YAHOO! It’s a double-header weekend for the Roughnecks and all the cowboys and cowgirls will be at the Rough House on Saturday for a good old fashioned Western Party.
On Friday, the Riggers will be in Denver to battle the Colorado Mammoth in the season-series finale. After travelling back to Calgary on Saturday, the Roughnecks will play a second game against the red-hot Georgia Swarm (7:30 p.m., Scotiabank Saddledome).
Here are five things to keep in mind when you’re watching the games:
1) CLEAN SWEEP?
Back in January, the Roughnecks and Mammoth squared off in back-to-back weekends, with Calgary taking both games.
This weekend, the Riggers will look to sweep the three-game season series. It won’t be an easy task, as the Mammoth have been playing excellent – especially on the defensive end – despite missing star forwards Callum Crawford and Jeremy Noble.
If Calgary can replicate the type of effort and game plan that saw them come oh-so-close last weekend against the Saskatchewan Rush, it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the Roughnecks leave Denver with a win in hand.
2) BYE WEEK BLUES
The Swarm have been waiting a couple of weeks to get back on the floor. They’ll be well rested and eager to get things going.
But with that in mind, can the league’s top team (7-1) overcome the bye-week struggles that seem to plague most teams in the NLL? It’s possible, but in 2017, teams coming off of a break have won just two out of 10 games.
Can the Swarm buck that trend? The Roughnecks hope not.
3) SUPERMAN RETURNS?
In a shocking turn-of-events, Curtis Dickson was held goalless in last weekend’s contest against the Rush. The last time he had a game he deemed below his standards, he responded with a six-goal performance.
Not to say he’ll do that again, but look for Superman to be extremely motivated this weekend.
Should Dickson break out in a big way for the Roughnecks in the double-header, it’s quite possible he reaches the 500-point career mark. He currently sits just 12 points shy of a half-century.
4) FRESH LEGS
With a game on Friday night and a long day of travel afterwards, staying fresh can be quite the challenge.
Roughnecks defender Tyler Burton even goes as far as getting his stretching done on the plane.
“Flights and stuff, you’ve just got to try and take the opportunity to sleep, rest and stretch when you can,” said Burton. “I do a lot of stretches on the plane when we’re travelling. It keeps the body loose instead of stiffening up.”
Depending on how everyone is feeling come Saturday night, the Riggers may opt to insert some fresh legs into the line-up for their tilt with the Swarm.
“We’ll maybe make some line-up changes potentially after the game to get some fresh legs in there, but right now it’s full concentration on Colorado,” said coach Curt Malawsky. “We’ll be prepared come Saturday night at home as well.”
5) COLE BRADLEY
To make our Western Party just that much more authentic, 2016 ACMA Nominee, Project Wild Finalist, and Calgary’s own Cole Bradley will be in the Rough House to perform at halftime and during post-game.
Check him out!
