Photo Credit: Calgary Roughnecks
The Calgary Roughnecks overcame a 5-1 first quarter deficit to beat the two-time defending champion Rochester Knighthawks 11-10 Saturday night.
Both teams are now 5-3 on the season and both remain in second place in their respective divisions.
After trading goals early, Rochester scored three goals in two-and-a-half minutes, causing Calgary head coach Curt Malawsky to pull starting goalie Mike Poulin in favour of Frankie Scigliano. After giving Poulin a 30-second breather to regain his composure, he was returned to the net.
Although Poulin would give up one more goal as the quarter drew to a close, it would be the last goal he would surrender for 20 minutes, giving his team a chance to get back into the game. The Roughnecks would score three unanswered goals in the second quarter to head into halftime down just one.
The Riggers would carry their momentum into the second half when Dane Dobbie tied the game just 2:48 in. Rochester and Calgary would exchange goals in the next two minutes, but things would settle down again until the final five minutes of the quarter when Rochester would go on another three-goal run to retake the lead.
Poulin would shut things down once again in the dying moments of the third quarter and going into the fourth, silencing the Rochester offence for another 15 minutes. Calgary clawed its way back into the game with a five-goal run of their own in the fourth quarter. The run would put the Roughnecks on top for the first time in the game and give them a lead they would hang on to through a final Knighthawks onslaught.
Aside from the first quarter, Poulin had an outstanding game, turning aside 39 shots in total against just 10 goals allowed. He was aided by disciplined play in front of him which surrendered just one power play opportunity to the Knighthawks which Rochester was unable to capitalize on.
Poulin’s counterpart, Matt Vinc, had a good night in the Rochester net, stopping 32 shots, but he was unable to fully contain the Calgary offense.
The Roughnecks were led by Dane Dobbie who scored a hat trick and added two assists while Curtis Dickson (2 G, 2 A), Daryl Veltman (1 G, 3 A) and Shawn Evans kicked in four points each.
Cody Jamieson led the K’Hawks attack with seven points (2 G, 5 A) while Stephen Keogh added six points (3 G, 3 A).
Calgary returns to action next Saturday, March 1, when they host the Toronto Rock. The same night Rochester travels to Colorado to face the Mammoth.
