Mammoth Leave Fans Speechless
- Image by mykalcave via Flickr
Going into Friday night’s game against the Orlando Titans, there was a lot of excitement despite losing to the Washington Stealth last week. Steve Govett made some key changes, reacquiring goalie Chris Levis and veteran forward Chris Gill. Both were key players in the Mammoth’s 2006 Championship season.
Unfortunately, that excitement didn’t last long.
With the loss of Captain John Gallant from defense with a broken thumb for an estimated 6 weeks, and Curtis Palidwor still out on injured reserve, goaltending has proven to be an issue. Despite a strong season last year that resulted in being named to the Western Division All Star team, Andrew Leyshon has struggled this year, recording the worst save percentage in the league. Neil Tyacke breifly replaced Leyshon in the 1st quarter against the Stealth, but wasn’t able to make much of an impact. Leyshon’s struggles have proven to be anything but temporary.
To say the Mammoth got off to a slow start against the Titans is an understatement. Within the first six minutes of the 1st quarter, Leyshon only blocked 2 of 6 shots, although one of the the Titan goals was called back due to a crease violation. Unfortunately for Leyshon, he was replaced by Levis to the sounds of tumultuous applause. Ryan Boyle was able to score a power play goal, bringing the score to Mammoth 0, Titans 4 at the end of the 1st quarter.
Ilija Gajic finally got the Mammoth on the scoreboard, netting a short-handed goal 6 minutes into the second. Chris Gill scored the Mammoth’s second goal 6 minutes later, but the Titans were able to score two power play goals bringing the score to Mammoth 2, Titans 6. Levis successfully got the crowd fired up as the half wound down when he came out of the net and checked Pat Merrill to the ground, stopping the Titan forward’s breakaway.
It was announced at the start of the third quarter that Jamie Shewchuck had received a game misconduct (which results in ejection from the game) after a brief altercation in the end of the 2nd quarter with a Titan player who was holding on to his face mask. The Titan player, Rory Smith, received two face mask penalties for 4 minutes in the penalty box.
The Titans kept the Mammoth scoreless through the 3rd quarter and most of the 4th until under 5 minutes remained. Jed Prossner was finally able to find the back of the net. Pulling the goalie and utilizing extra attackers, both Cory Conway & Prossner were able to score but it was nowhere near enough. The Mammoth looked defeated early in the third quarter and a crowd known league-wide for their loudness was silenced.
The Mammoth didn’t lack for shots on goal. Matt Vinc, the number two goalie in the league, faced 52 of them while Levis only faced 35. Vinc did a good job blocking almost every shot, but the Mammoth helped him by shooting many of them at his chest and 5-hole. When the Mammoth were in front of the net, it looked more like a practice session than a game with frequent passes back and forth and little headway toward the net. The Titans defense did a good job keeping the Mammoth from getting close to the crease to take a shot, whereas the Mammoth defense found it much harder to prevent the Titan offense from doing the same. Final score Mammoth 5, Titans 12.
The Mammoth have a lot to think about over the upcoming break. They don’t play again until February 20th when they will head to Minnesota to face the Swarm.
Attendance: 13,953
Around the league:
Edmonton Rush 8, Calgary Roughnecks 13
Philadelphia Wings 11, Toronto Rock 19
Minnesota Swarm 9, Washington Stealth 12
Toronto Rock 14, Buffalo Bandits 10
Rochester Knighthawks 8, Boston Blazers 14
