CALGARY, AB — The Calgary Roughnecks played a back-to-back set this past weekend. On Friday, they were on the wrong end of a offensive outburst by the Saskatchewan Rush, losing 19-12. They followed up that performance by rallying in dramatic fashion for one of the greatest comebacks wins you’ll ever see. After being down 8-3 at halftime, the Riggers battled back to beat the Swarm 12-11.
Here are five things we noticed from the game:
1) SUPERMAN SUPER
When the Roughnecks fell behind the Rush on Friday, it was none other than Curtis Dickson who stepped up his game and helped force the Roughnecks back into the contest. It was evident that Dickson came to play when he repeatedly took on two defenders and battled his way through them. Not many athletes could do this:
For Super Hero Night at the Rough House on Saturday against the Swarm, it was Dickson again who lead the comeback charge – how fitting. He scored four goals and added two assists in the contest. On the weekend, Dickson put up eight goals and five assists. Superman truly shines when his team needs him most.
2) RESILIENCY
The Riggers did not have strong first halves in either game this weekend, but in each contest they kept their composure and rallied to get themselves back into the game. On Friday, they trailed 14-6 at halftime and then conceded the first goal of the second half. They continued to fight hard and battle back, outscoring the Rush 6-5 in the second half. Despite the loss, it demonstrated their strong will to win.
On Saturday, the game seemed to be following the same script as the night prior. This time, the Riggers trailed the Swarm 8-3 at the half. Once again, they surrendered the first goal of the second half but this time would be different, though. Calgary scored six goals in the third quarter to get within a goal. Curtis Dickson tied the game early in the fourth, but Swarm rookie Randy Staats would get it back right away. Finally, Tyler Digby and Greg Harnett scored goals one-minute apart and the Roughnecks would take the lead for good.
3) THE POULIN WALL
Coming in relief of Frankie Scigliano on Saturday, Mike Poulin took control of the game and helped the Roughnecks turn the game around. The veteran netminder was magnificent against the Swarm, allowing only four goals on 28 shots in just under 40 minutes in the crease and made incredible save in the dying seconds of the game to stop the Swarm and preserve the win for Calgary.
The win marked his 50th career in the NLL and the Poulin Wall was very happy to have finally reached that milestone.
“It’s been there for a while,” joked Poulin. “After that final save, I grabbed the rebound and I hung on to that one. I’ll keep that ball.”
4) BACK HOME
On Saturday, the Roughnecks called on Bob Snider to help them in the faceoff circle. The draw specialist went 18-27 (66%) against the Swarm. For Snider, it was the first time that he was able to wear the red and black out in front of the Roughnecks home crowd. It was a special game for the hometown boy.
“It was awesome,” Snider said through a smile. “Playing in front of the home crowd, I got a big cheer. First off, fans are outstanding. Probably the best group of fans in the league. Getting to go out and compete with the boys and get a win at home is pretty special.”
5) BEHEMOTH
In his ‘Dome debut back on Dec. 20 in a pre-season contest, Tyler Digby showed the fans his scoring touch by netting five goals against the Stealth. Against the Swarm on Saturday, the big man did it again adding two big goals during the Roughnecks’ third-quarter outburst and capped off his big night with the game-tying goal late in the fourth quarter. With a five-goal night, Digby now has 11 goals and eight assists on the season.
