Malawsky brothers lead Sting to 13-9 win over Roughnecks
April 21, 2007 - National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Calgary Roughnecks News Release
CALGARY, AB - As if one Malawsky wasn't enough, the Calgary Roughnecks had to deal with a pair of them.
Curt Malawsky had a hat trick and one assist, while younger brother Derek Malawsky had two goals and four helpers to lead the Arizona Sting to a 13-9 win in National Lacrosse League playoff action at the Pengrowth Saddledome Saturday night.
With the victory, the Sting now move on to host the San Jose Stealth next weekend in the West Division final. Jeff Zywicki scored his seventh goal of the game 4:42 into overtime to lead the Stealth to a 15-14 upset victory in the other West Division semifinal.
While the Sting and Stealth vie to see which squad will represent the West in the 2007 Champion's Cup, the Roughnecks will have to now focus on rebuilding for next season.
Tracey Kelusky notched a hat trick and one assist in a losing cause for Calgary, while Scott Ranger (2g, 1a), Kaleb Toth (2g), Jeff Shattler (4a) and Kyle Goundrey (4a) also had multiple-point games. Lewis Ratcliff and Nolan Heavenor each scored once.
For Ratcliff, who finished third in league scoring during the regular season with 104 points, it marked the first time this season he failed to record at least four points.
Dan Dawson, who finished second in scoring with 107 points in the regular season, had a hat trick and added two assists for Arizona, while Scott Self (2g, 3a), Craig Conn (1g, 5a), Matt Brown (1g, 2a) and Peter Veltman (1g, 1a) also contributed to the Sting scoring attack.
Arizona goalie Rob Blasdell had an impressive outing as he stopped 41 of the 50 shots he faced. Ryan Avery and Andrew Leyshon split time in the Calgary net and combined to stop 27 of the 40 shots they faced.
A pair of Scotts started off the scoring with Self firing one past Avery 2:08 into the game before Ranger replied with a goal for Calgary at 4:07.
Although Andy Ogilvie didn't draw an assist on Ranger's goal, the defenceman set up the play by laying a big hit on Chris McKay of the Sting to give the Roughnecks possession of the ball.
After Brown put the Sting up 2-1, Toth and Kelusky responded with goals to give the Riggers a one-goal lead. Kelusky scored his goal with the Roughnecks playing a man down.
Before the end of the first, Conn set up Curt Malawsky for a quick stick to tie the contest at 3-3.
The Sting then fired three quick goals past Avery to start the second, which prompted head coach Jeff Dowling to replace the rookie goalie in net with Andrew Leyshon.
After Derek Malawsky scored to put the Sting up 7-3, Ranger counted his second of the contest to end a five-goal Arizona run.
Conn then set up Curt Malawsky up for another quick stick on the power play, almost identical to the goal the two combined on in the first quarter, before Toth scored his second of the contest at 6:09 of the second. For Toth, it was his 250th career NLL goal.
With the Riggers killing a penalty, Blasdell made back-to-back impressive saves on Kelusky and Kerry Susheski to keep the Sting ahead by three goals.
After almost six minutes of scoreless action, Kelusky converted a pass from Shattler during a Calgary power play. Kelusky then completed his hat trick 1:30 into the third quarter before Ratcliff bounced a shot past Blasdell at 3:17 to tie the game at 8-8.
Unfortunatley for the Roughnecks, they couldn't continue to carry the momentum as the Sting regained their scoring touch with three of the next four goals in the third quarter, including the game winner by Dawson, and two quick ones to start the fourth before holding on for the victory.
After the game, the Roughneck players took time to salute the 10,057 fans in attendance for their support.
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National Lacrosse League Stories from April 21, 2007
- Stealth sneak past Mammoth in OT - Colorado Mammoth
- Sting open playoffs with 13-9 win in Calgary - Arizona Sting
- Malawsky brothers lead Sting to 13-9 win over Roughnecks - Calgary Roughnecks
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