Improving Roughnecks brimming with confidence
Riggers riding three-game win streak as they head into showdown with Rush
The streak stands at three with the next stop being the SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon.
Could there be a better litmus test to determine where the Calgary Roughnecks (4-5) are at the midpoint of the 2018 National Lacrosse League season, taking on the team that stands atop the standings at 8-2, the perennially challenging Saskatchewan Rush?
Yet, head coach Curt Malawsky doesn’t see it quite that way.
“We’re not measuring up against anyone else,” said Malawsky. “We’re just trying to get better each week. The Rush are who they are, they’re going to play like they’re going to play, and we are who we are.”
The Roughnecks will tussle with the Rush on Saturday night in a 6:30 p.m. MT start. The hosts are looking to rebound from a 16-11 loss to Rochester last weekend.
The Roughnecks, on the other hand, want to begin the second half of their schedule by adding Saskatchewan to the list of vanquished.
“We’re not putting any pressure on ourselves,” said Calgary captain Dan McRae. “The message from our coaching staff is that we’re trying to get better every game. We feel we’ve been doing that for five weeks or so. I’d say Saskatchewan is a good test. They have the best record in the league. They’ve always been one of the best teams so it sets the bar high for our group.
“I don’t know if any game between the Roughnecks and Rush you can classify as typical. We play them so many times. You can get a bad taste in your mouth. You get so familiar with those guys. There’s a rivalry that’s been there since they were in Edmonton, so I think the expectations bring up the best out of each group,” said McRae.
The last time these squads met was on Jan. 27 at the Scotiabank Saddledome, in what ended as a 1312 overtime victory for the Rush. But that game was significant in that, with the Riggers trailing 10-4 at the half, they put up a second-half comeback that saw them not only compete, but nearly come away with the points. That, for many, was the beginning of Calgary’s stunning turnaround from a 1-5 start.
“It was a key point in time,” said McRae. “We were fed up with losing. We were fed up with the results we’d been getting. We were fed up as players with coaches coming in and saying our effort was there, that we were playing well but we just weren’t getting the bounces. We’re like, you know what, screw the not getting the bounces stuff. I know we’re all working hard, but we just have to get the job done and do whatever it takes.
“From that second half on and into the overtime, we just showed how we need to be playing when our backs are up against the wall and sick of just sticking with the status quo,” McRae said. “We showed what everybody can do when they put it on the line. It moved the ceiling up a lot more with our group and it does a lot for young guys in this league to see how good they can be.”
Winning breeds confidence and vice versa. And as they head into the Rush’s heated lair, the Roughnecks are brimming with it.
“The plan’s probably clearer for the guys,” Malawsky said. “That’s a big thing for the guys right now. We made some subtle changes and the guys are clearer about their roles. There’s some clarity in what the expectations are for the guys and what it is as a whole.”
“I’ve said it before. It validates what the coaching staff has been preaching, some of the systems they’ve been implementing, and it validates the group of guys we have in this room,” said McRae. “We’ve been trusting each other and we’re believing in what everyone is bringing to the table, from the goaltending, to the defence, to the offence. Now that we know that it’s working, you’re seeing more trust come from players. That’s what’s been coming through in the results.
“I think, now that we know how good we can play with each other, the sky’s the limit for this group.”