By: Riley Pollock – 18.02.24
SETTIN’ IT UP
The East Coast comes back to Calgary.
The Roughnecks host the Halifax Thunderbirds Sunday at 5 p.m. for the East Coast Kitchen Party TICKETS.
Last weekend the Riggers (3-5) handed the Toronto Rock their second loss of the season with an 11-10 win. The ‘Necks had five transition goals in the victory.
Halifax (6-3) comes into this one having played Friday night against Buffalo at home. They battled back to beat the Bandits 14-12 led by nine points each from Austin Shanks and Clarke Petterson.
Josh Currier will suit up in his 100th career NLL game on Sunday, Jesse King needs six goals for 150 in his career, while Tyler Pace needs two for 100.
This is the one and only matchup between these two in the regular season. Last time they met, it was the Roughnecks picking up a 12-11 OT victory in Halifax on Feb. 4 last season. Calgary would go on to win six of their next seven after the win.
Players To Watch
Roughnecks: Christian Del Bianco G: The reigning MVP is once again proving that he’s one of the top goalies in the league. He is averaging 9.3 goals against in his last three starts and leads the league with seven assists.
Thunderbirds: Jake Withers D/T: Withers is one of the premiere faceoff players in the NLL. He has 163 loose balls, 10 points, and is over 75% in the dot this season.
2023-24 Scoring Leaders:
Roughnecks:
Jesse King – 49 points (14g, 35a)
Tyler Pace – 37 points (11g, 26a)
Tanner Cook – 32 points (11g, 21a)
Haiden Dickson – 23 points (17g, 6a)
Thunderbirds:
Clarke Petterson – 51 points (21g, 30a)
Ryan Benesch – 43 points (26g, 17a)
Austin Shanks – 43 points (10g, 33a)
Goaltending 2023-24 Head-to-Head:
Christian Del Bianco: 3-5
GAA: 10.75
SV %: .792
Warren Hill: 5-3
GAA: 11.30
SV %: .755
