Roughnecks Fall to Mammoth, Dobbie Nets His 400th Career Goal

It wasn’t what the Calgary Roughnecks had in mind for their St. Patrick’s Day party.

The Roughnecks (now 6-7) fell to the Colorado Mammoth (now 4-8) 11-9 Saturday night in front of 13,946 disappointed fans at the Scotiabank Saddledome.

“It’s disappointing. Coming home to halve a season series is something you want to grab and you want to win,” said Roughnecks head coach Curt Malawsky.

“At the end of the day, it’s just a game of inches. They executed and we didn’t.”

The Roughnecks were able to secure the fast start they were looking for, jumping out to a 5-1 lead 30 seconds into the second quarter.

The Mammoth would come storming back, however, tallying four unanswered goals to tie the game before the break.

“We started out really well, then they went on a run. In the past, we haven’t really got rattled about that, but today we were a little rattled with the run,” said Malawsky.

On a positive note, long-time Roughnecks forward Dane Dobbie notched career-goal number 400.

Dobbie said the moment brought a wave of memories from when he first stepped into the Roughnecks locker room, and is a moment he’ll never forget.

“It’s something I can look back on, but I’ve played with some very talented players, and I still am playing with some very talented players, so all credit goes to them,” said Dobbie.

Dobbie finished the night with six points (two goals, four assists), which fittingly led the Roughnecks offense, while Kyle Killen’s five points (three goals, two assists) led the way for the Mammoth.

After the offense came out firing on all cylinders early in the game, Dobbie said it was simply a matter of not maintaining the same pace the rest of the way.

“We let our foot off the gas, I think. Colorado’s playing well, they got a lot of young kids, and they move well,” said Dobbie.

“The game could’ve been a lot worse if our goaltender didn’t stand on his head. The guys in this room know we didn’t bring our ‘A’ game tonight, and it cost us.”

Despite the loss, Roughnecks goaltender Christian Del Bianco continued the same stellar play he’s became known for so far this season, finishing with 35 saves on 46 shots. At the other end, Dillon Ward was equally as impressive, finishing with 35 saves on 44 shots.

Roughnecks defenseman Dan MacRae said the team’s effort wasn’t indicative of what kind of team they are and what they’re capable of. He said it’s a matter of controlling their emotions, which they failed to do tonight.

“We need a little more confidence in ourselves. We’re a great team,” said MacRae.

“We’re going to learn from this one and get ready for next week.”

Next week will see the Roughnecks make the long trek to New York to take on the Rochester Knighthawks (2-10).

Despite the Knighthawks’ record, MacRae said they won’t be taking them lightly, and will be doing all they can to improve on their mistakes from tonight.

“We’ll look at the tape, the coaches will put a good game-plan in, and we’ll correct our mistakes from tonight.”

Three Stars

1. Dane Dobbie CGY
2. Ryan Lee COL
3. Curtis Dickson CGY