There was a strong belief the San Diego Seals found a star to build around with the first overall pick in the draft. Now there’s some in-game proof.

Austin Staats scored five goals and dished out four assists in his National Lacrosse League debut as the Seals earned their first ever victory with a surprising 17-12 upset on the road against the Colorado Mammoth on Saturday.

“It was an absolute dream come true,” Staats said to sealslax.com. “I have thought about this moment, playing in my first NLL game, since I was a little kid. To go out there and get the win with this group of guys is a dream come true.”

Connor Kearnan also impressed in his first NLL game, totaling two goals and two assists. Turner Evans had two goals and four assists, while Dan Dawson had five assists.

The Seals beat the Philadelphia Wings to the punch when it comes to the first expansion victory of the season, but both looked competitive in their first game against teams predicted to compete for playoff spots in their respective divisions. That’s a good sign for the balance of the league both this year and with expansion in the future.

“I thought we all played well,” said goalie Frank Scigliano, who made 44 saves. “There was a lot of anticipation going into the game and no one really knew what we had, but we went out there and played for each other tonight.”

Duch gets revenge

Some in Calgary were ready to press the panic button after a season-opening overtime loss to the Vancouver Warriors, but that was relieved this week when the Riggers won the rematch. Rhys Duch showed he’s still got it by torching his old squad with two goals and eight assists in Calgary’s 14-8 win.

“It definitely felt sweet,” Duch said. “Last week, it just felt weird. I think I put too much pressure on myself. Tonight, we came in and we stuck to our guns. We knew we were going to outwork them, and we stuck to our systems and things were going to fall into place.”

It’s obviously early, but Duch is second in the league with 11 assists and fourth in the league with 14 points. Pretty good for a player straight up released by the Warriors prior to the start of the season.

Calgary also got secondary scoring from Tyler Pace (three goals, three assists) and Riley Loewen (three goals, two assists), something it will desperately need with Curtis Dickson and Wes Berg still holding out.

Rush lock up Robert Church

Speaking of holdouts, the Saskatchewan Rush ended one of their three when they signed Robert Church to a three-year deal this week. Since the Rush were off the first two weeks of the season, the runner-up in the 2017 NLL MVP race didn’t miss a single game during the contract dispute.

“I’m happy that we were able to get a deal done before next week’s game against New England,” Church said. “I’m excited to see the guys and get going on this season.”

The Rush are still without two defensemen, Mike Messenger and Nik Bilic. New England Black Wolves forward Kevin Crowley has already missed a game, while Calgary’s pair of holdouts have missed two games.

Trouble in Buffalo

No one expected the Bandits would pull Matt Vinc only two weeks into the season. The reigning NLL Goalie of the Year hasn’t really looked like the Vinc we’ve come to know. He isn’t getting a ton of help from the Buffalo defense, but there have been plenty of shots he’s failed to stop that he usually does.

Vinc was pulled in the third after allowing 11 goals and replaced by Zach Higgins in the Bandits’ 17-12 loss to the Toronto Rock on Friday night.

Buffalo captain Steve Priolo said there’s an adjustment period when throwing seven new players out the back door.

“It’s not for lack of effort,” Priolo said. “A couple times we’re just getting burned on stuff that, myself included, if we’re on the same page that stuff doesn’t happen. It’s just going to be a little bit of a jelling. It’s early.”

The Bandits have gotten out to hot starts in both their games this season but saw a three-goal lead against the Wings and a four-goal lead against Toronto disappear.

“It’s a learning experience for us, right?” Priolo said. “As good as we are on paper, you have to prove that every single night out there.”

Goal of the Week

Garrett McIntosh does it. The first goal in franchise history! pic.twitter.com/DotP6EassE

— San Diego Seals (@SealsLax) December 23, 2018

It wasn’t flashy, but it certainly was historic. Garrett McIntosh scored the first goal in San Diego Seals history, snagging a pass from captain Brodie Merrill and firing a shot from left of the goal in transition.

“It’s been the running joke throughout the locker room that I would score the first goal,” McIntosh said. “I had the highest shooting percentage in the league last year, and it was something that everyone kind of joked about.”

Week 3 Preview

Rush at Black Wolves
Friday, 7:30 p.m. ET

Offense: The return of Church gives Saskatchewan all the key pieces from the offensive unit that finished tops in the league in goals last season. New England’s Tyler Digby is already halfway to his goal total from last season after just one game.

Defense: The Saskatchewan defense still has star power with Kyle Rubisch and Chris Corbeil, but needs to replace Ryan Dilks, Jeff Cornwall, Messenger and Bilic. The Black Wolves started Doug Jamieson in goal in their opener despite parting with a first-round pick to acquire Alex Buque in the offseason.

Swarm at Rock
Friday, 7:30 p.m. ET

Offense: Tom Schreiber showed no signs of rust in his first post-surgery game, leading the Rock with seven points on three goals and four assists. Holden Cattoni didn’t need time to adjust to new surroundings, putting up seven points in his Georgia debut.

Defense: Challen Rodgers showed his transition skills by notching four points and shooting seven times against Buffalo. Bryan Cole leads Swarm defenders with eight loose balls.

Warriors at Bandits
Friday, 7:30 p.m. ET

Offense: Josh Byrne had seven points last week, while Shawn Evans continued to rack up assists. He dished out six helpers against Toronto. The Warriors have used a balanced attack, as Logan Schuss is the only Vancouver player with more than two goals.

Defense: The Warriors gave up an average of over 15 goals per game last season but haven’t allowed more than 14 through two games this year. Aaron Bold has made the most saves of the three goalies that have played two games. Nick Weiss leads the league with five caused turnovers.

Seals at Roughnecks
Friday, 9 p.m. ET

Offense: Dane Dobbie, who is one off the league lead with 16 points, is tops in the NLL in shots. San Diego’s 17-goal output last week is tied for the highest across the league this season.

Defense: Brodie Merrill snagged 13 loose balls in his first game as a Seal, while Zach Currier leads the league in the category with 25 through two games.

Wings at Knighthawks
Saturday, 7 p.m. ET

Offense: Chris Cloutier had six points in his Wings debut, but with Staats’ performance this week he’ll have to turn it up a notch as the Rookie of the Year race marches on. The Knighthawks lost Josh Currier to the Wings but return the stellar one-two punch of Joe Resetarits and Cody Jamieson.

Defense: The Wings seemed to settle down defensively when Doug Buchan was pulled in favor of Davide DiRuscio, so it seems likely the Big Fish will get his first start as a Wing this week. Rochester is without captain Sid Smith, who is currently on injured reserve.