The Battle of the Prairies served as the inaugural matchup of Week 19, with the Calgary Roughnecks paying a visit to the 11-win Saskatchewan Rush. Despite taking the field at SaskTel Centre, losers of two straight, the visitors from Alberta’s largest city escaped Saskatoon winners of an impressive 10-6 triumph. Just shy of 8,000 fans were on hand for a first-hand account of the upset.
Led by Curtis Dickson (3G, 2A) and Nick Rose (57 Saves) the Roughnecks take down the Rush 10-6
👀 GAME RECAP pic.twitter.com/98dOah2n7F
— NLL (@NLL) April 5, 2025
The Rush got off to a strong start, possessing a 5-3 lead midway through the second stanza. From that point forward, the Roughnecks decided it was their time to shine, with the club scoring seven of the contest’s final eight games, outscoring SSK 4-0 in the final 15 minutes.
Curtis Dickson made history on Friday, becoming the first player to score 500 goals for the Roughnecks, connecting on three scores and two helpers in the latest chapter of his storybook return to Calgary. Jesse King added one goal and five assists to a Roughnecks collaboration that featured a grand total of eight players inscribing their name into the scoring sheet.
Curtis Dickson is now the first player to score 500 goal as a Roughneck!
Congrats Superman! pic.twitter.com/2Qj6BZ37KE
— Calgary Roughnecks (@NLLRoughnecks) April 5, 2025
In defeat, Robert Church notched a hat trick, while Austin Shanks checked in with two goals.
Nick Rose was absolutely fabulous between the pipes, denying 57 out of 63 shots hurled his direction, well outpacing Frank Scigliano, who made 37 saves on the evening.
Friday’s westernmost game occurred at Rogers Arena in downtown Vancouver, where 9,500 box lacrosse aficionados caught a glimpse of two teams in the midst of three-game winning streaks, with the Albany FireWolves in town to go head-to-head with the Warriors.
Vancouver was in firm control of this battle throughout, as Curt Malawsky’s squad led 4-1 at half, en route to notching five of the affair’s final six scores, cruising to a runaway 10-4 win.
Led by Keegan Bal (4G, 3A) and Christian Del Bianco (37 Saves) the Warriors win their fourth game in a row, taking down Albany 10-4
👀 Game Recap pic.twitter.com/5O70GOq93d
— NLL (@NLL) April 5, 2025
Keegan Bal continues his outstanding season, garnering four goals and three assists, setting the pace for a Warrior team that featured six players scoring exactly one goal. On the Albany side of the mix, the young foursome of Dyson Williams, Alex Simmons, Tye Kurtz, and Ethan Walker delivered one goal apiece, but that was the extent of the defending runner-up’s offensive presentation.
Christian Del Bianco moved his Vancouver record to 4-0, with the former NLL MVP knocking down 37 of 41 shots, while simultaneously assisting on two of his team’s 10 goals. What a weapon he is on the back end!
Christian Del Bianco stops 37 shots and leads Vancouver to their FOURTH win in a row, taking down Albany 10-4.
👀 CDB Highlights pic.twitter.com/cRfePTS9T3
— NLL (@NLL) April 5, 2025
Doug Jamieson had a solid game in defeat, re-directing 31 shots on a night when his teammates were unable to muster much of an offensive attack.
