Calgary Roughnecks Game Preview - Saturday, April 9 vs Vancouver
April 9, 2016 - National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Calgary Roughnecks News Release
CALGARY ROUGHNECKS (6-9) vs VANCOUVER STEALTH (3-10) Saturday, April 9, 2016 - 7:00 p.m. - Scotiabank Saddledome TONIGHT'S GAME
Tonight the Calgary Roughnecks host the Vancouver Stealth in the first-ever Star Wars Night at the Scotiabank Saddledome. Calgary enters the contest following an 11-9 road loss to the West Division rival Saskatchewan Rush on April 2 at SaskTel Centre. Curtis Dickson led the charge for the Riggers, netting three goal and three assists in the loss. Dane Dobbie (3g, 1a), Jeff Shattler (1g, 4a) and Reilly O'Connor (1g, 1a) were also top performers for the Roughnecks. Last weekend, Vancouver dropped a 13-11 home game to the Toronto Rock. Rhys Duch paced the Stealth with three goals and four assists in the contest while Joel McCready (3g, 1a) and Corey Small (1g, 2a) were also key contributors for the home club. Calgary is third in the West Division with a record of 6-9 while Vancouver sits fourth at 3-10 but own a pair of games in hand on the Roughnecks.
ROUGHNECKS BROADCAST INFORMATION Webcast: FOX Sports GO
---
PROMO CALENDAR
Roughnecks single game tickets are available for as low as $38 for adults and $21 for children (plus applicable fees).
Calgary wraps up the 2016 regular season at home with Fan Appreciation Night, presented by Cardel Homes, on April 30 against Toronto.
NOTEWORTHY
VS VANCOUVER: This evening marks the third of four regular season meetings between the Roughnecks and Stealth with each team picking up a win at home to split the series. Curtis Dickson leads Calgary with nine goals and five assists in two games against the Stealth while Logan Schuss tops Vancouver with 17 points (6g, 11a) in the season series. Last year, the Roughnecks and Stealth split the series 2-2.
SERIES RECAP - Jan. 30/16 at CGY: CGY 15 VAN 13 ... Goals from rookie forward Wesley Berg, Tyler Digby, Greg Harnett and Jeff Shattler, his third of the night, secured the win in the fourth quarter.
- Feb. 20/16 at VAN: VAN 14 CGY 13 (OT) ... Corey Small scored the overtime winner, his third goal of the game, 76 seconds into the extra frame.
INSIDE THE SERIES - Shots on Goal: CGY 99 VAN 105 - Power Plays: CGY 6-11 (54.5%) VAN 7-13 (53.8%)
REGULAR SEASON RECORDS - All-Time: 23-16 - All-Time in CGY: 8-10 - All-Time in VAN: 15-6 - Last CGY Win: Jan. 30/16, 15-13 at the Scotiabank Saddledome - Last VAN Win: Feb. 20/16, 14-13 (OT) at the Langley Events Centre
IN THE BOOKS: Jeff Shattler recorded four assists last weekend against Saskatchewan to become the franchise's new all-time assists leader at 355. He eclipses the previous mark of 354 set by Kaleb Toth who suited up for the Roughnecks from 2002-12.
WITHIN REACH: Curtis Dickson is one goal shy of setting a new franchise single-season goals record. Dane Dobbie holds the current record of 51, set in 2014. Previous records were also held by Lewis Ratcliff (50, 2007) and Tracey Kelusky (45, 2005).
NLL DEBUT: Last weekend rookie goaltender Christian Del Bianco dressed as backup for the first time since he was selected by Calgary in the second round, 15th overall, in the 2015 NLL Draft. He saw just over nine minutes of playing time, allowing one goal over that span.
THE FORCE: Tonight the Roughnecks will wear limited edition Star Wars-themed jerseys. The unique game-worn and game-issued jerseys are now up for bid at ElevateAuctions.com/StarWarsJersey, with all funds raised directed to STARS Air Ambulance. The online auction will close at 8:00 p.m. on Monday, April 25. This evening also sees the Roughnecks honouring our hometown heroes by recognizing first responders along with Canadian Armed Forces, Alberta Sheriffs, Alberta Correctional Services, Alberta Health Services and Calgary 911. In appreciation of first responders, a personal contribution from Roughnecks defenceman and firefighter Scott Carnegie to the Calgary Firefighters Burn Treatment Society is being matched by the Calgary Roughnecks Foundation to see a total donation of $1,900.
ROOKIE RECOGNITION: Roughnecks forward Wesley Berg was named the NLL's Rookie of the Month for March. He led all league rookies in scoring with 20 points (7g, 13a), including three or more points in all five games played, to help Calgary to a 3-2 record in March. The 22-year-old is tied for first among rookies in points (52), second in goals (19) and assists (33), and first in power play goals (7) and power play assists (13). Selected by Calgary fourth overall in the 2015 NLL Draft, Berg has recorded six multi-goal games, including his last three outings in March, and has registered at least three points in 13 of his 15 contests.
ROSTER MOVES: The Roughnecks were quiet on trade deadline day (Mar. 29) and did not make any moves prior to the 1:00 p.m. MT deadline. Ahead of last Thursday's roster submission deadline, Calgary released practice players D Patrick O'Meara and F Tyler Melnyk. Teams are now only permitted to make internal roster transactions.
TURF TIME: Including tonight, Calgary has played more games than any other NLL team at 16.
WHAT'S LEFT: After this weekend, the Roughnecks have two regular season games remaining in a road match-up against Vancouver (Apr. 16) followed by the regular season finale against Toronto on Apr. 30 at the Scotiabank Saddledome.
LOOKING BACK: The Roughnecks were 5-10 when entering Game 16 last season.
GET SHORTY: The Roughnecks are tied with Colorado for second-most shorthanded goals at 10. Of the 10 markers, Curtis Dickson has netted five and sits one shorthanded tally back of matching his career high set in 2013. Saskatchewan leads the league with 14 shorthanded goals.
NAIL-BITERS: Seven of Calgary's 15 games played have been decided by one goal with the Roughnecks winning two and losing five one-goal decisions. Calgary is 1-2 in two-goal games and 2-0 in four-goal contests. In games decided by five or more goals, the Roughnecks are 1-2.
ROUGHNECKS VS: (BUF 0-1), (COL 1-2), (GA 2-0), (NE 1-0), (ROC 0-1), (SAS 0-4), (TOR 1-0), (VAN 1-1)
GOING THE DISTANCE: The Roughnecks have gone into extra time in four of their last eight games. Calgary matched a single-season league record for most consecutive overtime games when they needed an extra frame in three consecutive games from Feb. 20 - Mar. 5. The last team to record three-straight overtime contests was Washington in 2011. The single-season NLL record for most overtime games is five, twice set by Arizona (2005) and Washington (2011). The most OT contests the Roughnecks have played in a single season is four, first set in 2004 then duplicated in 2015 and 2016.
TOP 10: Curtis Dickson's 51 goals on the season sit second in league scoring while his 89 points rank third. Of his 51 goals, 13 have come on the power play (tied for second among all players) while his five shorthanded markers top all players. Greg Harnett and Dickson are in a 10-way tie for fifth in the league with two game-winning goals each. Mike Carnegie leads the team with 24 caused turnovers, tied for sixth in the NLL, while Karsen Leung sits ninth with 22. Dan MacRae is second among the league's defenders with a career-high 16 points (4g, 12a). Mike Poulin is third among league goaltenders with a 10.84 goals-against average. Fellow netminder Frankie Scigliano sits ninth in the NLL with a 12.08 goals-against average.
TRADE WINDS: Oct.26 - Acquired forward Tyler Digby, a first-round pick in the 2018 NLL Draft and a first-round selection in 2019 from the New England Black Wolves in exchange for forward Shawn Evans and a 2018 third-round pick; Dec. 28 - Acquired transition player Brandon Goodwin from the Buffalo Bandits in exchange for defenceman Mitch de Snoo.
HOW THE ROUGHNECKS WERE BUILT (20): NLL Draft (13): Bell*, Berg*, Del Bianco*, Dickson, Dobbie, Greg Harnett, LeClair*, MacRae, Manning, McFetridge, McIntosh, O'Connor*, Scigliano Trade (4): Digby, Jon Harnett, Poulin, Shattler Free Agent (3): Burton, Mike Carnegie, Scott Carnegie *Denotes rookie
MILESTONES
- Dane Dobbie is six power play goals shy of 100 and seven goals from 300.
- Dan MacRae hit 100 caused turnovers last weekend against Saskatchewan and is seven loose balls back of 400.
- Curtis Dickson is one game shy of 100, five power play goals from 50 and two power play assists shy of 50. Last weekend, he duplicated the club's single-season goals record of 51, set by Dane Dobbie in 2014.
- Scott Carnegie is four loose balls back of 400.
- Tyler Digby is four assists away from 100.
- Greg Harnett is eight loose balls shy of 200 while Garrett McIntosh is nine back of 100.
- Jeff Shattler is six power play goals away from 50, five points shy of 600 and seven loose balls back of 1,000.
TRANSACTIONS
APRIL 2016
- 7th - Kept transition player Karsen Leung on the Injured Reserve List - First Level.
National Lacrosse League Stories from April 9, 2016
- Roughnecks Channel the Force In Win - Calgary Roughnecks
- Rock Drop 14-10 Decision to New England - Toronto Rock
- Evans Makes History as Black Wolves Top Rock - New England Black Wolves
- Calgary Roughnecks Game Preview - Saturday, April 9 vs Vancouver - Calgary Roughnecks
The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.
