The Growlers traveled to Las Vegas to face the expansion Bighorns on Saturday, June 14. With temperatures over 100 degrees and windy conditions, the Growlers would need to battle the elements as well as their opponent to keep up in the South Division playoff race.
San Diego started the game with a few turnovers but were eventually able to hold, but Las Vegas followed suit, then earned a break score for the early 2-1 lead. The Growlers recovered with a hold, then rattled off three consecutive breaks with goals from rookie Elliott Eve, Daniel Brunker, and Daniel Pryke. The Bighorns got back on track with a score on offense, but Travis Dunn answered with a huge sky in double coverage and assisted to Jesse Cohen for the 6-3 lead.
Much like the weather, the Growlers continued their hot streak with two straight break scores, with a goal from Max Hume followed by a KJ Koo block and assist to Marcel Osborne. Las Vegas settled in with a hold and a break of their own to get within closer reach 8-5. The teams traded, then San Diego took control of the game with three goals in a row to end the second quarter, with two breaks scores from Dunn to Koo and Hume to Pryke, 12-6.
Both teams were now decently adapted to the conditions and dialed in their offenses with trades throughout much of the third quarter. San Diego spread their attack out well, with goals from Casey Wu, Oliver Artus, Koo, Cohen, Dunn, and Osborne. The Growlers took advantage of a Bighorns turnover and converted the only break of the quarter with an assist from Peter Lenz to Koo. Las Vegas scored last with San Diego unable to hold on to their possession, 19-12.
In the fourth quarter, the Bighorns held and then converted a break score to keep the game interesting. The Growlers quickly put an end to any comeback bid with a Kyle Rubin to Brunker score, then Ben Levinsky intercepted the disc and eventually caught the bookend deep score from Kobi McCracken for the break. With time winding down, each team scored a few more times with the result in hand, with Growlers coming out on top 23-16.
The Growlers were led by Travis Dunn with a stellar +7 performance (5 assists, 2 goals, 1 block). KJ Koo (1 assist, 4 goals, 1 block) and Daniel Brunker (4 assists, 2 goals, 2 blocks) each contributed impressive +4 games. Next up, San Diego will enjoy a bye weekend, then host the Oakland Spiders on June 28 in their final home game of the regular season.
