The Fast Break Version
After finding themselves down 12-4 with just under five minutes left in the third quarter, the Roughnecks went on an impressive four goal run to get back into the game. Dane Dobbie started it off at 10:40 to make the score 12-5 and less than three minutes later, after goals from Geoff Snider and surprise starter Scott Ranger, Jeff Shattler converted a silky smooth, one handed, cross crease feed from Shawn Evans to cut the deficit to four.
The game’s momentum had swung, and for the first time all night Calgary was dictating the play.
On this night though, one where former captain Jimmy Quinlan had his number 81 raised to the rafters at Rexall Place, it was current captain Chris Corbeil who turned the tide back in favour of the home team.
Just 12 seconds after Shattler made it 12-8, Rush defender Jeff Cornwall was called for holding. The defender’s stick got caught up in Dane Dobbie’s cage after Cornwall made an excellent recovery with Dobbie cutting to the crease and a pass from Shattler on the way.
As a result, the Roughnecks were sent to the power play with a glorious opportunity to extend their run to five, but it was Corbeil and the Rush penalty kill who cashed in. An errant Daryl Veltman rip from the top of the power play bounced off the end boards and pin balled off of Dobbie to Scott Ranger. He quickly returned the ball to Dobbie whose shot came straight back off the post, back into the middle of the scrum of players. Corbeil snagged the rebound, shrugged off Veltman’s check, sprinted the length of the turf and telescoped a shot from his wrong side of the floor over the far shoulder of Frankie Scigliano, who had come in for relief of Calgary starter Mike Poulin. **
Not only was it the captain’s hat trick goal, but it was his second shorthanded goal of the game and dagger that sealed the victory for the Rush.
Why the Rush won
They answered the Roughnecks’ goals with goals of their own all night, keeping most of the momentum in their favour.
Calgary opened the scoring but Matthews was next to tally, putting one past Poulin on the power play, which started a string of five in a row for Edmonton. In addition, when Scott Ranger scored 3:01 into the second quarter, making the score 5-2, Jarrett Davis answered just 39 seconds later. Finally, Corbeil’s back breaker is the best example of how his team stemmed the tide all night. His hat trick goal a man down ended up being the most significant one to interrupt the roll of the Roughnecks offence.
The OPOG
Chris Corbeil (3 G, 2 A, 9 LB)
When the game’s leading scorer tips his hat to another player’s offensive performance, that contribution can’t be ignored.
Even though Mark Matthews’ four goals and three assists, including a goal on a penalty shot, has to be in the conversation for Offensive Player of the Game, Corbeil’s stat line combined with the timing of his goals makes him very deserving of the honour.
“When Corbs gets three goals in a game–it’s nice for an offensive guy to get three but a guy running the floor getting three for us is huge,” Matthews stated.
The DPOG
Jeremy Thompson (7LB, 1FT, 11 FOW out of 27)
Anytime Geoff Snider doesn’t finish a night over 70 percent on face offs, the guy on the other side of the dot has done well. That was the story Friday night. Not only did Snider finish just 59 percent after going 75.8 precent all of 2013, but Thompson played a huge roll in limiting the offence the Roughnecks create off of the face off because of Snider’s expertise in the circle.
“I’ve got to give it to Geoff,” said Thompson when asked about how he approaches the match up. “He’s a good face off guy throughout both indoor and outdoor. He’s just a great guy, a great, great player all around. He’s the top guy, number one right now and I think as a player coming out, and new to the NLL, that’s what I set myself up for as far as a challenge for myself to better myself every day, throughout the week, from game to game.
“We have stuff set up for him, for his break, just in case he gets past me, to block off the back side,” reiterated Thompson when talking about the strategy the face off team has to control Snider. “For the most part I just tell my guys to come on the back side of us because you always have to come out with the ball. The ball has got to come out somewhere.”
Next Game – The Playoff Rematch: Saturday, January 25, 2014, 10:00pm EST, Langley Event Centre
Mark Matthews said it best when addressing the next game for his team.
“Going into Vancouver, they beat us out last year, we kind of circled that game on our calendar here for a while and to get back at them, it’s going to be big.”
