Justin Ivey, Co-Editor
Lacrosse is Awesome©
Featured Image Photo Credit: Trevor MacMillan
The Calgary Roughnecks (1-0) opened their season on the road against the Halifax Thunderbirds (1-1) on Saturday night. Dane Dobbie (5G, 4A) is back in a Roughnecks uniform for the 2024-2025 season, and he did not miss a beat in the reunion with Curtis Dickson (5G, 4A). Well, maybe a short beat. With 4:44 left in the second quarter, Calgary was behind 11-4 against the home team Thunderbirds. Halifax was led by a strong scoring night from Thomas Hoggarth (4G, 2A) and Dawson Theede (4G, 2A). But no lead in the NLL is safe and Calgary stormed back with seven unanswered goals to tie the game 11-11 with 6:43 left in the third quarter. Both teams traded runs and goals for the remaining game time and a fourth quarter run by the Roughnecks ended up being the difference in deciding the winner. 35 combined goals, 14 different scorers, and a one-goal win for the Calgary Roughnecks. Final Score: Calgary-18, Halifax-17.
Halifax started strong in front of the home crowd. Randy Staats (1G, 8A) scored the opening tally 2:13 into the game on a power play opportunity. Just over two minutes later, Dobbie scored his first of the match to tie the game for Calgary, but Halifax answered with a four-goal run. Ryan Terefenko (2G) scored the first goal of the run, shorthanded on a breakaway. Mike Robinson (1G, 2A) was next, scoring his first NLL goal with a sidearm cannon from the high center. Theede followed with his first of the game before a Clarke Petterson (2G, 7A) power play goal with 3:07 left put the home team ahead 5-1. With seemingly no consistent flow on the offensive end, the Roughnecks continued to scrap. Tanner Cook (3G, 2A) finally answered back just 37 seconds after the Petterson goal on a Calgary power play before Jesse King (2G, 8A) scored on the next Roughnecks’ possession to bring the visitors back within two. At the end of the first quarter, Halifax led Calgary 5-3.
Calgary could not keep the momentum going into the second quarter as Halifax quickly snatched it back. Theede walked the ball up the floor, across a screen to the middle and scored almost nonchalantly just 1:33 in. The Thunderbirds defense kept Calgary at bay and rattled off four more goals without an answer. Two goals from Hoggarth were sandwiched between two goals from Jason Knox (3G, 2A). With 7:48 remaining in the first half, Halifax now led 10-3. Dobbie finally broke through and scored his second of the game with 6:25 remaining, but Knox completed his second quarter hat trick with 4:44 left to keep the seven-goal lead intact. Chaos ensued and Calgary found the net for four straight goals to close the quarter. King started it with a powerplay marker and Dobbie found his hat trick goal 29 seconds later. Dickson rounded it out with two goals before the half. At the half, Halifax led Calgary 11-8.
This time, Calgary did keep the momentum between quarters. The Roughnecks defense stood tall while the offense found their opportunities. Cook found the back of the net 17 seconds in before Dobbie scored two unanswered. The second came with 6:43 left in the quarter and the game was tied 11-11. After a short back and forth, Halifax found their legs scored three goals in 38 seconds. Petterson started the bombardment scoring with 5:55 remaining, Hoggarth gave the home team a two-goal lead back, and Terefenko stretched the lead to three with 5:17 left. Dickson used a little magic to stop the run. With the ball bouncing near the Halifax crease, Dickson dove across to it, swiping at it with his stick. Upon review, the ball was (just) outside the crease and Dickson successfully scored with the swipe to get back within two. Theede made sure the goal didn’t turn the tides, scoring again with 1:17 left. At the end of the third quarter, Halifax led Calgary 15-12.
The Roughnecks had scratched back once to tie the game, but largely had been playing from behind most of the night. They continued to get closer to start the fourth, when Bennett Smith (1G) scored just 18 seconds in. 40 seconds later though, Hoggarth brought the lead back to three for the home team. At this point, the wheels fell off for Halifax and Calgary opened a bombardment. Dickson scored with 10:46 remaining and Cook with 8:38 left. Hard fought defensive stands on both sides separated the goals, but Calgary continued to find ways to score late in the game. With 5:22 left, Dickson came around a high screen and lasered a long-range low shot to tie the game at 16. It took a powerplay goal from Brett McIntyre (1G, 4A) to break through and give Calgary their first lead of the game. With 22 seconds left, Ethan Ticehurst (1G, 1A) scored unassisted, stretching the lead to two. With one second left, Theede scored his final goal of the game for the home team. Final Score: Calgary-18, Halifax-17.
Up Next:
The Calgary Roughnecks (1-0) travel to play the Albany Firewolves (1-1) on Saturday, December 14 at 7 PM EST.
The Halifax Thunderbirds (1-1) travel to play the Saskatchewan Rush (1-0) on Saturday, December 14 at 8 PM EST.