The Calgary Roughnecks gutted out a win in a high-scoring affair in Edmonton, beating the Rush 18-15.
In a game that saw 20 first-half goals, Calgary pulled ahead in the third quarter and were able to weather a late-game charge by the Rush to earn their third win of the season.
The hometown Rush outshot the Roughnecks 80-62, with 60 on target, compared to Calgary’s 41. But Riggers netminder Mike Poulin made the big stops in clutch situations, turning aside 45 shots over the course of the game.
The Battle of Alberta is usually a chippy affair, but this game was pretty clean, with only 10 penalties assessed, all minors. Instead, this game was all about the goals.
The Roughnecks were led by Jeff Shattler, who scored twice and assisted on six others. Dane Dobbie and Geoff Snider both earned hat tricks.
Edmonton’s Ryan Ward had a seven-point night in the losing cause.
The difference in the game was in the goaltending.
Although Poulin was spelled by Frankie Scigliano very briefly in the first quarter, Edmonton’s Aaron Bold was chased from the game twice over the course of the game, with big Brodie MacDonald spending the bulk of the minutes between the pipes.
All in all, MacDonald had a better night but he and Bold only turned aside 23 Roughnecks shots for a dismal .561 save percentage.
The Battle of Alberta resumes next weekend in Calgary with the second of four meetings between these two clubs. Edmonton will be looking for revenge and Calgary will be looking to extend their three-game winning streak with their first home win of the year.
