By Scott Zerr
EdmontonRush.com

On paper it was labelled an exhibition game, but Friday night's NLL pre-season tilt between the Edmonton Rush and Calgary Roughnecks was every bit a full-fledged chapter in the Battle of Alberta.

When the smoked cleared and the dust settled, the Roughnecks escaped Rexall Place with a wild 19-16 victory in a game that featured a huge early lead, a terrific comeback, an wide array of highlight-reel goals and of course, a good old-fashioned Wild West showdown between two heavyweight scrappers.

Despite the loss, Rush GM/Head Coach Paul Day came away pleased with his lineup that featured mostly youngsters on defence and the new-look Rush offence that went 9-for-10 on the power play.

"You could definitely tell that there were some very nervous guys going into the first quarter and rightfully so," said Day. "But between the first and the second quarter we told them to settle down and relax and I think the guys got a lot better as the game went on. I thought the second quarter was our best quarter of the night."

The Rush certainly struggled in the first quarter and they fell behind 7-0 before the halfway point. But trailing 9-1 after 15 minutes, the Rush rebounded in style, scoring four straight to start the second quarter and totalling nine before the frame was finished for a 10-10 deadlock at the half. Among the Rush's goals in the second quarter were power-play markers notched by Dan Stroup and Randy Daly during a five-minute major for checking from behind assessed on Calgary's Brendan Day.

The difference came in the third quarter, though, when the Roughnecks finished with four straight goals including two from newcomer Shawn Cable.

The teams traded goals in the fourth - a period that featured an anticipated fight between the team's enforcers, Calgary's Ryan McNish and Edmonton's Darryl Welsh. After taking two early shots, Welsh went on to the victory, pounding McNish down before the pair were separated.

During the off-season, the Rush's main goal was to improve their scoring prowess and the big-name additions proved their worth right from the start. Chris Gill finished with five goals and two assists while Stroup added a pair of goals and one helper. The Rush also got two goals and seven assists from veteran Jamey Bowen who was glad to have a twosome of sharp finishers around the opposition net.

"Our power play is unreal," said Bowen, the Rush's leading scorer in 2006. "We had more one-touch goals tonight then we did all of last year."

Gill also liked what he saw out of his new team.

"We showed some character coming back from being down by eight," he said. "We have to be better, but the chemistry is there and the talent is there so all we have to do is put it all together. If we play hard some good things are going to happen."

Jesse Phillips and Taylor Wray each scored three goals to lead the Roughnecks while Scott Ranger and Cable both scored a pair. Devin Wray, Scott Anderson, Derek Tom, Jeff Schattler, Nolan Heavenor, Kaleb Toth, Jamie Rooney, and former Rush players Kerry Susheski and Stu Sterparn added singles for Calgary.

Adding to the Rush offence were Daly with two and singles from Jamie Roy, Darcy Berthiaume, Jimmy Quinlan, Jordan Cornfield and Ted Jenner.

After allowing six goals during the first period, Rush goalie Pat Campbell was in better form over the final three quarters. He was replaced for the final seven minutes of the first by Kurtis Wagar, the Rush's top pick in the 2006 NLL Draft.

Andrew Leyshon and Alex Coutts split duty in the Roughnecks' net.

The two teams meet again Dec. 30 in Lethbridge, Alberta, in the final exhibition game and then play the first of three regular-season meetings on Jan. 13 at Rexall Place in Edmonton.