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Roughnecks Shock Sting With Late Rally

April 14, 2007 - National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Arizona Sting News Release


GLENDALE, AZ --- Another chapter was written in the epic anthology that chronicles the intense rivalry between the Arizona Sting and Calgary Roughnecks on Friday night, as the two teams did battle at Jobing.com Arena in a contest which contained colossal playoff implications. In a match they needed to win in order to clinch a post-season berth, the Riggers ultimately rallied in dramatic fashion to pull out a 12-11 victory, disappointing the 6,556 fans in attendance who had hoped to see the Sting secure a home playoff date with a victory over the Roughnecks on their home floor.

After falling behind 5-3 in the second quarter, Arizona roared back to take an 11-10 lead into the fourth period, but were unable to close things out, as a pair of late Roughnecks goals and a stellar performance from backup goaltender Ryan Avery, who stopped all ten shots fired up on him on Friday, combined to produce an enormous victory for the visiting squad from southern Alberta.

"Full marks to Calgary, they played a great game," said Sting Head Coach/GM Bob Hamley following the loss. "They have some really tough defenders that got the best of us tonight and we have to give them credit for playing hard all night."

The Sting have one game remaining on their schedule, needing a road win over the Minnesota Swarm on Saturday night to secure a home playoff game at Jobing.com Arena next weekend. Arizona can also clinch home-field advantage in the opening round of the post-season with a Calgary loss in Edmonton tomorrow night.

"We want to open the playoffs in our building," said Hamley, whose team finished the '07 campaign with a mark of 6-2 at Jobing.com Arena. "We've got to regroup and play well in Minnesota tomorrow night, and hopefully we can come out with a win up there."

Chris 'Maverick' McKay opened the scoring on Friday night, tucking a rebound past starting net minder Andrew Leyshon for his first goal of the year 1:28 into the match. Arizona went to 2-0 on Curt Malawsky's 20th tally of the season, but Calgary scored on their next two possessions to tie the match at two apiece. The Roughnecks then went up 3-2 with 3:44 remaining in the first quarter, as Scott Ranger scored on the power play to give the visitors their first lead of the night. Matt Brown tied things up shortly thereafter, unleashing a rocket of a shot that Leyshon was unable to catch up with for his seventh goal of 2007. Ranger's third goal of the night then put the Riggers up 4-3 as the opening period came to an end.

Scott Ranger continued to have a hot stick in the second quarter, as he registered his fourth tally of the game to put the Roughnecks up by two 1:01 into the frame. The Sting responded quickly however, as 'Downtown' Matt Brown registered his second tally of the match at the 4:02 mark of the second quarter. Rob Blasdell then made a big stop on a Tracey Kelusky shot to keep the Sting within striking distance of the Riggers, stoning the perennial All-Star from close range at the 6:05 mark with a huge shoulder save. The Sting then tied things up 5-5 courtesy of Craig Conn, who beat Leyshon with a low shot for his 16th goal of the year. 'Dangerous' Dan Dawson then got in on the action, taking a feed from Derek Malawsky in the slot and beating Leyshon with a high shot to put the Sting up 6-5 with 4:38 remaining in the first half. Two minutes later, Curt Malawsky shoveled a rebound past Leyshon to double Arizona's lead. A second straight goal off of the stick of 'Mighty Mouse' then made the score 8-5 in Arizona's advantage, as the wily veteran beat Leyshon through the five-hole. Calgary then scored on their next possession to make the score 8-6 in favor of the Sting as the opening half came to an end.

Lewis Ratcliff opened the third quarter with his first goal of the match at the 1:04 mark of the frame to pull Calgary to within one of the Sting lead. Craig Conn re-established the two-goal Arizona advantage 3:20 later however, scoring on a low shot for his second tally of the match. The Sting went up by three after Dan Dawson and Derek Malawsky worked the give-and-go to perfection, with Malawsky finishing off the play to earn his first goal of the game. Thirty seconds later Matt Brown managed to sneak a shot past Leyshon as he was being wrestled to the ground by a Roughnecks defender, earning his third goal of the game and putting the Sting up 11-7 in the process. Calgary responded on the power play, with Lewis Ratcliff scoring his second goal of the night to pull the Roughnecks to within three of the Sting. Jeff Shattler and Ratcliff then scored back-to-back goals to make the score 11-10 as the third period came to an end.

The fourth period saw each team's defenses performing well, as neither offense was able to muster a goal until the 8:23 mark of the frame when Kaleb Toth scored his first of the night to tie the score 11-11. A breakaway goal by Tyler Heavenor then gave the Roughnecks a 12-11 lead with 4:52 remaining in regulation play. Arizona was unable to beat goaltender Ryan Avery, who had relieved Leyshon of his duties in the third period, in the late going, as the potent Sting attack was diluted greatly by some truly impressive play from the young net minder. Avery made ten saves on ten shots faced in 23:43 of action to earn the win. A loss by the Sting tomorrow and a win by the Roughnecks in Edmonton will produce a first round match-up of Arizona @ Calgary next weekend, a scenario that the Sting are intent on avoiding.

"Tomorrow night is a huge night for this team," said star forward Dan Dawson following the defeat. "Our fans deserve to see us play a home playoff game this season, and a win tomorrow night guarantees that. We're all disappointed with the outcome tonight, but we're all professionals and we need to get things done tomorrow night in Minnesota."

Up next for the Sting are the 8-7 Minnesota Swarm. The Swarm clinched a playoff spot on Friday night by virtue of their 11-8 win over the Philadelphia Wings. This will be Arizona's first ever trip to the North Star state. The action gets underway at the Xcel Energy Center at 5:00pm PST tomorrow night, and fans can catch the action live by logging onto B2 Networks (www.b2live.com).

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