SEALS VS. RIPTIDE: GAME PREVIEW

The San Diego Seals will complete their East Coast swing when the team travels to Long Island to face the expansion New York Riptide on Saturday, January 25 at NYCB Live at 4:00 PM PT. Last time out, the Seals dropped a defensive battle to the Halifax Thunderbirds, while New York earned their first win in franchise history.

“We’ve been focusing on studying film and preparing for Saturday’s game,” said general manager and head coach Patrick Merrill. “New York beat a good team last week for their first win in franchise history. We know we need to play our best game out there. They work really hard and have talent on both ends of the ball.”

The Seals recently welcomed back the team’s leading goal-scorer from the previous season, left-handed forward Casey Jackson, after an offseason injury. Despite a trifling effort with the Thunderbirds, Merrill has confidence in his offense and believes they will continue to gel as a complete unit.

“We felt like we played a lot better offensively even though we didn’t get rewarded with a bigger number,” continued Merrill. “They have to continue to play with confidence, move their feet, move the ball and get chances in the middle of the floor. That’s where we can find holes in the defense and goaltender. If we get the ball moving and get [the opponents] feet moving, usually you’re able to open them up and get solid chances.

This will be the first and only matchup between the Seals and the Riptide in the regular season. San Diego will see some familiar faces in forward Connor Kelly and defenseman Ethan Schott on the other side of the floor, who were part of the Seals organization in the team’s inaugural season.

Head to head, San Diego averages five more loose balls and ten more shots per-game than New York. The Seals four short-handed goals are league-leading, while the team’s power-play and penalty kill both land at seventh in the league.

“We’re going to focus more on the process and less on the results. If we play harder, we’ll get better and the results will improve. We know it’s going to be a tough game. We’re going to have to outwork them for a full 60 minutes.”

Fans will be able to watch Saturday’s game on B/R Live. B/R Live – Turner’s live sports streaming service – will stream all San Diego Seals games throughout the 2019-20 season.