Good Guys Prevail On Roughnecks Rodeo Night

By: Laurence Heinen – 20.04.24

Can we get a Yahoo for Tyler Pace and the Roughnecks?

Pace had a hat trick, including the game-winning goal with 92 seconds left in the game, to lead the Riggers to a thrilling 11-9 win over Panther City Lacrosse Club on WestJet Field in front of 14,424 fans in attendance at the Scotiabank Saddledome for the Roughnecks Rodeo.

Pace also had two assists to finish the game with five points, while captain Jesse King notched two goals to go with six helpers. Thanks to his eight-point outing, King finished the 2023-24 NLL campaign with a new career-high of 105 points on 32 goals and 73 assists.

Tanner Cook had two goals and three assists during the win, while Logan Schuss scored his first two goals as a Roughneck and set up one other.

Goalie Christian Del Bianco finished the game with 39 saves and added an assist for good measure.

The Riggers jumped out to a quick 1-0 lead 29 seconds into the game when Pace took a pass from King and fired a shot into the top corner over Panther City goalie Nick Damude’s left shoulder.

Panther City answered back with the next two goals before Josh Currier scored with 14.5 seconds left on the clock in the first quarter to pull the ’Necks into a 2-2 tie.

Not much went right for the Riggers in the second quarter as they were outscored by a 4-1 margin as Cook was the lone Calgary player to find the back of the net.

After the intermission break, the ’Necks bounced back in a big way with three goals in the third.

After King scored at the 47-second mark, Schuss counted his first goal as a Roughneck at 5:03.

King then notched his second of the quarter at 8:50 to give him 101 points on the season, which surpassed his career high of 100 that he set last season.

Dickson continued Calgary’s rally by scoring 36 seconds into the fourth quarter to give the Riggers an 8-7 lead.

After the visitors scored two quick ones to get back on even footing, Pace drove hard to the net and took a pass from King before depositing a quick shot into the top corner to tie things up once again.

The same scoring tandem hooked up once again for the game-winning goal as Pace fired a quick-stick shot past Damude to get the fans on their feet.

Cook added an insurance marker with just 11.2 seconds remaining on the clock shortly before the players saluted the crowd for their support despite the fact the Roughnecks finished with an 8-10 record to leave them out of the playoff picture.

 

COACH’S COMMENT:

“We just weren’t playing our game in the first half. And then in the second half, I thought we found some more emotion and obviously played with way more discipline and our D and goaltending really locked in. I was just really really happy with the second half.”

“I think they already know there’s going to be a bit of change moving forward. It’s just about how hard we play. It’s not about re-inventing the wheel. We just have to get better in some areas. Tons of those guys are going to be back.”

 

STAT PACK:

Jesse King: 2g, 6a

Tyler Pace: 3g, 2a

Tanner Cook 2g, 2a

Logan Schuss 2g, 3a

Haiden Dickson 1g, 1a

Josh Currier 1g

Zach Currier 2a, 10 loose balls (played in his 100^th career NLL game, all with Calgary)

Christian Del Bianco 39 saves, 1a

 

SAY WHAT:

“We’ve got the group of guys in the room to make stuff happen. We’ve got the fans’ support to bring the energy to every game that we play here. We didn’t make the playoffs this year and when that happens in professional sports, changes are made, so it’s tough. Tonight’s sort of the last hoo-rah with this group of guys, most likely, so we’re going to have a good time.” – Tyler Pace

“It’s nice. A bunch of us got our cowboy hats too. The western theme, I think that’s Calgary-esque. To do it when everybody’s dressing up. The yahoos, the celebrations after goals, the little song and dance that they do in the crowd, it’s all exciting stuff that keeps us fired up. It’s just fun to play here.” – Pace in regards to Roughnecks Rodeo night

“It was super exciting. The fans were juiced up. The western theme was a great idea. It’s a little fun for our guys not to have to wear a suit and tie and dress up (in western wear). It was loud in there. I’m so grateful for the Roughneck fans who come out. I’m already looking forward to next year.”