The Calgary Roughnecks (1-1) journey north to Edmonton to take on the Rush (2-0) on Friday. This is the first game of the annual Battle of Alberta in which the two teams duke it out for supremacy in the NLL standings.
The Roughnecks hold a 23-5 advantage over the Rush all time and beat Edmonton three times in four tries in 2013 so you might think they have the advantage. However, the Rush are coming off two decisive early season wins and are averaging a whopping 15 goals per game.
Edmonton’s defense has also been stingy, giving up just 16 goals in two games. The Roughnecks gave up 16 goals in their first game of the season, a resounding defeat at the hands of the Toronto Rock.
Although Calgary had a much better game last weekend against the Colorado Mammoth, they still had to kill seven penalties, their Achilles Heel recently. If they get in penalty trouble again against the Mark Matthews-driven Rush offense, they will put themselves in a deep hole.
Also of note for the Roughnecks, is the slow start thus far for Curtis Dickson. Dickson’s two goals and three assists to this point in the season is well below his historical numbers but, to look at it another way, he might be due for a big game. With Scott Ranger back in the mix on the right and Jeff Shattler scoring four goals per game so far on the left, the Rush will not be able to key on anyone in the Riggers’ offense.
On the Edmonton side, Matthews exploded for five goals and five assists last weekend against the Mammoth. Calgary’s defense will have their hands full trying to contain the big sophomore while also keeping an eye on Zack Greer (8 G, 3 A) and Jarrett Davis (4 G, 8 A).
Rush goalie Aaron Bold has a terrific .814 save percentage so far, making all the routine saves and plenty of the tough ones as well. Mike Poulin on the Calgary side had a rough start to the year, but made some huge stops last weekend to keep Colorado off the board for the entire third quarter.
If the game comes down to goaltending, you have to give Bold the edge based on this year’s numbers, but the Poulin Wall owns a Goaltender of the Year award and can certainly be a difference-maker when he’s feeling it.
The game gets underway at 7:30 pm MT at Rexall Place and will be viewable on The Lacrosse Network’s You Tube channel.
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