Roughnecks come up short against Blazers
Published on February 22, 2009 under National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Calgary Roughnecks News Release
CALGARY, AB - The Calgary Roughnecks couldn't stop "Dangerous" Dan Dawson when it counted and lost 11-10 to the Boston Blazers on Sunday for their second straight setback.
Dawson scored twice, including the game winner with 35.6 seconds left in the game, and added five assists to lead the expansion Blazers (6-3) to their third straight win.
Boston rookie forward Daryl Veltman had a hat trick and two helpers, while Nick Cotter, Brendan Thenhaus, Paul Dawson, Jason Bloom and Jay Thorimbert each had singles.
Josh Sanderson led the Calgary attack with five goals and two assists for the Roughnecks (5-2), while captain Tracey Kelusky scored twice and set up four others. Dane Dobbie notched a goal and four assists, while Kaleb Toth (1g, 2a), Jeff Shattler (1g, 1a) and Curt Malawsky (3a) also had multiple point games.
The Blazers opened the scoring at 2:09 of the first quarter with their first shot of the game when Thorimbert fired a low shot past Calgary goalie Pat Campbell. Just 31 seconds later, Shattler took a pass from Toth and bounced a shot past Mike Poulin in the Boston net to tie up the game.
After Veltman scored for the Blazers, Sanderson and Toth counted power-play goals 64 seconds apart to put the Riggers up by a goal. For Toth, it was his 63rd power-play goal as a member of the Roughnecks to tie him with former Rigger Lewis Ratcliff for the franchise lead in that category.
Boston defenceman Paul Dawson then squeaked a shot past Campbell with 32.3 seconds left in the opening quarter to tie up the game once again.
At 2:41 of the second quarter, the Roughnecks scored their third straight power-play goal when Sanderson picked up a loose ball and quickly deposited it into the net. After Kelusky fired a long-range shot past Poulin, Dan Dawson scored a highlight-reel goal for the Blazers when he took a pass from Mitch Belisle before wiring a shot past Campbell while falling to the floor.
Sanderson then completed his hat trick to put the 'Necks up 6-4 before Veltman scored to pull the Blazers within one. On a late man-advantage situation in the first half, the Blazers worked the ball around perfectly before Thenhaus scored to tie the game at 6-6.
After Dobbie set up Kelusky for his league-leading fourth shorthanded goal of the season, the sophomore sniper scored to put the Riggers up 8-6. Malawsky made a great play to set up the goal by scooping up a loose ball in the offensive zone before finding a wide-open Dobbie in front of the Boston net.
Following a Blazer goal by Bloom, Sanderson took a pass from Malawsky and fired his fourth goal of the contest to give the Riggers a 9-7 lead through three quarters.
The pesky Blazers refused to quit though as Nick Cotter and Matt Lyons scored before Veltman notched a power-play goal to complete his hat trick and put the visitors up 10-9.
With Boston's Carter Livingstone in the penalty box for holding, Sanderson picked up a fortuitous bounce off the back boards and snuck a shot past Poulin to tie the game 10-10.
Dawson notched his game-winning tally when he fired a perfect shot into the left corner of the net behind Campbell, before Poulin made a nice save on a shot from the slot by Kelusky with 10 seconds to play in the contest.
Off note, Calgary defenceman Andrew McBride became the franchise's all-time penalty minute leader after getting into a fight with Boston's Kyle Ross late in the game. McBride now has 214 career penalty minutes to move pass Jesse Phillips (210) for top spot on the list.
Next up, the Roughnecks head out on the road to play the New York Titans on Saturday, Feb. 28.
National Lacrosse League Stories from February 22, 2009
- Rush wins first ever home game against Mammoth - Colorado Mammoth
- Roughnecks come up short against Blazers - Calgary Roughnecks
- This Week in the Jax Community - Portland Lumberjax
- San Jose deals Colorado first road loss of season - Colorado Mammoth
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