On Saturday night, the Calgary Roughnecks (1-2) host the Vancouver Stealth (2-1) at the Scotiabank Saddledome. Both teams are coming off Friday night games, but the results were very different.
The Roughnecks were soundly defeated by the Edmonton Rush on Friday, by a 15-8 score. Curtis Dickson was held off the scoresheet and Jeff Shattler, who had scored four goals in each of the first two games of the season, picked up only a goal and an assist.
Starting goaltender Mike Poulin was chased from the game in a disastrous second period. After giving up seven goals on 21 shots, Poulin was lifted for Frankie Scigliano, who performed well in his first extended appearance of the season. He was able to shut the Rush offense down for extended periods the rest of the way, giving Calgary a chance to regroup.
Penalty trouble was once again a factor for Calgary, as they gave up four goals on 10 penalty kill situations. To make matters worse, the Roughnecks’ normally reliable power play unit was not only 0-for-5 on the night, but they also surrendered two short-handed goals.
The Stealth, by contrast, stole a win from the Colorado Mammoth in overtime, pulling off the 14-13 win in spite of never holding a lead during regulation time.
After trailing by as much as three for much of the first half, the Stealth slowly battled back, earning a tie early in the third quarter and exchanging goals with the Mammoth the rest of the way. Lewis Ratcliff was the hero in OT, snapping one home past Dillon Ward with time expiring on the shot clock for the win.
Rhys Duch led the way for the Stealth with eight points (2 G, 6 A), while Ratcliff added seven points (2 G, 5 A).
The good news for Calgary as they return home is that Scott Ranger scored twice in his second game back from injury, while rookie transition Tor Reinholdt scored his first career goal and fellow rookie transition Karsen Leung added three assists.
The bad news is that the Roughnecks were outplayed in almost every statistical category on Friday night, getting outshot, collecting fewer loose balls and taking twice as many penalties. Furthermore, the last time Calgary hosted the Stealth was in the 2013 Division Finals where the Stealth (then playing out of Everett, Wash.) eliminated the Roughnecks from the playoffs.
Vancouver, meanwhile, should be feeling pretty good after their defeat of Colorado. The loss of team captain Kyle Sorensen to injury might have spelled disaster for the squad, but they are persevering and once again playing like a team that wants back into the Champion’s Cup.
Calgary will have to play with more discipline if they hope to get back on track. Penalty trouble will spell disaster once again as Vancouver’s power play went 5-for-6 on Friday night and is clicking right now.
They also badly need Dickson to find his scoring touch. Opposition defenses have neutralized him for the most part this year and the Roughnecks need him to find a way to make things happen to open up the floor for the other members of the offensive unit. His epic seven-goal outburst against the Stealth in last year’s playoffs is hopefully a sign of things to come.
Action gets underway Saturday night at 7:00 pm MT in Calgary.
