(Saskatoon, SK – January 5, 2019) – The San Diego Seals fell to the Saskatchewan Rush 16-12 at SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan on Saturday night.

“We thought we held in and played a solid first half of the game,” said general manager and head coach Patrick Merrill. “We had some timely turnovers and breakdowns against a championship-caliber team. They’ll make you pay for your mistakes and they did. We couldn’t stop their run in the second half and that was the difference in the game.”

In his first game back in the National Lacrosse League since 2017, forward Garrett Billings scored the first goal of the game and finished the night with six points (two goals, four assists).

“That was a very good team that we played against out there,” said Billings. “I thought we could’ve generated a bit more in the second half, but the team really comes together in the difficult games. It felt really good to get out there again with the boys.”

Rookie forward Austin Staats netted four goals and added two assists in a six-point performance. He was part of the Seals power play unit that scored five goals on seven opportunities.

“It was nice being able to generate some offense again this week,” said Staats. “Would’ve been a lot nicer if we came out on top, but we’re getting ready to come out even better next week at home. I’m just thankful to be able to go out there and play with this group day in and day out.”

Forward Kyle Buchanan added two goals and three assists and forward Dan Dawson finished the night with five points (one goal, four assists). Goaltender Frank Scigliano stopped 44 shots, while defenseman Tor Reinholdt scooped up 11 loose balls.

The inaugural season home-opener is set for next Sat., Jan. 12 at 7:00pm PST against the Rochester Knighthawks at Pechanga Arena San Diego.