The Calgary Roughnecks cruised to a 15-10 victory over the Colorado Mammoth in the West Division semi-finals on Saturday night.
The win takes the Roughnecks through to the second round of the playoffs, where they will host the Washington Stealth in a game that will determine who gets to represent the West in the Champion’s Cup.
After getting behind by two quick goals early in the first quarter, Calgary got back into the game with three of their own, starting a see-saw battle for the rest of the half with neither team able to stretch out a lead.
After coming back from the half time break tied at 7-7, Calgary’s Curtis Dickson took a five-minute major for high sticking that gave the Mammoth a golden opportunity to blow the game wide open.
Instead, it was the Roughnecks who stepped up.
Two short-handed goals by Calgary and no power play goals allowed put the Roughnecks up by two, a lead they would not relinquish the rest of the way. They would score four more unanswered goals going into the fourth quarter before Colorado would finally stop the bleeding with a goal by Casey Powell 2:53 into the fourth.
Calgary would add two more in the fourth to put the game out of reach.
Jeff Shattler led the way for the Roughnecks, with seven points, including a hat trick. Scott Ranger and Shawn Evans added hat tricks of their own, Daryl Veltman had a six-point night (1+6) and Dane Dobbie contributed four points in his return to the lineup after a week off with a knee injury.
Powell was the top scorer for the Mammoth, picking up three goals and three assists while Adam Jones, John Grant Jr. and Jordan McBride all had five point nights.
Mammoth starting goalie Tye Belanger was pulled during Calgary’s first run in the first quarter, with Dan Lewis coming in for only a few seconds before Belanger was returned to his spot on the floor.
Belanger would be pulled for good in the fourth as Calgary was putting the game away, with Lewis finishing out the game.
On Calgary’s side, Mike Poulin had an outstanding game, stooping 32 shots against just eight goals. Frankie Scigliano stepped in for the final two-and-a-half minutes to close out the game.
With the loss by the Toronto Rock in the Sunday matinee, Calgary is now the top remaining seed for the postseason and will enjoy home field advantage as long as they keep winning for the rest of the playoffs.
