VS GEORGIA: Tonight marks the second and final regular season meeting between Calgary and Georgia. The Roughnecks enter the contest with the advantage following last month’s 12-11 win at the ’Dome. Curtis Dickson (4g, 2a) leads the Roughnecks with six points against the Swarm while Tyler Digby (5g) and Jeff Shattler (5a) are next with five points each. Rookie Randy Staats (2g, 4a) tops Georgia with six points against Calgary followed by fellow rookie Jesse King (1g, 4a) with five points in the series.
HEAD-TO-HEAD: 2016 REGULAR SEASON
Category Roughnecks (5-7) Swarm (4-7)
Home Record 3-4 1-3
Away Record 2-3 3-4
Goals For 133 137
Goals Against 138 149
Power Play Pct. 49.15 41.82
Penalty Kill Pct. 53.97 45.10
Faceoffs Won-Taken 136-323 (42.1%) 156-330 (47.3%)
Loose Balls 796 764
Points Leader – Series Dickson (6) Staats (6)
Points Leader – Season Dickson (67) Powless (48), Staats (48)
HEAD-TO-HEAD: 2015 REGULAR SEASON
Category Roughnecks (7-11) Swarm (6-12)
Home Record 4-5 3-6
Away Record 3-6 3-6
Goals For 212 185
Goals Against 217 226
Power Play Pct. 55.29 28.75
Penalty Kill Pct. 64.36 51.28
Faceoffs Won-Taken 302-495 (61.0%) 203-482 (42.1%)
Loose Balls 1,066 1,249
Points Leader – Series Evans (6) Shayne (4)
Points Leader – Season Evans (130) Shayne (78)
SERIES RECAP
• Feb. 6/16 at CGY: CGY 12 GA 11 … Greg Harnett scored the game winner with under three minutes remaining in regulation.
INSIDE THE SERIES
• Shots on Goal: CGY 52 GA 55
• Power Plays: CGY 1-4 (25.0%) GA 2-4 (50.0%)
REGULAR SEASON RECORDS
• All-Time: 12-5
• All-Time in CGY: 7-3
• All-Time in GA: 5-2
• Last CGY Win: Feb. 6/16, 12-11 at the Scotiabank Saddledome
• Last GA Win: Mar. 3/12, 15-11 at the Scotiabank Saddledome
BACK-TO-BACK: Heading into this doubleheader weekend, the Roughnecks have played back-to-back games on 32 previous occasions with a record of 39-25 over that span. The most back-to-back sets Calgary has played in a single season is five when the 2006 schedule saw the Roughnecks play Jan. 20-21, Jan. 27-28, Feb. 17-18, Mar. 17-18 and Apr. 14-15. Of those 10 games, seven were played on the road.
WITHIN REACH: With a team-leading 38 goals on the season, Curtis Dickson sits 10 goals back of his career high which he set last year. The franchise record for most goals in a single season is 51, set by Dane Dobbie in 2014.
LOOKING BACK: The Roughnecks were 3-9 when entering Game 13 last season.
TURN ON THE RED LIGHT: Karsen Leung is riding a career-high five-game scoring streak. The 25-year-old forward has netted seven goals during this span, including recording his first career NLL hat-trick on Mar. 11 in 15-10 win at Toronto.
WELCOME BACK: Since returning to the lineup after a four-game absence with an upper-body injury, Dane Dobbie has contributed with three goals and five assists over two games. He sits fifth in team scoring with 16 goals and 38 points in eight games.
GET SHORTY: The Roughnecks are in a three-way tie with Colorado and Saskatchewan for most shorthanded goals at 10. Of the 10 markers, Curtis Dickson has netted five and sits one shorthanded tally back of matching his career high set in 2013.
IT’S TRICKY: Curtis Dickson’s sock-trick on Mar. 11 in Toronto marked his second career six-goal effort. The most goals the 27-year-old forward has scored in a single game is seven which he has twice achieved (Feb. 21, 2015 and Apr. 19, 2014).
ROUGHNECKS VS: (BUF 0-1) (COL 1-1) (GA 1-0) (NE 1-0) (ROC 0-1) (SAS 0-3) (TOR 1-0) (VAN 1-1)
NAIL-BITERS: Six of Calgary’s 12 games played have been decided by one goal with the Roughnecks winning two and losing four one-goal decisions. Calgary is 1-1 in two-goal games and 1-0 in four-goal contests. In games decided by five or more goals, the Roughnecks are 1-2.
GOING THE DISTANCE: The Roughnecks went into extra time in three straight games from Feb. 20 – Mar. 5, matching a single-season league record for most consecutive overtime games. The last team to record three-straight overtime contests was Washington in 2011. The single-season NLL record for most overtime games is five, twice set by Arizona (2005) and Washington (2011). The most OT contests the Roughnecks have played in a single season is four, first set in 2004 then duplicated in 2015.
RECORD WHEN:
Leading entering second half.….. 2-3 Outshooting opponent.….. 3-2
Trailing entering second half.…… 2-2 Outshot………………………2-5
Tied entering second half……..… 1-2 Shots are tied………………0-0
WHAT’S LEFT: After tonight, Calgary has five regular season games remaining with four against divisional rivals in Colorado (Mar. 26), Saskatchewan (Apr. 2) and Vancouver (Apr. 9 and Apr. 16). The Roughnecks wrap up the regular season at home on Apr. 30 against Toronto.
CLIMBING THE CHARTS: Last Saturday against Colorado, Curtis Dickson recorded eight points (3g, 5a) to surpass 400 career NLL points. With 402 points in 96 career games, Dickson is averaging just over four points per game and sits six points back of Scott Ranger for seventh on the club’s all-time scoring list.
POULIN WALL: Last weekend, goaltender Mike Poulin picked up his second straight win, making 48 saves in a 13-9 victory over Colorado. It was the second time this season the 30-year-old netminder turned in a 48-save effort, three saves shy of his best single-game record of 51, set during the 2011 season. On Mar. 5, he eclipsed 3,000 career saves. Poulin now has 3,118 saves over his 10-year NLL career and is Calgary’s all-time saves leader (2,855). Originally selected by the Buffalo Bandits in the second round, 21st overall, in the 2005 NLL Draft, he began his career in Toronto in 2007. He spent two seasons with the Rock before joining Boston then Calgary. In 2012, Poulin was named the NLL Goaltender of the Year.
TOP 10: Curtis Dickson’s 38 goals rank second in the league and his 67 points sit third. Of his 38 goals, 10 have come on the power play (tied for second among all players) while his five shorthanded markers top all players. Greg Harnett and Dickson are in an eight-way tie for fourth in the league with two game-winning goals each. Karsen Leung and Mike Carnegie are tied for the team lead with 20 caused turnovers, fourth-best in the NLL. Dan MacRae is tied for second among the league’s defenders with 13 points (3g, 10a) on the season. Mike Poulin leads all NLL goaltenders with a 10.09 goals-against average and .803 save percentage. Fellow netminder Frankie Scigliano sits ninth in the league with a 12.54 goals-against average and .752 save percentage.
ROOKIE MADNESS: Tonight’s match-up features six of the first seven 2015 draft picks. The Roughnecks have four rookies on their active roster in forwards Wesley Berg (fourth overall, 2015) and Reilly O’Connor (seventh overall, 2015) and defencemen Tyson Bell (24th overall, 2015) and Kellen LeClair (25th overall, 2015). For Georgia, five rookies are on their 20-player squad in forwards Lyle Thompson, the 2015 first overall selection, Jesse King (third overall, 2015) and Randy Staats (sixth overall, 2015), transition player Chad Tutton (fifth overall, 2015) and defenceman Reid Acton (21st overall, 2013). Berg leads Calgary’s rookies with 44 points (15g, 29a) while Staats is tied for Georgia’s team-lead with 48 points (22g, 26a).
