DIGBY AND HARNETT’S CLUTCH 4th QUARTER GOALS GUIDE ROUGHNECKS PAST SWARM 2/6/16
By: Tim Moony, NLL Correspondent & Editor
The Georgia Swarm (3-3) and Calgary Roughnecks (3-3) looked to continue what used to be their divisional contention Saturday night in an NLL week 6 match-up at Scotiabank Saddledome in Calgary. Despite a second-quarter run from the Swarm, followed by a third quarter run from the Roughnecks, some late fourth quarter heroics from Tyler Digby and Greg Harnett would prove to be the difference, as the Calgary Roughnecks would outlast the Georgia Swarm, with a final score of Calgary 12 – Georgia 11.
It would only take 24 seconds into the first quarter for Calgary’s Curtis Dickson to enter the scorebook, with the game’s first goal, with assistance from Jeff Shattler and Wes Berg. Over five minutes would pass, before Georgia’s NLL Rookie of the Month, Randy Staats, would even the score for the Swarm, on a goal assisted by Kiel Matisz. The Swarm would also score the next two goals, by Johnny Powless, on a power play, fed by Staats and Lyle Thompson, a minute after Staats’ equalizer, from a tripping penalty on Calgary’s Bob Snider. Nearly a minute after that, Shayne Jackson of the Swarm would add to the early lead for Georgia by beating Calgary starting goalie Frankie Scigliano, from assists by Jesse King and Matisz, just past the midpoint of the first quarter. Almost a minute later, Tyler Digby would respond for the Roughnecks, with a goal past Georgia goalie Brodie MacDonald, with assistance by Dickson and Berg. Digby’s goal was on a power play, when Georgia’s Jason Noble was charged with checking from behind. At the end of the first quarter, Georgia enjoyed a 3-2 advantage.
The Swarm would score five of the second quarter’s six goals, including a run of four goals in a row, to begin the second quarter. Nearly two minutes in to the second stanza, Shayne Jackson beat Scigliano off feeds from King and Staats. At the 3:17 mark, Chad Tutton would also score, from an assist by Drew Petkoff. Forty-five seconds after that, Georgia’s Mitch Belisle would add a power play goal from another King assist just over four minutes in to the second. Scott Carnegie for the Roughnecks was charged with a delay of game penalty. And Shayne Jackson would finish the second quarter Georgia scoring run with a goal from feeds by Johnny Powless and Lyle Thompson, at the 7:17 mark. At that point, starting net-minder Frankie Scigliano was replaced by backup goalie Mike Poulin. Over five minutes later, Calgary’s Tyler Digby would end the Georgia scoring run with a goal, from a feed by Reilly O’Connor. A minute later, King would finish the first half scoring, with a goal for the Swarm, past Poulin, from an assist by Staats, with just over a minute to play before the halftime break. The Swarm would outscore the Roughnecks 5-1 in the second, to give them a halftime lead of 8-3.
The Roughnecks would respond in the third quarter, with six of the eight total goals in the third. Less than two minutes in, the Swarm would start the scoring, with a Kiel Matisz goal, from assists by Miles Thompson and Randy Staats. Even though over five minutes would transpire, the next three goals of the game would be scored by the Roughnecks. It was Curtis Dickson from Jeff Shattler, at the 7:03 mark, followed by a Dane Dobbie goal, off a feed by Dan MacRae, 45 seconds later. Twenty seconds after that, Digby would score, off helpers from Dickson and Jeff Shattler, just past the midway point in the third. The Swarm would end the three-goal-run, with a Johnny Powless goal, assisted by Shayne Jackson, nearly 45 seconds after that. Dickson, MacRae, and Digby would score the next three for Calgary, to finish out the third quarter, with another run of three Roughnecks goals. At the end of three quarters, the Swarm would remain ahead by a score of 10-9.
The Roughnecks would be able to score three of the game’s final four goals, which would key them to victory. One minute in to the final quarter, Dickson would score an unassisted goal past MacDonald. The final goal for the Swarm, and their only one of the fourth quarter, would come from Staats, off assists by King and Miles Thompson, nearly five minutes in to the quarter. Over six minutes of scoreless up-and-down action would follow, before Digby would even the score at 11 apiece, with assists from Jeff Shattler and Dane Dobbie, with less than four minutes left to play. And at the 12:04 mark in the final quarter, Greg Harnett of the Roughnecks would score an unassisted goal, to put the Roughnecks ahead 12-11, a narrow lead they would not squander.
A big key to the Calgary victory was that they won two-thirds of the 27 total face-offs. They also won 13 more loose balls than the Swarm, 77-64, respectively. 9,531 fans came out to Langley Events Center, to see a great matchup against two teams in their own divisional hunts. The third star of the game was the Swarm’s Shayne Jackson, with three goals and one assist. The game’s number-two star was Tyler Digby of the Roughnecks, with five goals, including the game-tying goal in the fourth quarter. And the game’s number-one star was Curtis Dickson of the Roughnecks, with four goals and two assists, for six points. The Roughnecks host the Colorado Mammoth next at 9 pm on February 13, and the Swarm hosts the Buffalo Bandits at 2:05 EST on February 14.
Tim Moony, NLL Beat Writer and Editor
LACROSSE IS AWESOME