Sting Open Second Half of the Season Friday Night Versus Calgary
March 15, 2007 - National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Arizona Sting News Release
The Calgary Roughnecks and Arizona Sting will do battle on Friday night at Jobing.com Arena in a clash that will determine second place in the NLL's West Division.
Currently separated by a single game in the standings, Calgary and Arizona will face off three times in the second half of the season, with a home playoff game likely to be determined from the outcome of those three matches. In addition to Friday's contest in Glendale, the Roughnecks and Sting play each other on Match 24 in Calgary and on April 13 back in the desert.
"These next two weeks are huge for both teams," said Sting Head Coach/GM Bob Hamley in a Wednesday press conference. "To be successful against Calgary we know we'll have to try and contain their dangerous transition game and try to keep their big three - (Tracy) Kelusky, (Kaleb) Toth, and (Lewis) Ratcliff - from doing too much damage in the offensive zone."
Former New York Titans Director of Player Personnel Jeff Dowling will make his debut as head coach with the Roughnecks on Friday night after being hired on March 9. Dowling sees the Sting as being a formidable opponent.
"Arizona is a very good team," said Dowling. "They've been getting some solid goaltending this year and they've got all the tools to be a great offensive team. We'll have to focus on shutting down their big guns and getting in on (goaltender) Rob Blasdell early to establish a presence offensively and hopefully get some goals."
The Roughnecks have a 3-1 road record thus far in 2007; the Sting are currently in possession of a 4-1 mark on home floor. Coach Hamley is hopeful that Arizona will continue their winning ways at Jobing.com Arena.
"It's always important to play well at home," said Hamley. "We've had some success in our building this season, and hopefully that will continue."
Calgary's offense currently ranks second in the West Division with 121 goals scored while the Sting have only allowed 97 goals thus far in '07 - the best mark in the division.
Last season, the Sting and Roughnecks hooked up on three occasions, with Calgary coming out with a pair of wins in the series. Arizona's lone win came on January 27, 2006, when Craig Conn scored 1:30 into overtime to lead the Sting to an 11-10 win on their home floor. The goal was Conn's fifth of the night. Calgary won their remaining two matches with the Sting last year, vanquishing their divisional rivals on February 18 by a score of 13-7 and again on April 8 by a final tally of 14-12. The rivalry between these two teams is intense as it gets, as they have faced off in several hard-fought contests over the past few years.
In 2005, Arizona vanquished Calgary in the second round of the Champion's Cup Playoffs, defeating the Roughnecks 19-15 at the Pengrowth Saddledome to claim the West Division Championship. On February 29, 2004, the Sting set a team record when they recorded 35 penalty minutes in a 14-4 loss in Calgary.
Game time on Friday is set for 7:30pm. Tickets are available by calling 623-842-GOAL or by visiting the Jobing.com Arena Box Office.
THE MATCH-UP:
CALGARY ROUGHNECKS (5-4) @ ARIZONA STING (6-3)
FRIDAY, MARCH 16, 2007 - JOBING.COM ARENA
TOP SCORERS:
CAL: Lewis Ratcliffe (9GP-25G-28A-53P); Tracey Kelusky (9GP-16G-24A-40P); Kaleb Toth (9GP-17G-21A-38P); Kyle Goundrey (8GP-8G-18A-26P); Scott Ranger (9GP-14G-11A-25P)
ARZ: Dan Dawson (9GP-31G-30A-61P); Craig Conn (9GP-12G-33A-45P); Lindsay Plunkett (9GP-21G-15A-36P); Derek Malawsky (9GP-7G-21A-28P); Curt Malawsky (9GP-12G-13A-25P)
GOALTENDING MATCHUP:
CAL: Andrew Leyshon (4-4 record, 12.80 G.A.A., 74.8 % save percentage); Ryan Avery (1-0 record, 12.15 G.A.A., 78.4% save percentage)
ARZ: Rob Blasdell (6-2 record, 10.29 G.A.A., 77.7% save percentage); Mike Attwood (0-1 record, 13.76 G.A.A., 70.0% save percentage)
STING FORWARDS VERSUS ROUGHNECKS (Career):
Player GP G A P GPG APG PPG
Dan Dawson 10 22 22 44 2.2 2.2 4.4
Derek Malawsky 6 7 17 24 1.17 2.83 4.0
Curt Malawsky 7 11 16 27 1.57 2.28 3.86
Matt Brown 3 3 6 9 1.0 2.0 3.0
Lindsay Plunkett 6 6 12 18 1.0 2.0 3.0
Craig Conn 7 12 7 19 1.71 1.0 2.71
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