Justin Ivey, Co-Editor
Lacrosse is Awesome©
The Calgary Roughnecks (1-4) made Dane Dobbie ‘Forever a Roughneck’ on Friday night in front of a raucous crowd who came in support of the longtime Calgary captain. Unfortunately, the visiting Vancouver Warriors (3-1) spoiled a home team fourth quarter comeback with an overtime win at the Scotiabank Saddledome. Vancouver entered the fourth quarter with a four-goal lead, thanks in large part to Curtis Dickson (4G, 3A) and Jesse King (2G, 4A). The Roughnecks fought back with a huge offensive fourth quarter from Tyler Pace (2G, 5A) and Tanner Cook (4G, 2A) to tie the game and force a sudden death overtime. Calgary netminder Aden Walsh (11GA, 42SV) and his counterpart Christian Del Bianco (10GA, 42SV) forced a few minutes of back-and-forth action before Dickson scored the game winner for the Warriors. Final Score: Vancouver Warriors – 11, Calgary Roughnecks – 10.
An illegal cross check called on Calgary 31 seconds into the game gave Vancouver their first power play of the evening early. Curtis Dickson took the look and scored the opening goal just over a minute and a half into play. The Warriors would end up five for six on the man advantage on the evening. 50 seconds after the opening goal, Brandon Mayea (1G, 2A) answered for the home team, scoring on a little crease jump after dodging to the net. Cook gave the Roughnecks their first lead of the evening, scoring with 2:50 left in the first quarter after a long scoring drought. The Roughnecks had their first powerplay opportunity with a penalty called on Vancouver with 2:18 left, but they ultimately could not find a way to score. Instead, Marcus Klarich (1G, 1A) tied the game with a shorthanded goal and 1:22 left in the first. At the end of the first quarter, Vancouver and Calgary were tied 2-2.
The second quarter held the majority of the goal scoring action as both teams combined for eight goals. Much like the first quarter, Curtis Dickson opened the scoring with a power play score less than a minute in. Haiden Dickson (2G, 5A) had the answer for Calgary this time, tying the game once more with his goal just under three minutes later. Shane Simpson (1G) took the outlet from Del Bianco the length of the floor for a transition goal and the Vancouver lead back before Adam Charalambides (1G, 1A) made it 5-3 with 9:03 left in the half. Calgary buckled down and tied the game once more with two quick goals from Cook and Riley Loewen (1G). Unfortunately, another power play opportunity gave Vancouver the opportunity to regain the lead and King scored with 5:47 left. Making matters worse for the home fans, Keegan Bal (1G, 6A) increased the lead scoring his lone goal of the evening with one second remaining. At the half, Vancouver led Calgary 7-5.
Vancouver again struck in the first minute at the start of the quarter. This time Ryan Dilks (1G) found the back of the net just 22 seconds in. Curtis Dickson followed it up a few minutes later with another power play marker and Vancouver led 9-5 with 11:55 left in the third. Scoring took another long pause before King scored on another power play with 2:50 left. Struggling to find offense, Haiden Dickson gave Calgary some hope with the final goal of the quarter and 1:26 left on the clock. At the end of the third quarter, Vancouver led Calgary 10-6.
With Dane Dobbie in the building, the veracity Calgary played with in the fourth quarter was not a surprise. Walsh allowed no scores from the Vancouver offense and Pace and Cook took over the game. Pace scored the first two goals of the quarter, the second cutting the deficit in half with 9:07 remaining. Cook took over from there. With 6:20 left he cut the Vancouver lead to just one with the lone Calgary power play score of the evening. The team would finish one for five on the man advantage, a stat that was tough to overcome. With 2:22 left in regulation, Cook scored his second in a row on a diving attempt to complete the comeback and tie the game. At the end of the fourth quarter, Vancouver and Calgary were tied 10-10.
It took nearly three minutes of overtime play to determine the winner of Friday night’s matchup. Eventually, King assisted Curtis Dickson for the game winning goal after empty possessions from both teams. Final Score: Vancouver Warriors – 11, Calgary Roughnecks – 10.
Up Next:
The Calgary Roughnecks (1-4) travel to play the Georgia Swarm on Friday, January 16 at 10:00 PM EST.
The Vancouver Warriors (3-1) host the San Diego Seals on Friday, January 16 at 10:00 PM EST.