The pregame report on Toronto's Fan 590, at about 8:05 PM local time, set a curious tone for tonight's game between the waiting-for-the-playoffs Toronto Rock and the hoping-to-make-the-playoffs Calgary Roughnecks.

Rock forward (and leading scorer) Blaine Manning was pulled aside earlier today by head coach Terry Sanderson and told -- egad! -- that he'd be playing defense tonight.

By 10:30 PM, Manning had five goals anyway.

Great story behind another great Rock victory? Hardly.

The contest, which lived up to its advance billing as one to remember, was decided by Rob Kirkby's breakaway goal at 2:08 of the second sudden death overtime period, giving the Roughnecks an 11-10 victory.

It was just the second goal Kirkby has scored all season, and it was the first time ever that the Riggers defeated the Rock.

More important than all that, the game was indeed a thriller, with the Rock building a quick lead, allowing Calgary to slowly erase it, and rallying to force overtime.

Toronto's early 3-0 advantage took little time and little effort -- Colin Doyle scored just thirty seconds in, then again two minutes later, and Matt Shearer lit the lamp just after the five-minute mark.

Ted Dowling, fresh off scoring his 300th career goal last week, got Calgary on the board at 13:28, and the score stayed 3-1 through the end of the quarter.

More than halfway through the second quarter, Manning finally perked up on offense, burying a power play shot. Before the first half was complete, though, Calgary had trimmed the Rock's lead to 4-3 on goals by Tracey Kelusky and Lewis Ratcliff.

Dowling tied the game at four early in the third quarter, with Toronto's Darryl Gibson off for checking from behind.

A few minutes later, Manning and Shearer restored the two-goal lead, but Calgary's fearsome forwards tore it down over the remaining nine minutes of the third quarter. Toth scored twice, and Kelusky and Ratcliff once each, for an 8-6 advantage.

Manning scored twice early in the fourth quarter, but couldn't gain much for the Rock, as each goal was answered by Calgary (Kyle Goundrey the first time around, and Kelusky on the repeat).

With time becoming critical, Manning struck for his fifth goal at 12:50, and Chris Driscoll tied the match at ten with only 40 seconds to spare.

Roughnecks goaltender Curtis Palidwor proved up to the challenge in the first overtime, surviving four Toronto shots on goal and a two-minute penalty to defenseman Craig Gelsvik (holding).

Calgary survived the penalty and carried some serious momentum into the second overtime, but it still took the Roughnecks two minutes to record their first shot of the period.

That shot was a good one -- Kirkby, for the victory.

Doyle led all scorers, with seven points (two goals, five assists), while Kelusky (three goals, two assists) paced the Roughnecks.

However, the goaltenders deserve the biggest credit in this one. Shots on goal were a dime a dozen (55-50, Rock), but goals came at a premium. Palidwor made 45 saves in collecting the win; Anthony Cosmo tallied 39 as the hard-luck loser.

Tonight's loss ends Toronto's faint hope of earning the number one seed in the playoffs, an honor which will go to the Colorado Mammoth. The Rock had already clinched the Eastern Division title and a first-round bye.

Calgary, on the other hand, is still scratching and clawing for playoff position, and will host the Western Division semifinal in two weeks if it defeats the San Jose Stealth tomorrow night.

BOX SUMMARY
                                1  2  3  4 OT OT     TOT
Toronto Rock (10-5)             3  1  2  4  0  0  --  10
Calgary Roughnecks (9-5)        1  2  5  2  0  1  --  11

TORONTO ROCK                  CALGARY ROUGHNECKS
               G - A   PTS                   G - A   PTS
Doyle          2 - 5     7    Kelusky        3 - 2     5
Manning        5 - 0     5    Ratcliff       2 - 2     4
Shearer        2 - 2     4    Goundrey       1 - 3     4
Driscoll       1 - 1     2    Toth           2 - 1     3
Landriault     0 - 2     2    Kirkby         1 - 2     3
J Veltman      0 - 2     2    Dowling        2 - 0     2
Chapman        0 - 1     1    Dostie         0 - 2     2
Coyle          0 - 1     1    Green          0 - 1     1
Toll           0 - 1     1    Phillips       0 - 1     1
                              T Wray         0 - 1     1

Shots on goal           55    Shots on goal           50
Saves made by (GA)      39    Saves made by (GA)      45
   Cosmo (11)        39          Palidwor (10)     45
Penalties                5    Penalties                9
Penalty Minutes         10    Penalty Minutes         18
Power Play Chances       7    Power Play Chances       3
Power Play Goals         4    Power Play Goals         2
   Manning            4          Dowling            1
                                 Toth               1
Shorthanded Goals        0    Shorthanded Goals        0
Loose Balls             71    Loose Balls             59
   J Veltman         15          Phillips           8
   Toll              12          Hamilton           7
   Merrill            8          D Wray             7
Faceoffs Won            14    Faceoffs Won            13
   Toll         (11- 7)          Kirkby       ( 8-11)
   Jones        ( 3- 6)          D Wray       ( 5- 3)

*** STATS OFFICIAL BY VERIFY WITH CALGARY ROUGHNECKS ***