Photo Credit: Calgary Roughnecks
The Calgary Roughnecks haven’t been to a Champion’s Cup in five years. They’ll be trying to break that dry spell Friday night in Edmonton when they face the Rush in Game 2 of the West Division Final series.
The Rush meanwhile, will be looking to get back on track after being upset 12-11 in overtime by the Roughnecks last weekend. At 16-2, they had the best record in the NLL during the regular season and they badly want to earn their second trip to the Champion’s Cup in three years while playing their first-ever home playoff game.
If Calgary wins Friday’s game, they move on to the league championship against either the Rochester Knighthawks or the Buffalo Bandits. If Edmonton wins and ties the series a 10-minute mini-game will played played immediately, with the winner moving on.
While Edmonton handily beat Calgary in their first three meetings of the season, the Riggers have gotten the best of the Rush in their last two contests, with both wins coming in overtime.
Lefty Mark Matthews led all scorers in last weekend’s game, picking up seven points on three goals and four assists for the Rush while Curtis Dickson paced the Roughnecks with four goals and two assists, including the tying goal on a penalty shot with less than a minute left to play in regulation.
Calgary goaltender Mike Poulin had an outstanding game, turning aside 45 shots and getting better and better as the game wore on. Aaron Bold made 28 saves for the Rush in the losing cause.
One question mark for Calgary once again will be in the faceoff circle where Geoff Snider is still a question mark after sustaining a lower body injury in the first round of the playoffs against the Colorado Mammoth. If he still isn’t able to go in Game 2, Edmonton’s Jeremy Thompson will likely dominate the draws as he did last weekend when he won 19-of-27 faceoffs, giving the Rush a big advantage in possessions.
Game 2 of the West Division Final gets underway at 8:00 pm MT at Rexall Place in Edmonton.
