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With top spot in both the West Division and the National Lacrosse League locked up, the Calgary Roughnecks finish the season tonight in Portland against the Lumberjax (8:30 pm, NLL.com). The Riggers will find out who they play in the first round of the playoffs after this weekend.
The Roughnecks will host an NLL divisional semi final on Sunday, May 3rd at the Dome…and it’ll be against one of Edmonton, Colorado or Minnesota. The schedule this weekend will decide how that plays out, as both the Mammoth and Swarm sit 6-9 while it’s a 5-10 record for the Rush. Calgary is 3-0 against Edmonton, 1-1 against Colorado and 2-0 against the Swarm this season.
It’s a chance for Calgary to rectify some problems that have creeped up the last few weeks in their game. It’s also a chance to even the season series with Portland, who beat them last weekend at the Dome. The main thing to look for from a Calgary perspective is consistent goal scoring. In recent games, we’ve seen stretches of far too long when Calgary has not scored a goal. With the offensive capability of this team, that shouldn’t be happening.
To me, the most impressive player in the second half of the season for the Riggers has been Kaleb Toth. His 76 points are 3rd on the team, while his 33 goals are second. But what’s been impressive are his 4th quarter goals and how he’s really turned it on the last few games. He has 27 points in his last 5 games.
Totally agree about Kaleb; he has been a phenom the last six or seven games. This roster is really something special compared to previous years.
You and Rowe really nailed it Pat. I think we really started to see a shift after the Ratcliff/Shooter trade. Previously Calgary’s offense and transitional players only play was to “feed Lewis”. With Sanderson, we now have a proven point guard and a spread out offense where so many get to shine.
I’m really looking forward to the playoffs this year. Drawing Colorado does scare me a little since they can really ramp it up despite their record, but I still am confident in the Necks. It’s going to be a great game between two rivals.
Both TK and Brider mentioned that Calgary needs to maintain offensive pressure and were disappointed that it hasn’t been solved as of yesterday. I think that is going to be key. If you look at the games Calgary has lost or were close to losing, you’ll noticed that the scoring was very streaky. As you mentioned above, we need to score a lot and consistently, not be satisfied with a bunch all in one quarter.
I’m thinking MK is going to be in the nets on Sunday, ideas Pat? He was pretty consistent last night despite his cold stretch the last couple of games, and Cordingly seems to like to ride hot goalies. Against Leyshon, I still think the key is to ramp the shot total as high as possible.
- Craig