CALGARY, AB — The Calgary Roughnecks were on the road for Week 11 of the NLL season, taking on Josh Sanderson and the Toronto Rock. The Roughnecks took an early lead and stayed ahead almost the entire contest. Calgary eventually won the game 15-10 and improved their record to 4-7.
Here are five things we noticed in the game:
1) SUPERMAN IS SUPERHUMAN
People have been calling Curtis Dickson Superman for years, but this season he’s really showcasing why he’s deserving of his nickname. While he doesn’t have as many of his classic crease-dive goals, he is finding more unique ways to find the twine. This weekend, he found a way to duck and weave between three Rock defenders before bouncing a shot through his own legs into the top corner of the net – while not looking at the net!
If you haven’t seen it yet, we strongly recommend that you watch it a few times.
Wow. Just wow.
2) LEUNG ON TRACK
After a miserable start to the season, with regards to scoring points, Karsen Leung is back on track. The transition star had registered only one assist in his first five games of the season, and it took until week eight to score his first goal of 2016. He is now riding a six-game scoring streak, where he has recorded eight points. Against the Rock, Leung netted a nice short-handed marker and then followed that up with two consecutive empty-net goals to complete his hat-trick. With six goals through 11 games, he is still within reach of the 11 goal mark – the number of goals he has scored in each of his first two NLL seasons. Getting his offence going will help spark a talented transition unit that has been inconsistent so far this season.
3) BIG NIGHT FOR BELL
Friday’s game was Tyson Bell’s first ever game against the Toronto Rock, and it was a memorable one. Hailing from St. Catharines, ON, which is only one hour and a half from Toronto, Bell had almost 100 friends and family in the crowd. He brought them to their feet early in the game when he scored the game’s first goal 44-seconds into the contest.
He followed that up with a breakaway minutes later, but he would ring that one off of the post. Mid-way through the fourth quarter, Bell once again found himself finding the back of the net and sending his fans into a frenzy. To go along with strong defensive play and some big hits, Bell gave his cheering section a lot of cheer about.
4) MACRAE RUNNING THE FLOOR
Dan MacRae is having the best season of his career. Fully healthy, he is running the floor with aggressiveness and it is paying off. The Roughnecks assistant captain is tied for second in the NLL in defensive scoring with 13 points. Through 11 games, that puts him on pace for 21 points, a total that would be his highest in six seasons. He is also on pace to hit career highs in loose balls and caused turnovers.
5) PENALTY KILLING
The Roughnecks did not boast a top notch road penalty kill prior to heading into the ACC on Friday and having to face the league’s best home power play did not look like a great situation. However, the Roughnecks utilized their speed to create chances in transition. This lead to three short-handed goals – two from Curtis Dickson and one from Karsen Leung. The Roughnecks held the Rock to two power play goals on five chances in the tilt. Overall, the Roughnecks penalty killing unit was fantastic stalling the Rock power play and ended the contest with a plus one rating – something not easily accomplished.
