CALGARY ROUGHNECKS (4-6) vs. TORONTO ROCK (5-4)
WHEN: Saturday, March 11 at 5:30 p.m. MT
WHERE: Air Canada Centre (Toronto)
TV/RADIO: NLLTV.com
SERIES: Toronto leads 1-0
LAST MEETING: Toronto won, 11-7, in Calgary on Feb. 12
It’s time for a little revenge.
Or attest that’s what the Roughnecks are hoping to dish out after having scored just seven goals against the Toronto Rock in their last meeting.
Toronto has lost three of their last four games and are coming off of two-straight losses, including a 10-9 overtime loss to the New England Black Wolves last weekend. Meanwhile, the Roughnecks are on the heels of their best performance of the season, dropping the Georgia Swarm 18-11.
Calgary has reinforcements coming, as well. Defenders Greg Harnett (Suspension) and Mitch Wilde (Injury) will be returning to the active roster, giving the Riggers back-end a major boost. Harnett hasn’t seen action since the Roughnecks 15-11 loss to the Saskatchewan Rush. Wilde made his Calgary debut in Saskatoon on Feb. 25, making his presence known, playing strong defence and recording a pair of assists.
QUOTABLES:
On their last match-up: “We came out, a Sunday game, I think we came out with a lacklustre effort,” admitted forward Wesley Berg. “Besides that Colorado game, that was our worst performance since I’ve been on the team. I think we were really frustrated in the way that we played. Nothing from a tactical aspect that we need to do, we just need to do what we normally do on offence, and that’s move the ball and our feet on offence.”
On scoring 18 goals: “Definitely. I think that kind of performance, when everyone’s scoring and getting a chance to touch the ball, it gets a good flow in the offence and that kind of cohesion is great,” said Berg. “It’s something we want to build on and use for the rest of the season.”
On the importance of winning this weekend: “You never want to drop games to them and every game is important for us,” Berg said. It’s going to be a tight race for the playoffs. It’s just important that we get the win.”
STATISTICS:
ROUGHNECKS
ROCK
Leading Scorer
Curtis Dickson, 30g, 28a
Tom Schreiber, 13g, 32a
Leading Goaltender
Frank Scigliano, .748 SV%, 11.90 GAA
Nick Rose, .796 SV%, 9.39 GAA
Powerplay
25/48, 52.08%
20/48, 41.67%
Penalty Kill
23/47, 51.06%
20/37, 45.95%
KEY PLAYERS TO WATCH:
CGY – Curtis Dickson
It’s hard to miss Curtis Dickson when he’s on the floor as he tends to do something special. Case in point, when Toronto was in Calgary on Feb. 12, Dickson went behind his back and under-handed to beat Nick Rose over the leg. That was just one of his five goals that night. Going back even further, when Dickson was in Toronto in 2016, he battled through multiple defenders before throwing a bouncer top-shelf between his legs. With his track record of scoring incredible goals against Rose, you’ll want to keep an eye on Superman.
TOR – The Americans
With jobs available on the Rock offence, they signed a pair of Americans, hoping they could provide a boost. And boy did they get more than they bargained for. Righty Tom Schreiber (13g, 32a) has been almost MVP worthy so far and lefty Keiran McArdle has been a fantastic piece in the Toronto offence. The two combined for five goals and nine points the last time the teams squared off, so keep on eye on this talented duo.
KEYS TO THE GAME:
After scoring just seven goals against Nick Rose and the stout Toronto defence, the key to success for the Roughnecks is finding a way to create offence. If they can move the ball as well as they did against the Swarm, they should be able to find some open space and get Rose on the move, which should create better scoring chances for the Riggers. Look for Calgary to continue their shooting ways as they have put 50 plus shots on net in each of their last two games.
