Opportunity came knocking at the Calgary Roughnecks door this weekend in the form of yet another gruelling doubleheader. An opportunity to move above .500 for the first time this season was at stake, but more importantly an opportunity to further secure the third and final playoff spot in the West.
Up first, a Friday night matchup against the eastern powerhouse Halifax Thunderbirds. Holding a slight 6-5 lead at the half, the Riggers blasted three quick goals by Warren Hill to open the third and never looked back. When the final horn sounded, it was Calgary winning in convincing fashion 13-8 and local boy, Dan Taylor, finishing with four goals and the game ball.
Less than 24 hours later the Riggers were back at the ‘Dome to take on the rested and ready Panther City Lacrosse Club. With both clubs vying for the final playoff spot and the season series tied at a game apiece, the playoff implications were massive. Led by Curtis Dickson’s six goals, the Roughnecks were dominate in a 14-4 victory.
The victories moved Calgary two games ahead of both the PCLC and the Vancouver Warriors with just three games remaining.
Head Coach Curt Malawsky talked about the importance of securing back-to-back wins.
“We had a real tough test on Friday, and it’s tough not to look by to the next one especially being a divisional game. The guys stayed focused on that game itself. To come in today – we knew this is a season series and we knew yesterday was really important, but today was more important. So if we didn’t get this one it would’ve taken a couple steps back. We were able to stay focused on it. We had great efforts from top to bottom tonight, so it was a great weekend overall.”
Forward Jesse King added 14 points to his season totals moving him into ninth in league scoring with 80. King commented on the surging Roughnecks.
“We’re just playing really well as a team right now. Coach has been laying out plans game-in and game-out throughout the year. I think we’ve come together in these last couple of games and really executed those game plans. We’re sharing the ball so well on offense. Our defense – it’s really showing back to like 2019 vibes where they’re playing heavy, their playing hard, getting on and off the floor really quickly. You can see – Roughneck lacrosse was shown this weekend.”
Perhaps one of the biggest reasons for the turnaround of the Riggers has been the play of their defense. Over the last four games, they’ve given up nine goals or less – a recipe for success in the NLL. Spearheading that charge has been the phenomenal play of Zach Currier. After 15 games, Currier sits first in loose balls (206) and caused turnovers (49). His play has garnered some MVP considerations.
“The definition of MVP is you make everybody around you better. Definitely Zach Currier does that – he makes everybody around him better. He makes our team better. You can’t win lacrosse games without the ball. He gets the ball all the time and he gets huge goals,” said Malawsky. “I definitely think Zach’s been our MVP and it would be nice if he gets in the conversation.”
Only three weeks remain on the NLL schedule. Week 20 will see Calgary (8-7) face Vancouver (6-10), the PCLC (6-9) face San Diego (9-6) and Halifax (9-6) takes on Toronto (11-5).
