Dead of Dumb
Snatching defeat from the jaws of victory has become something of an art form for this year’s edition of the Roughnecks, but just when you thought you’d seen every way to give a game away, they surprise you with something new.
Saturday, stupid penalites effectively killed any hope this team had left of a home playoff game, with bonehead retaliation after bonehead retaliation taking away power plays, and running mouths and after the fact hits giving the lethal Stealth power play opportunity after opportunity to put it away.
The penalty parade ruined what should have a great afternoon for the Roughnecks. After a horrendous first 20 minutes of the game that saw a pair of power play and a pair of shorthanded goals that paced the home team to a 6-1 lead, the Riggers rallied around Pat Campbell who found his A game after a shaky start, and helped trigger an 11-3 run that lasted into the 4th quarter.
There was so much to like. Campbell stoning the Stealth time after time. An aggressive transition game that ignited the offense. A sudden willingness to get dirty and go to the net, helped along by a gritty performance from Shawn Cable.
And then it all stopped.
The attacking game that built a 12-9 lead with fewer than 8 minutes to go went away in seconds. Blame Nolan Heavenor for taking a holding a stick penalty in the offensive zone. Blame Andrew McBride for whatever he said to the referee that triggered an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on that call, and a 2 minute 5 on 3 advantage that turned into two powerplay goals in 54 seconds, woops, make that 3 goals in 73 seconds as Luke Wiles connects 13 seconds after McBride slinks out of the box. Blame Scott Carnegie for a pointless cross check from behind AFTER San jose had failed to score on a breakaway that set the stage for the game winner off the stick of Colin Doyle with 5 seconds to go.
The Roughnecks had to come out nasty and play with an edge. I get that. But playing on the edge and giving an obviously whistle-happy crew excuse after excuse to send you away invites disaster, and disaster RSVP’ed with a big ‘yes’.
What now? The NLL trade deadlne comes up Tuesday. Is it time to blow up the offensive core and do something big? I don’t know. The goaltending’s fine. Campbell was strong again, and lucky when he needed to be. His 2-5 record as a starter is an insult to what he’s done since signing on board. The defense has come around and seems to have gotten Troy Cordingley’s system. The transition game, although underutilized before today, has been a weapon. As for the offense, all too often they’ve seemed content to work around the perimeter and shoot from the outside. Saturday, that changed thanks to Cable’s willingness to take a few whacks to inspire the others. Special teams were horrendous Saturday. 3 for 6 on the powerplay negated by 2 shorthanded goals, and a PK that was a miserable 2 for 8. Does that call for a shake-up? I wish I could answer that.
A look at the roster of this team shows a mix of league legends, all stars, and up and coming talent. Everything that needs to be here is here, and yet, something’s keeping it all from coming together, and that something seems to be a moving target from week to week.
Any semblance of control the Roughnecks had over their own destiny has been thrown away. The rubber matches in two crucial season series have been lost. the one season series that went the Rigger’s way doesn’t mean much right now, as Portland has taken third place for the moment with 4 wins in one less game. Yeah, there’s still three games with the Rush to go, but basing your hopes for success on having to sweep the league patsies isn’t a winner’s way of doing things. It’s going to be a long couple of days until deadline day, and a long couple of weeks until the Roughnecks get a shot at redemption at Rexall Place.