The Calgary Roughnecks extended their pre-season record to 3-0 with a decisive 15-9 win over the Rochester Knighthawks on Sunday.
The Riggers were able to earn themselves a 3-2 lead after one quarter and never looked back, extending to 7-5 at halftime and then steadily widening the gap the rest of the way.
Calgary spread the offense around, with Dane Dobbie, Daryl Veltman, Jeff Shattler, Curtis Dickson, Matthew Dinsdale and Shawn Evans all scoring at least twice while Tor Reinholdt and Brett baron chipped in one goal each.
Johnny Powless scored four times for the Knighthawks while Joel McCready added two goals and an assist and Sean Keogh chipped in with three assists.
Roughnecks captain Andrew McBride was happy with the effort in the game, saying, “You always want to set little goals and it’s always a goal of ours to win games. Even more than the outcome, it was the little things that we did well. We communicated well, ran to the bench hard, offense was moving their feet and I thought our special teams was the best I’ve seen to start the year. Those are all the little things that if we take of, the end result will be there for us.”
Added head coach Curt Malawsky, “I thought the guys were great. The work ethic was phenomenal right from the start of training camp right through this last game. Everyone competed really hard and they can all be proud of their efforts. That’s all you can ask for from a coaching staff. I haven’t seen a work ethic like this at training camp in the 12 years I’ve been here. Every guy brought it and it’s a special thing to see.”
The difficult task of trimming the roster to 20 players and a four-man practice roster is now at the forefront of everyone’s minds.
“It’s always tough and comes down to sheer numbers,” said Malawsky. “One thing I can say is that I’m very proud of every player that came out. They learned a lot from this experience. It’s not going to be an exciting day from a coaching staff, it’s a sad day really because you’re going to have to let some players go that gave everything they could and it’s tough numbers based on the reduction of the rosters. I told the guys in the room that they should hold their heads up high and they all had the opportunity, and every single one of them seized that opportunity.”
The final roster announcement happens on Monday, Dec. 16.
