Del Bianco’s solid effort wasted, as Riggers stuffed by rival Seals at Dome
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It was a valiant second-half comeback attempt by the Calgary Roughnecks.
But just like their previous two National Lacrosse League contests during this three-game slide, the Riggers (5-8) came up short in a 7-6 Friday night loss to the San Diego Seals (10-4) on WestJet Field at Scotiabank Saddledome.
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The team has dropped all three games by two goals or less. Calgary fell 11-9 to the Philadelphia Wings on March 2 and 13-12 to the Georgia Swarm six days later.
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“I think if we can pick our effort up about 10%, then these one-goal games might be a little bit different,” said Roughnecks captain Jesse King after the latest loss. “There’s always going to be frustration level when we’re not winning games, especially when they’re losing by one goal.”
King and Tanner Cook each scored twice in the second half to spark the comeback bid after the Riggers trailed 6-2 at the break. Shane Simpson and Tyler Pace notched first-half goals for the home side. Pace also had two assists.
While King applauded the team’s second-half effort, he believes they have to do a better job of putting the ball in the back of the net.
That was the case on Friday as Calgary posted a season-low tally in a goaltending duel.
Christopher Origlieri was fantastic for the Seals in stopping 35 balls.
But the story of the night was the performance of Christian Del Bianco, who kept the Roughnecks in the game after saving 54 of the 61 shots he faced. With the 2023 NLL MVP on their side, King believes the Riggers have a chance in every game in the push for a playoff spot.
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“He’s our backbone,” said King. “We got to lean on him right now, because he’s the guy who’s always consistent.”
These competitive losses have come at the worst time for the Riggers. With five games remaining in their season, the team sits in 11th place as they pursue a top-eight finish to make the post-season.
Calgary is in a five-team race with the Saskatchewan Rush (4-6), the Rochester Knighthawks (5-6), the New York Riptide (6-7) and the Panther City Lacrosse Club (6-9) for the final two post-season spots.
Despite the struggles, Roughnecks head coach Josh Sanderson believes in his team.
“We’ve been in this hole a few times here, so we know we can crawl out of it,” said the former Riggers star. “We’re definitely not done. I got confidence in our guys.”
The Roughnecks got some help on Friday, as the Halifax Thunderbirds (8-6) defeated Panther City 13-9.
If the Roughnecks want to make a playoff push, they will need to put together a full 60-minute effort. The last two games have seen the team fall behind early. On Friday, they trailed 4-0 in the first quarter.
Sanderson shouldered responsibility for his team’s lack of effort in the first half.
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“I thought our first period wasn’t good enough, and it wasn’t good enough in Georgia, and that’s on me,” said coach Sanderson. “Just got to do a better job making sure we’re ready to play for the 60 minutes.”
On the bright side, three of their final five games are at the Dome, allowing the team to feed off the home crowd.
After a season-high 14,143 fans were in attendance on Friday during the annual St. Patrick’s Day game, King knows the importance of having home-floor advantage.
“It’s always exciting, especially when you’re playing in Calgary,” he said. “That’s why we go on those runs a lot of the time at home because that energy really builds us up.”
The Roughnecks’ star added the team is taking it one game at a time. His head coach reiterated that statement, stating the team will put all its effort into the upcoming battle against the Albany FireWolves next Friday (7 p.m., TSN+).
QUICK STICKS
After collecting 14 loose balls on Friday, the Roughnecks’ Zach Currier surpassed 1,100 for his career … Former Riggers superstar Curtis Dickson achieved a milestone of his own, recording his 1,000th career point after a three-assist performance for the Seals … Roughnecks transition Josh Inacio (lower body) and defender Seth Van Schepen (upper body) both missed Friday’s affair.
mkaake@postmedia.com
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