ALBANY, NY – It was a playoff atmosphere at MVP Arena with the Albany FireWolves (7-10) mounting a second half comeback to defeat the San Diego Seals (8-9) in a thrilling 12-10 win on Retro Night presented by La Salle Institute that keeps their National Lacrosse League (NLL) playoff chances alive. The FireWolves travel to play San Diego next weekend in another must win game on Friday, April 18 at 10:30 pm ET.
Tye Kurtz led the way with 6 goals and 3 assists to end the night with 9 points. Scoring for the FireWolves was rounded out Dyson Williams with 6 points (1g, 5a), Alex Simmons with 5 points (1g, 4a), Kyle Jackson with 3 points (2g, 1a), and Nick Chaykowsky and Will Johansen with 1 goal each. Ethan Walker chipped in 4 assists.
Doug Jamieson was tremendous in net with 39 saves on 49 shots on goal with his biggest save coming in the final minutes to seal the win.
View the full stats here: ALBANY VS SAN DIEGO
Watch the game highlights below:
The game began with the FireWolves firing off two quick goals by Kurtz and then Jackson to go up 2-0 to get the Albany crowd fired up early. The Seals would respond soon after with a goal to get on the board and make it 2-1. A few minutes later the FireWolves went back on the power play and Williams scorched the top corner to extend the Albany lead to 3-1. The flow of the game then shifted with San Diego going on a three-goal run that saw them take over the lead at 4-3 to end the first quarter.
Simmons kicked off the second quarter with an acrobatic goal as he dove through the crease to bury his first of the game that tied it at 4-4. The Seals responded with a goal to retake the lead at 5-4, but the FireWolves would answer a few minutes later with Kurtz scoring two goals back-to-back that gave Albany the lead again at 6-5. San Diego would keep fighting back as they scored two goals to end the second half with the Seals taking a 7-6 lead.
The first nine minutes of the second half were a back-and-forth battle as the defenses held strong and the goalies made several big saves. The Seals broke through first with a goal that gave them their biggest lead of the night at 8-6. It would be Kurtz again who stepped up with his fourth goal of the game on the power play to make it 8-7. The Albany power play was effective all night as they scored on 4 out of 5 power play opportunities. On the next faceoff, Joe Nardella would make a diving check to dislodge the ball right in front of the San Diego net with Johansen then snagging it and burying a twister to tie the game at 8-8. The Seals answered immediately with a transition goal to retake the lead at 9-8, but a minute later Kurtz scored again to end the third quarter with the score knotted at 9-9.
The final quarter was tense with both teams’ playoff hopes hanging in the balance, but it was the FireWolves who would seize the moment. Jackson scored to give Albany the 10-9 lead and then Kurtz would blast his sixth goal of the game which would end up being the game winner. The Seals would add one more goal to make it close at 11-10 with six minutes to go in the game. Jamieson and the FireWolves defense would then come up with several big stops to hold the Seals back in the final minutes. With under a minute left, the Seals would turn it over and Nick Chaykowsky would streak down the field to bury an empty net goal to give the FireWolves the 12-10 victory.
Next up for the FireWolves is a trip to face the San Diego Seals again in another must win game to keep Albany’s playoff chances alive at Pechanga Arena in San Diego. Tune in on Friday, April 18 at 10:30 pm ET on ESPN+, TSN+, NLL+, or locally on MY4 to cheer on the FireWolves!
Season ticket renewals have begun for the 2025-2026 season! For more information, visit www.albanyfirewolves.com or call/text the FireWolves front office at 518-675-8678 to avoid fees and save 30-70% on tickets.
About Albany FireWolves
The Albany FireWolves is the Capital Region’s very own Professional Box Lacrosse team, playing in the National Lacrosse League out of the MVP Arena in downtown Albany, NY. For more information, contact the Albany FireWolves Front Office at (518) 675-8678 or visit AlbanyFireWolves.com. Follow the team on Facebook at facebook.com/AlbFireWolves, Twitter @AlbFireWolves, and Instagram @AlbFireWolves.
About the National Lacrosse League
The National Lacrosse League (NLL) is North America’s premier professional lacrosse league. Founded in 1986, the NLL ranks third in average attendance for pro indoor sports worldwide, behind only the NHL and NBA. The League is comprised of 14 franchises across the United States and Canada: Albany FireWolves, Buffalo Bandits, Calgary Roughnecks, Colorado Mammoth, Georgia Swarm, Halifax Thunderbirds, Las Vegas Desert Dogs, Ottawa Black Bears, Philadelphia Wings, Rochester Knighthawks, San Diego Seals, Saskatchewan Rush, Toronto Rock, and Vancouver Warriors. For more information, visit NLL.com and find @NLL on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
About MVP Arena
MVP Arena is a full-service entertainment and sports facility featuring a wide variety of family shows, sporting events, trade shows and concerts. Owned by Albany County and managed by ASM Global, MVP Arena opened in 1990 and is home to the Albany FireWolves of the National Lacrosse League, the Albany Firebirds of the AFL 1 Arena Football League and the Division I Men’s College Basketball Siena Saints. For more information, please visit https://www.mvparena.com/
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