The Calgary Stampeders hit the road for their first matchup with an Eastern opponent in 2016 as they face the Ottawa RedBlacks on Friday evening. The action gets going at 5 p.m. MDT.

The Stampeders are coming off a 36-22 triumph over the Winnipeg Blue Bombers on Canada Day, one day after the RedBlacks downed the Alouettes by a margin of 28-13.

Sitting at 1-1 heading into Week 3, the Stamps will serve as the visitors for Ottawa’s home-opener. The 2-0 RedBlacks have yet to play at TD Place Stadium since last season’s Eastern Final when they knocked off the Hamilton Tiger-Cats to secure a Grey Cup berth in just their second year of existence.

Splitting their season-series in 2015, Calgary suffered a 29-26 overtime defeat in the Nation’s Capital before responding with a dominant 48-3 victory in Southern Alberta just two weeks later.

The Stampeders will head into a bye week following this weekend’s contest and have won their past six games immediately preceding a bye, a run that dates back to the 2012 campaign.

Return man Roy Finch of the Red and White will be facing his former squad for the first time since being released by Ottawa just over 14 months ago. Meanwhile, the recently signed Zach Minter has a chance to be inserted into the lineup this week. The ex-BC Lion is a viable option to replace Quinn Smith at the defensive tackle position as the Concordia alum has been ruled out due to injury.

Look for Kienan Lafrance of the RedBlacks to get his first start as a pro in order to fill the void left by running back Travon Van, who was placed on the team’s six-game injury list on Monday. Lafrance, a Winnipeg native, has played in 18 career games as a sixth-round draft pick from the class of 2015.

Calgary’s Jerome Messam, currently leading all tailbacks in rushing with 153 yards, will be sharing the field with the CFL’s No. 1 receiver in Ottawa’s Chris Williams, tallying 363 receiving yards thus far. Messam’s one touchdown along the ground and Williams’ three scores through their air are respectively tied for the league lead.

The opponents will next meet on Sept. 17 at McMahon Stadium following the Stampeders Labour Day rematch in Edmonton.

Key Matchup

A pair of coordinators will be going head-to-head for the very first time as the Stamps’ first-year defensive coordinator and former defensive line coach DeVone Claybrooks will be up against Jaime Elizondo of Ottawa. Elizondo joined the RedBlacks coaching staff to take over offensive-coordinator duties from Jason Maas after the one-time Eskimo quarterback was named the Green and Gold’s head coach on Dec. 14.

Click here to download the Stamps’ position chart & roster

Click here to download game notes

Comparative team stats (through Week 2)