Marcelo A. Sagüez, Correspondent Calgary Roughnecks
Lacrosse is Awesome©
Photo Credit: Di Miller
The Calgary Roughnecks (2-2) headed to Denver to face the NLL 2022 Champion Colorado Mammoth (2-1) in their home opener. The Loud House was packed to the rafters so the home town fans could give their team a proper “Congratulations Champs!”. Before the first draw, Colorado welcomed their team onto the floor for the raising of the Championship banner and the team would parade around the arena with the championship trophy for all the home fans to see. The Mammoth were just coming off a 12-9 win over the Panther City Lacrosse Club (2-2) and three weeks off and were sitting behind Calgary in the standings. While on the other side of the bench, the Roughnecks were coming off a home loss to their rivals the San Diego Seals (3-0) who are sitting alone at the top of the Western Division. Former Roughneck Rhys Duch would make his debut in a Mammoth jersey against his former team and would become the 12th player in NLL history to notch 1,000 career points with his power-play tally with 2:10 remaining in the first to get Colorado on the board. Final Score: Mammoth 9—Roughnecks 8
Calgary silenced the crowed at the Loud house scoring first 31 seconds into the start of the game by Captain Jesse King (2g, 3a) off the screen on a fast break putting the Riggers up 1-0. Tyler Pace (2g, 1a) would notch another quick one at 4:20 and Calgary was up 2-0. Both Ward and Del Bianco were standing on their heads with Calgary leading in shots on cage for the next eight with the fans seeing a back-and-forth battle. With 2:10 in the frame thirty-six-year-old righthand forward Rhys Dutch (1g, 4a) would score on a power-play and his milestone point, 1,000th career point to end the first quarter 2-1.
The second got off to a bit of slow start with Connor Robinson (5g, 1a) tying it up at two’s almost four and half into the quarter. Calgary’s Tyler Pace would take a minor penalty for roughing and Eli Salama (1g) moved Calgary ahead on a shorthand goal 90 seconds later. The Roughnecks would make short work of the penalty and Tanner Cook (2g, 2a) would follow it up with a power-play tally to put them up 4-2. The Riggers were moving the ball well and it paid off and with 4:20 left in the half, King would pick up his second of the night and Calgary would head to the locker room with a three goal lead 5-2. Unfortunately, right before the buzzer, Curtis Manning would get hit with a cross-checking penalty so Calgary would start the third with a two-minute penalty. Into the half Zach Currier dominated the loose balls with eight and Christian Del Bianco had turned away 21 Mammoth shots.
Colorado would capitalize on the power play early into the third with Eli McLaughlin (2g, 2a) firing a step-down laser to add another to get them within two goal 5-3. Robinson would follow it up with a shot less than two minutes later and the lead was cut to one 5-4. Less than two minutes later Cook would take the backdoor play once again putting Calgary back up by two 6-4. Only moments later Colorado caught Del Bianco watching the game and snuck one from the point, making it a one goal game yet again. To this point, goal tending had been exceptional, both keepers tracking the ball well making crucial stops. The Roughnecks would get nabbed with a minor penalty for tripping and it was quickly exploited by the Mammoth’s Chris Wardle (1g, 1a) tying the game at sixes. On the next Calgary possession Calgary’s back-up player Seth Van Schepen (1g) put the moves on Dillon Ward and once again, they had the lead 7-6. With 3:50 left in the third, Robinson found the net for his hat-trick on the night and we’d see the score board a 7’s at the end of three. For the first time in the contest, Calgary was out scored 4-2 and Del Bianco had some trouble with the long ball from the point.
The final 15 saw Colorado open up the scoring for the third consecutive quarter. Calgary started off with the man advantage but were unsuccessful in capitalizing, instead the long ball from Robinson beat Del Bianco for the go ahead goal and Colorado had the lead for the first time 8-7. Pace would answer back two and half later to tie it once again at 8’s. The final tally would go up with a bounce shot by Robinson and 9:38 to go in the game. The Mammoth were relentless in trying to take a two goal lead, but Calgary successfully killed the while having a couple of scoring opportunities. Colorado successfully killed their penalty maintaining the lead, and received a two minute minor for holding with only two minutes in regulation. They successfully killed off the second penalty as well. Roughnecks Bench Boss Curt Malasky called a time-out to draw up a tying goal opportunity and Del Bianco headed to the bench for the added attacker. Goaltender Dillon Ward would call a time-out with 16.3 seconds to keep possession and run out the clock forcing Calgary into a desperation play. Final Score: Mammoth 9—Roughnecks 8.
STATS:
Calgary Roughnecks: SOG 57; Saves 37; Sv% .804%; FO 9-21; PP 1-4
Colorado Mammoth: SOG 46; Saves 49; Sv% .859%; FO 12-21; PP 3-5
NEXT UP:
The Calgary Roughnecks (2-2) will play host to the San Diego Seals (3-0) at the Scotiabank Saddledome for a rematch on Saturday January 14, 2023, game time 9:00 p.m. EST. Fans in the USA can see the game on ESPN+. Fans in Canada can see the action on TSN.ca or the TSN app.
The Colorado Mammoth (2-1) will play host to the Saskatchewan Rush (2-1) in Denver at Ball Arena for a rematch on Friday January 13, 2023, game time 9:00 p.m. EST. Fans in the USA can see the game on ESPN+. Fans in Canada can see the action on TSN.ca or the TSN app.
Marcelo A. Sagüez, Correspondent Calgary Roughnecks
Lacrosse is Awesome©