They have a new city and a fresh start, but the Washington Stealth still dealt a little payback for old times.
It came in the form of fourth-quarter strikes.
The Stealth, who were whipped 17-5 in last spring's National Lacrosse League playoffs while located in San Jose, exacted a bit of revenge with a back-and-forth 16-15 victory Saturday night in front of 10,104 spectators at the Saddledome.
The defending NLL champion Roughnecks drop to 1-2 on the young season after giving away a two-goal fourth-quarter lead.
"Our execution wasn't there," said captain Tracey Kelusky. "We didn't put the ball in the net when we needed to, didn't transition well and didn't get stops when we needed them.
"It's execution. We had a lot of chances, but we didn't bear down and bury the ball. We were chasing them all game. We took the lead and they went on a run. This is a game of momentum, and you need goals at certain times. We didn't get it done at key times and, personally, I wasn't able to do it."
Kelusky had one goal and three helpers, while Josh Sanderson scored four times and added three assists.
Both Craig Conn and Dane Dobbie had four-goal games, while Scott Ranger and Jeff Moleski had the others.
Even after getting up 14-12 and letting the Stealth roar back with four goals, the Riggers were within one in the final minute, when Kelusky rang a shot off the post.
That is hardly any consolation for the captain.
"Unless the ball drops, you can't take any positives from it. Unless the ball goes in, it's a failure," Kelusky said.
Former Roughnecks sniper Lewis Ratcliff, who scored 210 goals in Calgary between 2003 and 2008, potted six for the Stealth.
Cam Sedgwick had a hat-trick for Washington, while Jeff Zywicki had a pair, and Paul Rabil and Rhys Duch had five-point nights.
The Riggers took their first lead with 4:42 left in the third quarter, as Moleski scored off a faceoff.
Early in the fourth quarter, the Riggers took a two-goal lead, but the Stealth managed to wipe that out with two goals in 12 seconds to set up a tense final minutes.
But the Riggers could have easily taken control at the start being the Stealth were coming off a game Friday night at home in Everett.
The Stealth jumped out to a 6-1 lead early in the second quarter before the home side ripped off four goals in a span of 2:09 to cut the deficit to one.
"They came out hard and we knew they would having played the night before," said Riggers head coach Dave Pym.
"We weathered the storm and came back real well. We showed deep character and heart coming back. Again our execution and guys not being on the same page bit us on the butt.
"That was poor execution on our part. We have to be better."
In the second quarter, Stealth defender Wade DeWolff took a high-sticking major, but on the powerplay, the visitors managed to outscore the Riggers 3-1.
All those goals came shorthanded, while the Calgary goal was even strength after Mike Carnegie took a cross-checking penalty.
IAN.BUSBY@SUNMEDIA.CA
