Roughnecks close out disappointing season with 11-9 victory over Panther City

The Roughnecks rallied in the second half to defeat Panther City 11-9 Saturday night in Calgary. (Photo: X@NLLRoughnecks)

The Roughnecks wrapped up their season with a win Saturday night, defeating the Panther City Lacrosse Club 11-9 at the Saddledome.

Panther City broke a 2-2 tie, after the Roughnecks got early goals from Tyler Pace and Josh Currier, by exploding for five second-quarter goals.

The Roughnecks countered with one from Tanner Cook, and headed into the break trailing 7-3.

In the third, however, the Roughnecks shut down Panther City completely while Jesse King scored a pair and Logan Schuss scored his first goal as a Roughneck.

In the fourth, Haiden Dickson tied things up at 7-7. Schuss added his second to put them in front but Panther City bounced back with a pair.

However, the Roughnecks got two goals from Tyler Pace and one from Tanner Cook to give them the final 11-9 margin to send the 14,424 fans in attendance home happy.

Goaltender Christian Del Bianco made 39 saves and got an assist along the way to picking up the victory.

“We just weren’t playing our game in the first half," said Roughneck head coach Josh Sanderson. "And then in the second half, I thought we found some more emotion and obviously played with way more discipline, and our D and goaltending really locked in. I was just really really happy with the second half.”

The Roughnecks finished the 2023-24 season with an 8-10 record, missing the NLL post-season.

“I think they already know there’s going to be a bit of change moving forward," Sanderson added. "It’s just about how hard we play. It’s not about re-inventing the wheel. We just have to get better in some areas. Tons of those guys are going to be back.”