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Calgary Roughnecks

Captain leads Roughnecks to fourth straight victory

January 24, 2009 - National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Calgary Roughnecks News Release


CALGARY, AB - Captain Tracey Kelusky scored once and collected seven helpers to lead the Calgary Roughnecks to a 16-13 win over the San Jose Stealth in front of 9,828 fans at the Pengrowth Saddledome on Saturday night.

Calgary now has a perfect 4-0 record to sit atop the West Division standings. It's the best start ever to a National Lacrosse League season for the Roughnecks in their eighth year in the league.

Veteran Curt Malawsky had a hat trick and two assists for the Riggers, while super sophomore forward Dane Dobbie also had a three-goal performance to go with one helper.

Josh Sanderson (2g, 4a), Kaleb Toth (2g, 3a), Jeff Shattler (2g, 2a), and Scott Ranger (1g, 2a) also had multiple-point performances while Jeff Moleski and Peter McFetridge each scored once for the Roughnecks. Goalie Pat Campbell stopped 38 of 51 shots to improve his record to 3-0 so far this season.

Veteran San Jose forward Colin Doyle matched Kelusky's performance with a goal and seven helpers, while rookie Rhys Duch notched three goals and three assists. Tom Johnson had a hat trick and a helper for the Stealth (1-3), while Jeff Zywicki (2g, 2a), Cam Sedgwick (2g, 1a), Alex Turner (1g, 1a), Frank Resetarits (2a) and Mike Kirk (1g) contributed to San Jose's scoring attack.

Netminder Aaron Bold played the first quarter for the Stealth and gave up seven goals on 12 shots before giving way to rookie Tyler Richards who stopped 32 of the 41 shots he faced in his first-ever NLL game.

Both teams had potent power plays on the night as the Roughnecks went five-for-eight with the man advantage, while the Stealth scored on five of their six opportunities.

The Roughnecks built up a 3-0 lead by the 1:46 minute mark of the first quarter on goals by Dobbie and Sanderson and a power-play marker by Toth.

After Johnson put the Stealth on the board at 5:20 of the first, Toth counted his second of the game before Moleski scored on a nice individual effort. On the play, Moleski barrelled past San Jose defender Brett Manney before tucking a shot just under the cross bar to put the Riggers up 5-1.

Sedgwick scored for San Jose before Dobbie notched another power-play marker followed by a shorthanded tally by Ranger to give the Riggers a five-goal advantage.

The Stealth then quickly cut into Calgary's lead as Doyle and Zywicki scored on separate San Jose man-advantage situations before the end of the opening quarter.

Early in the second, Malawsky finished off a great passing play with a quick-stick goal just 39 seconds into the second quarter before Kelusky converted a feed from Malawsky for his 200th career goal as a Roughneck.

Duch and Zywicki replied with goals for the Stealth before Malawsky set up Sanderson for an easy quick-stick marker while the Riggers were enjoying a two-man advantage.

The Stealth kept chipping away at Calgary's lead in the second half as Sedgwick, Kirk and Duch scored before Malawsky converted a feed from Kelusky at 13:10 of the third quarter to put the 'Necks up 11-9.

Duch then completed his hat trick with eight seconds to go in the third quarter when his long-range shot snuck past Campbell during a San Jose power play.

Not to be outdone, Malawsky capped off his three-goal performance 2:09 into the fourth quarter during a Calgary man advantage. Shattler, who had a goal disallowed earlier in the game for a crease violation, then scored his first goal of the campaign on a breakaway a short time later to put the Roughnecks up 13-10.

Shattler picked the top corner behind Richards for his second of the contest. Johnson replied with his second of the game at 8:39 of the final frame for San Jose before McFetridge put Calgary up 15-12 just 19 seconds later.

Johnson then completed his hat trick to pull the Stealth within a pair of goals and could have edged even closer if not for a great stop by Campbell off a close-in shot by Duch.

With 30.9 seconds left in the contest, Calgary was awarded a penalty shot because San Jose was penalized for an illegal substitution resulting in too many men on the floor. Coach Troy Cordingley picked Dobbie as his shooter and the sniper didn't disappoint as he made a few dekes before picking the top corner over Richards' right shoulder to complete his second straight hat trick.

Next up, the Roughnecks will look to extend their winning streak when they host the Minnesota Swarm on Friday, Feb. 6 (7:30 p.m.).

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