Josh Sanderson, Kaleb Toth, Curt Malawsky and Dane Dobbie scored three goals each as the Calgary Roughnecks defeated the Toronto Rock 16-9 Saturday night to remain undefeated.
Tracey Kelusky and Nolan Heavenor added two goals each for the National Lacrosse League's West Division leaders, who improved to 3-0.
Calgary Roughnecks crush Toronto Rock 16-9
Neil Stevens
THE CANADIAN PRESS
Josh Sanderson, Kaleb Toth, Curt Malawsky and Dane Dobbie scored three goals each as the Calgary Roughnecks defeated the Toronto Rock 16-9 Saturday night to remain undefeated.
Tracey Kelusky and Nolan Heavenor added two goals each for the National Lacrosse League's West Division leaders, who improved to 3-0.
Sanderson and Scott Ranger each had five assists, and Pat Campbell earned the goaltending win.
Luke Wiles scored three goals for the Rock, 1-2 in the East Division. Lewis Ratcliff got two and Josh Wasson, Kasey Beirnes, Stephen Hoar and Jason Crosbie had one each in front of an Air Canada Centre crowd of 12,865.
Calgary improved to 7-2 and Toronto fell to 1-7 since the Roughnecks acquired Sanderson from the Rock for Ratcliff last March.
The Roughnecks jumped to a 3-0 lead before the Rock managed a shot on Campbell, and they led 7-2 in the 10th minute on a 16-3 shots-on-goal advantage when Rock coach Glenn Clark took a timeout to try and refocus his players.
It worked. Toronto scored four in a row including a short-handed Ratcliff goal to make it 7-6.
It was 8-6 after Toth struck for Calgary's third power-play goal in six chances. The Rock had yet to get a power-play opportunity, but they kept eating away at the Roughnecks' lead and tied it 8-8 late in the second quarter.
Kelusky beat Bob Watson just before halftime to send Calgary into the break up 9-8. Shots were 33-18 in Calgary's favour.
The Roughnecks started the second half in the fast-forward way they began the game as a goal by Dobbie and two by Sanderson put them up 12-8.
Roughnecks' forwards were using picks on the rush to set up passing plays at the crease far more effectively than the Rock.
When Toth made it 14-9 at 12:48 of the third quarter, Clark lifted Watson and sent in little-used Mike Attwood. Shots were 43-28 at that point.
Calgary's defence shut down the Rock in the fourth quarter, and goals by Dobbie and Heavenor padded the Roughnecks' insurmountable lead.
The final shots count was 50-38 in Calgary's favour. On power plays, the Roughnecks were 3-for-7 while the Rock were 1-for-3.
