CALGARY ROUGHNECKS (4-9) vs. NEW ENGLAND BLACK WOLVES (6-6)
WHEN: Saturday, March 25 at 7:00 p.m. MT
WHERE: Scotiabank Saddledome
TV/RADIO: NLLTV.com
SERIES: N/A
LAST MEETING: N/A
Last weekend, the Roughnecks witnessed Colin Doyle have his name raised to the roof of the Air Canada Centre. This Saturday, they will be present for former captain, Tracey Kelusky’s ‘Forever A Roughneck’ ceremony.
After watching Kelusky’s name being raised to the rafters, they will have to go toe-to-toe with his New England Black Wolves, which features a couple familiar faces in Shawn Evans, Daryl Veltman and Reilly O’Connor.
The Black Wolves have won three straight games heading into Saturday’s contest and will be going up against a desperate Roughnecks squad that has lost their last two by big margins. Calgary will be looking to dash New England’s hopes of extending that winning streak with an important victory at home.
QUOTABLES:
Curt Malawsky on Dane Dobbie: “Poulin made a couple nice saves on him in tight – particularly late in the third quarter off a rebound he made a real nice arm save. Dobbes is an old-school warrior. He was doing everything he can. Their adjustment was ramping up the pressure.”
Wes Berg on the difference: “The big difference was loose balls and second possessions that we got last game and that we didn’t get (on Friday). They did a good job getting a lot of resets and getting the ball back and offensively we didn’t get that. We didn’t play as fast or move the ball as well as we did last time we played them and it showed on the scoreboard.”
Curt Malawsky on Frank Scigliano: “I thought Frankie was exceptional late in the game. He got better as the game went on. There’s no quit in that team. There’s a lot of fighters, a lot of warriors and a lot of proud guys. It’s tough times for us right now, but we’ve just got to stay positive and just keep trying to move forward.”
Greg Harnett on double header: “We’ve got to prepare to go to war here. We’re in desperation mode. We need to start getting some wins. It’s going to be tough, we already know that. I know the guys are going to be willing to do whatever it takes to win. It’s going to be a battle and at the end of that game, we’re going to know as a team that we went out and got together and battled to get those two points. Saturday, it’s not going to be an easy one either. New England is a really good team. Both games we’re just going to give it our all and leave it all on the floor.”
STATISTICS:
ROUGHNECKS
BLACK WOLVES
Leading Scorer
Curtis Dickson, 36g, 37a
Shawn Evans, 25g, 45a
Leading Goaltender
Frank Scigliano, .752 SV%, 12.88 GAA
Evan Kirk, .776 SV%, 12.11 GAA
Powerplay
40/73, 54.79%
17/44, 38.64%
Penalty Kill
34/70, 51.43%
32/69, 53.62%
KEY PLAYERS TO WATCH:
CGY – Tyler Digby
Acquired in the Shawn Evans trade, Digby has been an effective member of the Roughnecks offence, scoring 51 goals in 31 games with the Riggers. The behemoth in the middle has had a tendency to alternate low-scoring affairs with big games. After being held pointless in Georgia, Digby will be motivated to get on the board in a big way to help his team get back into the win column.
NE – Shawn Evans
A former Calgary Roughneck and two-time MVP, Evans should be welcomed back to the Rough House with open arms. Although, most fans are hoping he doesn’t have a big game like he used to when he donned the Riggers red and black. So far in 2017, Evans has been dominant, scoring 70 points (25g, 45a) in just 11 games. Expect the Roughnecks defence to have their eye on the ever-dangerous Black Wolves captain.
KEY TO THE GAME:
Find a way to slow down the talented Black Wolves offence. Evans quarterbacks the whole operation, but he’s surrounded with a lot of talent. The 6-foot-4 Kevin Crowley works with Evans in the two-man game, while Kevin and Kyle Buchanan wreak havoc with their work off-ball and finding lanes. Mix in wily veteran Chad Culp and sophomore Reilly O’Connor, you’ve got a very talented unit that will make a defence work for every stop.
