The San Diego Seals (3-4) will be looking to put a halt to a two-game skid when they return to Pechanga Arena to host the Saskatchewan Rush (5-2), this Saturday night (Feb. 1) at 7 p.m.
Saturday will be Mexican Heritage Night at Pechanga Arena. There will be a Pregame Tailgate Party from 4:30-6:30 p.m. featuring Lucha libre wrestling, interactive games and food and drink vendors, while $5 Salty’s Golden Crown Craft Beer will be available inside during the game.
And speaking of Pechanga Arena, aka “The Electric Factory,” it has become one of the toughest arenas to play in for opposing teams in the National Lacrosse League. The Seals have won six of their last seven regular-season home games and since the start of the 2022-23 season, they are 18-4 in regular-season games at Pechanga.
It’s one game at a time for the Seals but this Saturday’s game is an important one as it begins a tough month of February. Next week the Seals must travel to Ontario, Canada to face the Toronto Rock, NLL semifinalists a season ago, before starting a home and home against the reigning NLL Champion Buffalo Bandits with the first being a road tilt at the KeyBank Center in Buffalo.
The Rush started their season 3-0 but have split their last four. Last Saturday, they defeated 2024 NLL finalist Albany at home, 17-13. While the Rush are led on offense by forward Zach Manns (20 goals and 15), the Rush winning this season with its defense. Their 74 goals allowed are the fourth-fewest in the NLL; defenseman Matt Hossack leads the League with 21 forced turnovers, and transition player Jake Boudreau is fifth in the NLL with 67 loose balls secured. Goalie Frank Scigliano, himself a former San Diego Seal, is tied for the third-highest save percentage (80%) among starting netminders and he owns the fourth-lowest goals against average (9.57).
Broadcast Information: For those unable to make it to Pechanga Arena on Saturday night, the game will be televised locally in San Diego on KUSI-TV and streamed to a global audience on ESPN+.
Seals-Rush Head-to-Head: All-time, the Seals and Rush have met 11 times and Saskatchewan leads the series, 6-5, including a 13-8 win over the Seals last season at the SaskTel Centre. And it’s not just the series that’s been tight as five of the 11 games played between the Seals and Rush have been decided by one goal.
A Look Back at Last Season’s Meeting: The Seals had a four-game win streak come to a halt, falling to the Rush, 13-8, at the Sasktel Centre in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. The Seals came out fast and scored the game’s first two goals, but it was all Rush after that as Saskatchewan scored the game’s next nine goals to stake out to a 9-2 lead. The Seals trailed 11-5 after three periods and scored three unanswered goals early in the fourth, including two during a five-minute major penalty, to climb within 12-8, but Saskatchewan halted the run with a goal midway through the fourth and held on for the win.
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