VS VANCOUVER: Tonight the Calgary Roughnecks (1-2) host the Vancouver Stealth (1-2) at the Scotiabank Saddledome, marking the first of four meetings between the clubs this season. The Stealth are coming off of a disappointing performance in Week 4 that saw them fall 14-5 to the Colorado Mammoth. Meanwhile, the Roughnecks are coming off of a bye week following their first win of the 2016 campaign, a 9-8 win over the New England Black Wolves at Mohegan Sun Arena on Jan. 15. Jeff Shattler led all forwards with five points (3g, 2a) in the win while Curtis Dickson (2g, 1a), Dane Dobbie (1g, 2a), Wesley Berg (1g, 2a) and Tyler Digby (1g, 1a) added strong performances. Frankie Scigliano picked up the win, making 35 saves on 43 shots.
FAMILIAR FACES: In the off-season, Roughnecks free-agents Jeff Moleski and Travis Cornwall signed with Vancouver. The two former ’Necks returned to the ’Dome on December 20 as members of the Stealth for the Calgary’s Holiday Showcase pre-season game. In 2015, Moleski played 14 regular season games with the Roughnecks, registering nine points (1g, 8a) and scooping up 61 loose balls. In five games last season, Cornwall recorded four assists and 17 loose balls for Calgary. New Roughneck Tyler Digby will face his former team for the first time in regular season play this evening. He squared off against the Stealth back in December’s exhibition contest where he tallied five goals.
STATS COMPARISON: 2016 REGULAR SEASON
Category
Calgary (1-2)
Vancouver (1-2)
Home Record
0-1
0-2
Away Record
1-1
1-0
Goals For
26
25
Goals Against
28
42
Power Play Pct.
57.89
53.85
Penalty Kill Pct.
66.67
50.00
Faceoffs Won-Taken
23-44 (52.3%)
42-79 (53.2%)
Loose Balls
192
195
Points Leader – Series
—
—
Points Leader – Season
Dane Dobbie (14)
Rhys Duch (12)
STATS COMPARISON: 2015 REGULAR SEASON
Category
Calgary (7-11)
Vancouver (5-13)
Home Record
4-5
3-6
Away Record
3-6
2-7
Goals For
212
211
Goals Against
217
265
Power Play Pct.
55.29
44.12
Penalty Kill Pct.
64.36
44.68
Faceoffs Won-Taken
302-495 (61.0%)
269-544 (49.4%)
Loose Balls
1,066
1,003
Points Leader – Series
Shawn Evans (26)
Rhys Duch (31)
Points Leader – Season
Shawn Evans (130)
Rhys Duch (103)
ALL-TIME REGULAR SEASON SERIES: VS. VANCOUVER
All-Time: 22-15
All-Time in CGY: 7-10
All-Time in VAN: 15-5
Last CGY Win:
May 2/15, 14-13 at Langley Events Centre
Last VAN Win:
Feb. 14/15, 13-9 at the ’Dome
FAREWELL, SNIDER: On Jan. 12, Roughnecks transition player Geoff Snider announced his retirement from the NLL. Snider spent four seasons with the Philadelphia Wings (2007-10) before joining his hometown Roughnecks for five seasons (2011-15). The right-handed draw man finishes his career as the most prolific faceoff ace in NLL history with 2,468 regular season faceoff wins. The two-time NLL All-Star MVP (2008 & 2012) leaves Calgary as the franchise leader in regular season faceoff wins (1,394), playoff faceoff wins (180), regular season loose balls (968) and playoff loose balls (124). Named to five NLL All-Star games (2007, 2008, 2009, 2011 & 2012), the NLL All-Rookie team (2007) and NLL All-Pro second team (2008), Snider holds three single-game league records: quickest goal to start a game (0:05) set on Jan. 26, 2008, most loose balls (32) achieved on Apr. 12, 2008, and most caused turnovers (9) recorded on Jan. 19, 2013.
RECORD BOOK: On Jan. 9 in Buffalo, Dane Dobbie became the franchise’s all-time goal-scoring leader (275) after netting two goals, 1:07 apart, to pass the mark of 274 previously held by Kaleb Toth. Toth, who spent 11 of his 13 NLL seasons with Calgary, retired in December 2012. Dobbie, now in his ninth NLL season with the Roughnecks, leads the team with 14 points (six goals, eight assists) through three games played. He finished the 2015 campaign in the top-3 in team scoring with 36 goals and 31 assists for 67 points. Dobbie was selected by Calgary in the first round, fourth overall, in the 2007 NLL Draft.
WELCOME TO THE NLL: On Jan. 7, Nick Sakiewicz (Suh‐KEV‐itch) was appointed NLL Commissioner. Sakiewicz brings over two decades of experience working in Major League Soccer, most recently serving as co-founding partner and CEO of Keystone Sports and Entertainment, the ownership entity of the Philadelphia Union of MLS. Sakiewicz takes over for former NLL Commissioner George Daniel, who had served in the role since 2009 before announcing in November that was he stepping down to start a new law firm while remaining as Counsel to the league.
LETTER GAME: In December, the Roughnecks named Mike Carnegie the fourth captain in franchise history. Joining Carnegie on the 2016 leadership team is Dane Dobbie, returning as alternate captain for the third consecutive season, and newly appointed alternate captains Greg Harnett, Karsen Leung and Dan MacRae. The alternate captain duties will see Dobbie and Leung wear an ‘A’ at home with Harnett and MacRae both wearing an ‘A’ when on the road. Carnegie, a nine-year NLL veteran from London, Ontario, has spent his entire playing career with the Roughnecks after joining the club as free agent for the 2008 season. The 31-year-old defender, who wore an ‘A’ from 2011-15, has recorded 56 points (18 goals, 38 assists) and 503 loose balls in 128 regular season games and was a member of the 2009 championship team. Carnegie succeeds Bruce Alexander (2002), Tracey Kelusky (2003-10) and Andrew McBride (2011-15) as team captain.
BRIDER RETIRES: In October, the longest-serving Roughneck Andrew Bride announced his retirement from the National Lacrosse League. A native of Ladner, British Columbia, McBride finished his 13-year NLL career as the franchise leader in regular season games played (198), playoff games played (29), regular season penalty minutes (387) and playoff penalty minutes (40). He was selected by Calgary in the second round, 14th overall, in the 2002 NLL Draft and led the team as captain for five seasons (2011-15). He recorded 87 career points (19 goals, 68 assists) and 711 career loose balls over his more than a decade-long tenure with the Roughnecks. The two-time NLL Champion (2004 & 2009) and two-time NLL All-Star (2008 & 2011) played at least one game in 13 consecutive playoff seasons, collecting 16 points (three goals, 13 assists) and 96 loose balls over that span. Most recently, McBride competed at the 2015 FIL World Indoor Lacrosse Championship with Team Ireland.
HALL OF FAME HONOURS: Roughnecks head coach and assistant general manager Curt Malawsky was one of 10 new members along with the 1981-83 Peterborough James Gang Lacrosse team inducted into the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame for 2015. Malawsky, now in his seventh season behind the Roughnecks bench, joined the Calgary club as an associate coach and assistant general manager during the summer of 2009. Prior to taking on a coaching role, Malawsky played two of his 12 NLL seasons in Calgary (2008-09), recording 46 goals and 88 points over that span. In 2009, Malawsky won his first Champion’s Cup as a member of the Roughnecks.
TRADE WINDS: Oct.26 – Acquired forward Tyler Digby, a first-round pick in the 2018 NLL Draft and a first-round selection in 2019 from the New England Black Wolves in exchange for forward Shawn Evans and a 2018 third-round pick; Dec. 28 – Acquired transition player Brandon Goodwin from the Buffalo Bandits in exchange for defenceman Mitch de Snoo.
HOW THE ROUGHNECKS WERE BUILT (20):
NLL Draft (13): Bell*, Berg*, Del Bianco*, Dickson, Dobbie, Greg Harnett, LeClair*, Leung, MacRae, Manning, McIntosh, O’Connor*, Scigliano
Trade (4): Digby, Jon Harnett, Poulin, Shattler
Free Agent (3): Mike Carnegie, Scott Carnegie, Snider
