CALGARY, AB — The Calgary Roughnecks were at home for Week 4 of the NLL season, taking on Rhys Duch and the Vancouver Stealth. The Roughnecks took a tie game into the fourth quarter and out-scored the Stealth 4-2 in the final frame to walk away victorious.
Here are five things we noticed in the game:
1) TURN THE TIDES
After opening the season 0-2, some people began to worry they would have a similar start to 2015 where they lost their first six games. Instead, Calgary has quietly evened their record at 2-2.
They’ve relied on strong defence, great goaltending, and a balanced offence to win. In the win over Vancouver, the Roughnecks offence showed that they can put up a crooked number in a short period of time. It was a coming out party for an offence that previously hadn’t scored more than 10 goals in a game.
2) FIRST ONE
Late in the third quarter, the Roughnecks held a slim 10-9 lead over the Stealth. That’s when rookie Tyson Bell and defenceman Dan MacRae worked a give-and-go, ultimately finishing with a goal from the freshman.
Take a look at his first NLL goal! Congratulations Tyson!
3) DRAW GAME
To open the game, it was transition player Curtis Manning who was taking the majority of the draws for the Roughnecks. Unfortunately, Manning was no match for Mitch McMicheal, winning only four of 15 face-offs.
Entering the second half, Calgary coach Curt Malawsky opted to use defenceman Garrett McIntosh in the role instead. To his delight, the third-year man excelled in the face-off circle, winning 10 of 17 draws.
4) FORMULA FOR SUCCESS
Prior to Saturday’s game, Roughnecks captain Mike Carnegie discussed the formula for winning in the NLL. He noted that the offence needs to score 10 goals, while the defence adds 2 or 3 and holds the opposition to 10 or less goals. They followed that formula against the Stealth and it worked.
Defencemen Bell, Jon Harnett, and Greg Harnett each added a goal for the Riggers, while the offence went above and beyond, scoring 12 goals. The defence and goaltending did not keep Vancouver under 10 goals, but four of the Stealth goals were scored on the power play, so in five-on-five situations, they were able to limit the Stealth to nine goals.
5) PENALTY TROUBLE
Throughout the game on Saturday, the Stealth and Roughnecks were routinely making trips to the penalty box. Each team had 10 infractions in the game, costing them each a matching 23 minutes of penalty time.
Despite entering the game with strong percentages on both the power play and the penalty kill, Calgary struggled with their special teams. They still managed two power play goals, but they were given 6 chances to do so. On the other end, they allowed Vancouver to score four power play goals in seven opportunities with the man-advantage.
