Roughnecks Win Big Over Warriors in OT to Put Them Third in the West 4/1/22

Marcelo A. Sagüez, Correspondent Calgary Roughnecks
Lacrosse is Awesome©

Featured Image Photo Credit: Candice Ward

On Friday April 1, 2022 the Calgary Roughnecks (6-7) hosted their Western Division rivals the Vancouver Warriors (6-8) at the Scotiabank Saddledome in front of 7,958 fans. The fans were witness to an exciting lacrosse game as the Roughnecks would take the win 30 seconds into OT over the Warriors. The momentum changer had the fans needing only the edge of their seats; the atmosphere at the Saddledome was electric; fans wanted the win; and the home team did not disappoint. With the win, the Roughnecks who had doubts they were still in the play-off hunt, have moved into third in the West ahead of the Warriors. Final Score OT: Roughnecks 10—Warriors 9.

It took a couple of minutes for the scoring to begin. Haiden Dickson (2g, 1a) put the Roughnecks on the board first. An immediate response from Logan Schuss (2g, 3a) evened the score just over a minute later. Calgary would put up the final three with two power-play tallies, one from Curtis Dickson (4g, 1a) at 6:22 and the other from Jesse King (1g, 5a) at 10:35. Zach Herreweyers (1g, 1a) would also notch a goal at 6:59. At the end of the first quarter Calgary was up. Score at the end of one: Roughnecks 4—Warriors 1.

The high energy and thunderous noise encouraged the Roughnecks to continue the pace heading into the second quarter. Dan Taylor (1g, 1a) responded by increasing the lead to four a minute into the second quarter. Three different Warriors. Matthew Dinsdale (2g, 1a); Reid Bowering (1g); and Adam Charalambides (1g, 3a) moved the game closer by going on the three-goal run. A minute after the last Vancouver goal C. Dickson responded to the attack by scoring his two of four goals on the night giving the Riggers a two-goal lead into the halftime break. Score at the end of two: Roughnecks 6—Warriors 4.

Although a low-scoring game for lacrosse it was packed with excitement and physicality. The third quarter belonged to the Warriors outscoring the Roughnecks 3-1 tying the game at seven. H. Dickson would open it up at 2:24 for Calgary. Vancouver would notch the final three. Schuss would score five minutes later at 7:10; and Keegan Bal (2g, 3a) would notch the final two, one at 8:03 and another at 8:53 to close out the frame and tie the game. Score at the end of three: Roughnecks 7—Warriors 7.

The fourth quarter was a draw even though at the nine-minute mark Calgary had edged out a one-goal lead. The fans’ celebration was short-lived as Dinsdale’s would notch the tying goal with 4:11 in regulation making the game 9-9. The remaining time in the fourth quarter did not solve anything and overtime was needed to determine the winner of this contest. Score at the end of four: Roughnecks 9—Warriors 9.

Overtime brings out the magic of lacrosse, the strategy, personnel and time management for one shot to determine the outcome of a game. The fans felt that in tonight’s contest, and the result was a goal by Curtis Dickson 30 seconds in for the win. The goal came after a brief break to discuss strategy with Calgary Bench Boss Curt Malawsky. Roughnecks’ ball possession was to use the 30-second shot clock by moving the ball to the left side of the floor, waiting for the defence to react.

The clock was down to 10 and nothing was going as planned. The shot was taken and missed the mark, the rebound was scooped by Curtis Dickson. With three seconds left on the shot clock, Dickson would spin and shoot with desperation an underhand towards the net and the ball would sneak under Alex Buque’s glove side with one-second counting down on the shot clock. Final Score OT: Roughnecks 10—Warriors 9.

“A bit of a goofy play, to be honest, but we haven’t been getting a lot of those bounces this year. So it was kind of nice to get it off a broken play and find a loose ball and chuck it on net – and luckily, it went in. I threw a shot on net and missed the net, and it bounced right back to me. Just kind of knew the shot-clock was running out and turned and fired one on the cage. I’ll take a little bit of credit and say it was a little bit of skill involved– but a lot of luck, too.” – Curtis Dickson

A dramatic finish to the night, the Roughnecks still need to improve their line change and polish their defensive slides. Giving any offensive player more than two strides of open space will only lead to a goal. They need to also take advantage of Del Biancos’ ability to move the ball quickly after a save, which is an asset that the Roughnecks need to exploit more often. Calgary had a disciplined game only having one penalty the entire night, which came late in the first quarter. On the other end, they did manage to capitalize on the power-play side going 2-3 on the night.

STATS:
Vancouver Warriors—SOG 46; Saves 35; Face-offs 9-23; Assists 15; LB 60; PP 0-1
Calgary Roughnecks—SOG 45; Saves 37; Face-offs 14-23; Assists 16; LB 74; PP 2-3

NEXT UP:

The Calgary Roughnecks (6-7) will play host to the Halifax Thunderbirds (9-5) on Friday April 8^th, at the Scotiabank Saddledome, game time 10:00 p.m. EST. Fans in the USA can catch the action on ESPN+. This is the “Game of the Week” for fans in Canada can see the game for free on TSN2.

They will then host their Western Division rivals the Panther City Lacrosse Club (6-8) at Scotiabank Saddledome on Saturday April 9^th, game time 9:00 p.m. EST. Panther City is the hottest team in the lead with a five-game winning streak and they are also looking for that play-off spot in the West so this will be an important game for both. Fans in the USA can catch the game on ESPN+. Fans in Canada can see the game on TSN.ca or the TSN app.

The Vancouver Warriors (6-8) are back in action tonight at play host to Albany Firewolves (6-9) at Rogers Arena in Vancouver, BC. Game time 10:00 p.m. EST. Fans in the USA can catch the game on ESPN+. Fans in Canada can see the game on TSN.ca or the TSN app.