CALGARY, AB – When it rains, it pours — or so it would seem — for the Calgary Roughnecks.
The Roughnecks return home from a visit with the Vancouver Stealth soaked in disappointment as they have failed to register a win in their first six games of the season.
“I thought Vancouver played as close to a complete game as you can,” coach Curt Malawsky said. “They had three 5-on-5 goals, three power play goals, two 6-on-5 goals, three goals in transition, one empty netter, one off the draw, and their goalie was 80%. That’s a pretty good recipe for success in the NLL. Kudos to them Saturday night, they played well.”
This does not mean, however, that they plan to quit anytime soon.
The team is a veteran group that will continue to battle and try to find ways to get that first win. They have a whole-hearted believe that there is still a chance that they can climb back into a playoff spot.
“What do you think the answer to that would be? Of course there’s a belief,” Malawsky said. “We’ve got guys that are battling, we’ve got a lot of character in that room. What, do you expect us to roll over and die? No, we’re going to go out and battle. We’re going to continue to battle.
“This is an 18 game season and we’re six games in. So like I said, we’re not having a pity party about the last six games that we played. We’re going to focus on the next 12 that we’ve got to go. Starting Saturday night against a really good lacrosse team.”
In the midst of a 0-6 start, Calgary realizes that there are things in their game that need to be improved and that there is a long road ahead.
However, the Roughnecks have not lost their will to fight.
“There are some things that we are going to work on,” Malawsky said. “But our compete level has been great. Sometimes you get in the doldrums there and you’re losing games and you just end up just playing. Our guys aren’t just playing, they’re still competing. That’s the big thing. There’s still a lot of fire there.”
Vancouver is coming off of an impressive 13-9 win over the Roughnecks and will try to bring that success with them Calgary.
They know that this Roughnecks team remains hungry for a win and will be bringing lots of intensity to the game.
“We’re going to have our hands full,” coach Dan Perrault said. “Calgary has a job to do and so do we.
“Our goal is to put another win in the win column.”
Added Stealth forward Joel McCready: “It’s a huge game, a huge rivalry we’re building here. The guys are just exciting to get going. It’s a good feeling right now, there’s a lot of hunger in the room. When we get together, there’s one common goal. We’re just taking it one weekend at a time. This will be a big one against a western rival in Calgary.”
A victory Saturday for the Stealth would tie the number of wins they earned in 2014. It would also be a big step in securing a playoff spot for 2015. They are a young team trying to prove to the league that they are not one to be taken lightly.
With 0-7 looming, the Roughnecks know that this is once again a must-win game.
“We’re going to be ready to go and we’re going to be here to play,” Geoff Snider said.
“There’s no one around the NLL feeling sorry for the Roughnecks and nor are the 24 guys we got feeling sorry for themselves,” Malawsky said. “We’re going to continue to prepare, continue to battle, and continue to do things the right way. Hopefully we get some honest results out of our honest efforts.
“We’re going to continue to fight and battle and do whatever it takes to get over the hump.”
