Marcelo A. Sagüez, Beat Writer Calgary Roughnecks
Lacrosse is Awesome
On Saturday, April 14 the Buffalo Bandits (8-8) visited the Saddledome in Calgary for the Calgary Roughnecks (7-9) last home game of the regular season. The game was fan appreciation night and a benefit night for the Humboldt Broncos hockey team, who were involved in a tragic bus accident just a week ago. To show their support for the community, both teams gathered at the center circle for a moment of silence, and the 50/50 raffle was donated to the families involved. The 17,113 fans in attendance watched the Roughnecks put out maximum effort even though their playoff spot is already secured. The Bandits fought for the first half but dug a huge hole in the third where they couldn’t score a goal. They wouldn’t be able to recover in the fourth. With all three playoff spots still up for grabs in the East Division, the loss was not what the Bandits needed headed into the last few games of the season. Final Score: Buffalo-9, Calgary-16.
The Roughnecks came out of the gates looking like a team that wanted to dominate the game. Riley Loewen (1G, 1A) struck first 3:36 into the game on an assist from Dane Dobbie (3G, 4A) giving the home team the early lead. Buffalo answered with two straight goals. Jordan Durston (2G, 1A) scored 59 seconds after Loewen and three and a half minutes later, Shawn Evans (1G, 1A) gave Buffalo the lead on the power play. Both teams exchanged goals for the remainder of the quarter. Holden Cattoni (5G, 2A) answered for Calgary with 5:46 remaining, but Durston answered just over a minute later with an unassisted transition goal. On the next Calgary possession, Cattoni scored again to tie the game at three, but Mitch Jones (2G, 2A) scored 30 seconds later to give the lead back to Buffalo. At the end of the first quarter, Buffalo led Calgary 4-3.
Calgary ended the back and forth to start the second, going on a three-goal run over the first 8:39. Dobbie scored the first goal just 41 seconds in. Greg Harnett (1G) gave Calgary the lead 5-4 with a highlight behind the back goal 5:13 in. Curtis Dickson (2G, 4A) who had been drawing double and triple teams all night, finally found an opening and scored a shorthanded goal to make the run three and give Calgary a two-goal lead. Immediately after, Buffalo capitalized on the power play when Vaughn Harris (2G) scored the unassisted goal. With another power play opportunity just about two minutes later, Dhane Smith (1G, 3A) tied the game with his only goal of the night. Buffalo, fighting like their playoff hopes depended on it, took the lead as Mitch de Snoo (1G, 1A) scored in transition with 33 seconds left in the half. Buffalo had answered Calgary’s three-goal run with one of their own. Off the ensuing faceoff, Calgary gathered the ball and held for the last shot. Dobbie was able to score with three seconds remaining, tying the game going into the locker rooms. At the half, Buffalo and Calgary were tied 7-7.
Buffalo came out in the third quarter and turned up the heat, scoring two goals in the first minute of action. Cattoni scored his hat trick goal first, followed by a goal immediately following the face off from Chad Cummings (1G). The onslaught didn’t stop there. 1:49 in, Cattoni scored again. With under two minutes of play in the second half, Calgary quickly jumped out to a three-goal lead. With 5:20 gone in the third quarter, Dobbie found an opening for his second of the night and just over a minute after that, Dickson scored his second, completing a six-goal run for the home team to start the second half. Buffalo goaltender Alex Buque was replaced by Zach Higgins, and for the rest of the quarter he would hold Buffalo scoreless. On the other side though, they couldn’t find the net and would finish the quarter without scoring a goal. At the end of the third quarter, Calgary led Buffalo 13-7.
Just like he did in the third quarter, Cattoni started the scoring quickly in the fourth. This time it took only 18 seconds for him to find the back of the net. Just over two minutes later, Wesley Berg (1G, 7A) continued the beating, scoring Calgary’s eighth unanswered goal. The run would reach ten before Buffalo could score a goal. Garrett McIntosh (1G) and Mitch Wilde (1G, 1A) both scored unassisted goals to put Calgary up 16-7 with 7:52 remaining in the game. Finally, Harris would score for Buffalo on a power play opportunity with 6:47 remaining. Jones made it two in a row just under three minutes later, but it was too little too late. Final Score: Buffalo-9, Calgary-16.
Up Next:
The Buffalo Bandits (8-8) host the Toronto Rock (7-9) on Saturday, April 21 at 7:30 PM EST.
The Calgary Roughnecks (7-9) travel to play the Vancouver Stealth (2-14) on Saturday, April 21 at 10:00 PM EST.