Sea Bears Look to Clinch Home Court as Vancouver Comes to Town Thursday

Four days after Teddy Allen rewrote the record books and Xavier Moon made a statement debut, the Sea Bears have no time to rest on it. Vancouver comes to town with plenty to play for, sitting second in the Western Conference, and Winnipeg is treating this one accordingly. "We're looking at tomorrow like a playoff game," Allen said.

The stakes couldn't be clearer. A Sea Bears win Thursday, or a Saskatoon loss to Brampton, locks up at least one home playoff game for Winnipeg. It's a carrot the players are well aware of, and Moon put it plainly: "We've seen the crowds that we get here. We've seen the way we perform at home. So that's what we're playing for right now." The two clubs are split 1-1 on the season, Winnipeg took care of business at Canada Life Centre earlier this year before dropping the road matchup and Thursday is the tiebreaker that matters most.



Moon, still building game-speed after his lengthy wait for international clearance, knows what it'll take to get there. "Our attention to detail," he said. "Putting 40 minutes together. We know Vancouver is a very talented team, but so are we." Coach Mike Raimbault echoed the focus: "The group as a whole has done a really good job all season of focusing on what's right in front of us. We understand what a big game Thursday is."

D.J. Burns, who has grown into an increasingly important spark plug off the bench, captured the bigger picture: "We're not just trying to be a playoff team, we're trying to be a championship team."

Winnipeg hosts Vancouver on Thursday, July 23 at Canada Life Centre. Tip-off is at 7:00 p.m. CT. Tickets available here.