The Roughnecks celebrated their Superhero Party in fine fashion on Saturday with a convincing 14-7 win over the Saskatchewan Rush.
Goalie Frank Scigliano definitely played the role of a hero as he made 53 saves to backstop the Roughnecks (8-10) to their first regular-season victory over the Rush since April 10, 2015 to end an eight-game losing skid.
“We weren’t going to roll over,” said Scigliano, who credited the packed house of 18,845 fans (a new regular-season attendance record) at the Scotiabank Saddledome for giving the Riggers the motivation they needed. “It was packed tonight. We were playing for the fans more than anything and the guys in here. I think we did that at the end of the day.
“You’re going to be focused no matter what. This is a job and you’re supposed to do a job when you’re on the floor and we were able to do that tonight.”
Already well known by his nickname of ‘Superman’, forward Curtis Dickson had a couple suggestions for new monikers to describe Scigliano.
“It’s hard not to say The Hulk – I mean he’s got the size,” said Dickson, who also compared Scigliano to The Thing. “What’s the guy who looks like a big piece of stone? He looks like a big boulder. One of the two.”
Dickson, who led the ’Necks with three goals and three assists, commended Scigliano for his complete effort right from the opening faceoff.
“He was absolutely lights out,” said Dickson, who was happy the Riggers finally beat the Rush despite the fact they didn’t qualify for the NLL post-season for the first time since their inaugural season in 2002. “Unfortunately it’s the end of the road for us, but that’s something to build on in the off-season and work on for next season. We’re going to have a sour taste in our mouth here for the summer and we’re looking forward to being able to get back at it next year.”
Dane Dobbie scored twice and set up four others for the ’Necks, while Riley Loewen had two goals and two assists. Tyler Digby finished with a goal and three helpers, while Wesley Berg (2g, 1a), Holden Cattoni (1g, 2a), Jeff Shattler (1g, 1a), Curtis Manning (1g) and Bob Snider (1g) also chipped in offensively.
“I thought it was a great game for our fans that we can thank them,” said Calgary coach Curt Malawsky. “The only way we could thank them is get a win and I think the effort and the way the game went is our way of saying thank you very much for all the support all these years.”
Adam Jones had a hat trick and an assist for the Rush, which finished atop the NLL’s West Division standings with a 12-6 record.
Mark Matthews scored once and set up two others for Saskatchewan, while Ben McIntosh, Curtis Knight and Dan Taylor also scored.
Aaron Bold started in net for the Rush and stopped 15 of 20 shots he faced in the first half. Tyler Carlson then played the final two quarter and finished with 17 saves.
The Riggers led 3-2 after the first quarter and 5-4 heading into the halftime intermission before breaking the game wide open with four straight goals by Shattler, Digby, Loewen and Dickson in the third quarter.
Calgary then outscored Saskatchewan 5-3 in the final frame to end the 2017 season on a positive note.
“It’s been a long time since we beat them and you could easily just kind of went through the motions,” said Malawsky. “I think there should be a buzz in the crowd and should be a buzz around the town looking forward to our young group next season.”
