VS. BUFFALO: Tonight marks the one and only regular season meeting between the Roughnecks and Bandits, and the first time the two clubs have met at the ’Dome since 2015. Last season, Buffalo walked away with the win after Dhane Smith scored his second goal of the night with 70 seconds remaining to break a 9-9 fourth-quarter tie. For Calgary, the 2016 road contest saw Dane Dobbie record his 275th career goal, becoming the franchise’s all-time leader in that category. Former Roughnecks star Kaleb Toth held the previous mark of 274 goals after 11 seasons in Calgary (2002-12).
2016 Regular Season Series Recap
Jan. 9/16 at BUF: BUF 10 CGY 9 … A back and forth first half saw both clubs each score five goals, including a pair of markers from Roughnecks forward Dane Dobbie. Tyler Digby (3), Curtis Dickson (2), rookie Wesley Berg and Jeff Shattler, who hit 150 career games played, also contributed with goals in the road setback. Anthony Cosmo made 41 saves to record the win in Buffalo’s 25th anniversary season opener.
Shots on Goal: CGY 50 BUF 43
Power Plays: CGY 3-5 (60.0%) BUF 2-5 (40.0%)
Regular Season Records
All-Time vs. BUF: 4-6
All-Time at CGY: 3-4
All-Time at BUF: 1-2
Last CGY Win: Apr. 5/14, 16-13 at KeyBank Center (formerly First Niagara Center)
Last BUF Win: Jan 9/16, 10-9 at KeyBank Center (formerly First Niagara Center)
2017 Regular Season Head-to-Head
Category
Roughnecks (6-9)
Bandits (5-8)
Home Record
3-4
3-4
Away Record
3-5
2-4
Goals For
174
167
Goals Against
190
174
Power Play Pct.
53.57
61.11
Penalty Kill Pct.
50.00
47.30
Faceoff Pct.
51.05
47.98
Loose Balls
1,033
1,002
Points Leader – Series
—
—
Points Leader – Season
Curtis Dickson (86)
Dhane Smith (62)
NAIL BITERS: The last two regular season contests against Buffalo have been one-goal decisions, with the Bandits coming out on top in both. In 2015, Buffalo picked up a 15-14 overtime win at the ’Dome then edged Calgary by a score of 10-9 last season.
DID YOU KNOW?: This is Calgary’s 16th season in the NLL. The franchise has an all-time record of 145-116.
300 CLUB: Curtis Dickson recorded his 300th career goal in last weekend’s 11-9 win over Rochester. He became the 26th player in league history to hit this milestone and second player in team history to score all 300 goals as a member of the Roughnecks. Teammate Dane Dobbie hit the 300-goal mark back in January. Former NLL players who suited up for Calgary and reached 300 goals include Josh Sanderson (449), Lewis Ratcliff (440), Tracey Kelusky (383) and Kaleb Toth (315).
FORMER CLUB FACEOFF: Mitch Wilde will face his former team for the first time following a February transaction that saw the 25-year-old defender and a conditional second-round pick in the 2017, 2018 or 2019 NLL Draft head to Calgary in exchange for 2017 and 2018 second-round selections. Wilde spent parts of four seasons with Buffalo, recording 43 points (14g, 29a) and 143 loose balls in 47 games. He has picked up three assists and collected 25 loose balls in six games with the Roughnecks.
LEADER OF THE PACK: Roughnecks forward Curtis Dickson leads the league in goals at 42. Dickson has recorded 301 goals in 117 games over seven seasons with Calgary. Only seven of the 117 contests have seen Dickson held goalless, most recently on Mar. 24 against Saskatchewan when he finished the game with five assists.
SPECIAL TEAMS WATCH: Calgary’s power play ranks fifth in the league at 53.57% while the visiting Bandits’ power play tops the NLL at 61.11%. When playing shorthanded, the Roughnecks hold a slight advantage over Buffalo at 50.00% (third overall). The Bandits penalty kill sits fifth at 47.30%. Three Calgary snipers sit in the league’s top-10 in power play goals: Dane Dobbie (16), Wesley Berg (12) and Curtis Dickson (9). Dhane Smith leads the Bandits with eight man-advantage markers.
WEST VS. EAST: This season, Calgary is 3-6 against teams from the West Division and has a 3-3 mark when playing rivals from the East. The Roughnecks finished the 2016 campaign 3-8 against the West and 5-2 versus the East.
POINT PARADE: Curtis Dickson with 528 career points is closing in on Tracey Kelusky’s mark of 539. The former Roughnecks captain sits fourth in points in franchise history. Alternate captain Dane Dobbie eclipsed 600 career points on Feb. 4 against the Saskatchewan Rush. Dobbie, who has spent his entire 10-year career with the Roughnecks, has 654 points (332g, 322a) in 140 games. He now sits second in the club’s all-time scoring books, 26 points ahead of former Roughnecks star Kaleb Toth. Teammate Jeff Shattler moved to the top of the all-time list with a first-quarter assist in the Jan. 28 contest against the Colorado Mammoth. Shattler, who reached 400 career assists on Mar. 11 in Toronto, now has 673 points in 180 games with Calgary.
RECORD WHEN:
Leading at halftime ……6-2 Outshooting opponent .……4-2
Trailing at halftime …….0-7 Outshot by opponent …..…..2-6
Tied at halftime …….….0-0 Shots are tied ……..…………0-1
ROUGHNECKS MONTH-BY-MONTH: January (3-1), February (0-4), March (2-4), April (1-0).
ROUGHNECKS VS.: (BUF 0-0), (COL 2-1), (GA 1-1), (NE 1-0), (ROC 1-0), (SAS 0-3), (TOR 0-2), (VAN 1-2).
