Pay the Man
Brad Bannister doubled down on an 11 with the dealer showing ten….and hit a winner. Okay, maybe I’m flashing back to my weekend in Vegas just a bit, but the short version is the Roughneck’s owner gambled..and won big time Saturday night.
In sports, if you’re going to do something rash like comp your whole building for a night, you want to plan it, promote it, and generally put some time into it and make it a labour of love. You don’t go a Flames game Tuesday, come away frustrated that they’re filling the Dome and you aren’t, and announce to your beleaguered staff on Wednesday morning that you’re doing an ‘everyone gets in free’ night in three days time.
But, that’s what Bannister did, and on a night when the franchise had a lot to lose, everything came up 7’s for the man rolling the dice. Last Vegas reference. I promise.
Comping your building to kick-start a new fan base is an idea as old as minor pro sports, but as I explained earlier this week, it carries significant risks, not the least of which is laying a giant egg in front of a bunch of people who’ve never seen your product, and aren’t about to come back as paying customers is you stink the joint out. With that on the table, Bannister needed some luck. And he got it Saturday morning when Tracey Kelusky woke up without a headache.
It’s hard to overstate the impact Kelusky has on the team. He’s a leader, a motivator, and at the end of the day, a pretty damn good lacrosse player. All three aspects of his game were on display Saturday night.
It’s not just the fact Kelusky hasn’t seen game action since he was concussed in the first game of the season. There’s also the little matter of no conditioning for over two months. Given that built in excuse, all Kelusky did was go out and pound out a 6 point night on 2 goals and 4 assists. There was an obvious difference in the way the team played with their leader in the lineup. There’s the extra time and space created for guys like Kaleb Toth, Lewis Ratcliff and Scott Ranger with another offensive threat to account for.
A happy mob of 18,737 saw everything good that the game of lacrosse and the Roughnecks as a team have to offer. In addition to Kelusky’s heroics, Lewis Ratcliff had yet another hat trick, Ranger had a personal best 6 point night, Toth scored career goal number 200, and Ryan McNish and Brodie Merrill squared off and pounded the crap out of each other.
It wasn’t all pretty. A couple of the bad-change-breakaways that have plagued this team this season happened early. A Roughnecks power play resulted in two shorthanded Portland goals. There was a looooooooong stretch between goals between the third and fourth quarter that had me wondering if the final 15 minutes of doom that have killed this team too often this year were making another appearance. The difference was, this time the snowball was stopped at the top of the hill before it could really get rolling.
The two breakaways early were the only ones. The shorthanded goals were answered on a third quarter 5 minute power play that saw the Riggers cash in twice in 30 seconds. The 12 and a half minute drought ended with an exclamation point midway through the final frame with three goals in a minute.
Some other kudos to hand out. Tip the hat to rookie Mike Carnegie who picked off a pass, went the length of the floor and scored his first NLL goal on a great individual effort. Applause to Devan Wray, back in the lineup for the first time in three games for a tenacious effort in his own end and the faceoff circle. Wray and Nolan Heavenor won 21 of 31 draws on the night, giving the Riggers possession time after time. Standing O for Pat Campbell, for another great game in net, helped by at least 5 timely posts. Good luck to Troy Cordingley decideing what to do next week if Steve Dietrich’s healthy enough to return to the lineup. Talking to him after the game, I get the feeling he’s going to keep riding the hot hand. And last but certainly not least, an approving nod to Cordingley and his coaching staff for second half adjustments that focussed on penetrating a tough Lumberjax D that shut down the shooting lanes in the first 30.
As bad as things have been this season, suddenly everthing’s turned on its ear. The win gives the Roughnecks the season series with Portland, and a key tiebreaker. San Jose upsetting the Mammoth in Coldorado tightens the Western race, with the season series against both clubs still in the balance for the Roughnecks. Fate, it seems, has taken a turn in the home team’s favour.
Can’t wait to see how many fans who took advantage of the freebies are willing to plunk down real money and show up next Friday for the rubber match with Coldorado. Brad Bannister took the chance of showcasing his product in front of a bunch of people with no financial stake on a cheap night out, with an eye to taking attendance to the next level. His team more than held up their end.