third-quarter goal gave the Seals a lead that they would never relinquish.
First-round pick Trent DiCicco added three assists in his pro debut.
The Seals’ three-goal lead was threatened by the Wings when Kyle Rubisch was called for a major high sticking penalty with 1:37 remaining in the third quarter. Another penalty immediately following the conclusion of Rubisch’s penalty forced an additional two minutes (for a total of seven consecutive minutes) on San Diego’s penalty kill unit, but their three-goal lead remained intact.
Tre Leclaire netted a shorthanded goal at 0:51 into the fourth quarter which gave the Seals breathing room when Philadelphia’s Callum Crawford scored the Wings’ fourth power-play goal of the game.
“I think it was uplifting for our defense, too, because we didn’t feel like we had a great start, and I thought the guys were out there battling,” Merrill said.
The sentiment around the players and coaching staff was that the first quarter was a fluke from the way Origlieri played the rest of the game and how the shots just weren’t going into the net to start off the game.
Up next: The Seals will hit the road for the first time this season when they face the Georgia Swarm on Saturday, Dec. 7 at Gas South Arena in Duluth, Ga. at 5 p.m. PT.