The Colorado Mammoth are playing so inconsistently that it seems like two completely different teams rather than one cohesive unit.
Last night was no different. For the second time in two weeks the Mammoth played the Minnesota Swarm. The end result was the same…the Swarm won. However, the Mammoth looked substantially better than they have in weeks.
A frequent complaint has been that the Mammoth offense have been playing very flat, and not playing hard for all four quarters. The Mammoth scored more goals in this game than they did in the last two games combined.
In a season already marked by big changes, the Mammoth have recently made two more. Last week they added Bob Hamley as assistant coach, this week they released forward Peter Veltman and signed 11-year veteran forward Derek Malawsky. Seeing as how the Mammoth have been playing extremely hot and cold, it’s possible that the change in last night’s team was coincidental. It’s also possible that the Mammoth finally found the last components of some much-needed leadership both on and off the field to balance out a talented but young team.
The Mammoth had 50 shots on goal this game against the Swarm compared to 30 shots on goal when they met last week. But it wasn’t just that there were more shots on goal this game. The shots were smarter.
In entirely too many games, the Mammoth offense seemed to be aiming at a target right on the goalie’s chest, or shooting completely wide getting nowhere near the goal. Last night the Mammoth offense (and even some of the defense) were making Swarm goalie Nick Patterson work hard for his saves including several shots he missed but that hit the post and bounced out.
Mammoth goalie Chris Levis was certainly no slouch either making 31 saves on 44 shots.
Another huge difference between last week’s game and this week’s game was shot selection.
Last week, the Swarm seemed to dictate where most of their shots were coming from (aka the crease) whereas the Mammoth barely moved, and certainly didn’t come close to the crease. This week the Mammoth were successful in both controlling where most of the Swarm’s shots were taken from, and taking it to the crease for their own shots.
Power plays continue to be the Mammoth’s bane – both capitalizing on them and defending against them. The Mammoth went 1 for 5, and were unable to score even when they had a 5 on 3 opportunity. The Swarm went 4 for 6. Although the game was marked by reffing inconsistency, the Mammoth were mostly in control of their own destiny. The Swarm had some lucky breaks but so did the Mammoth.
Unfortunately, some key mistakes are probably what cost Colorado the game.
Nick Carlson started off the goal scoring a minute into the game, taking an unassisted goal to the net to take the lead for the Mammoth 1-0. Ryan Sharp immediately followed up with his own unassisted goal for the Swarm to tie it up. Alex Gajic scored the Mammoth’s second goal on the power play. However, Sean Pollock and Ryan Sharp each notched goals for the Swarm, making the score at the end of the 1st quarter Mammoth 2, Swarm 3.
The 2nd quarter started off with the Mammoth offense looking lackluster like they have the previous two games and the defense spending the majority of the quarter on the floor. The Swarm however looked strong, scoring four goals (3 of them power play), before the Mammoth were finally able to stop their run when, assisted by Jamie Shewchuck, Brian Langtry successfully scored on a well-timed shot as he dove across the crease.
The Mammoth were able to score twice more causing Swarm goalie Nick Patterson to briefly be replaced by Kevin Croswell. The Swarm scored the final goal of the half and Patterson returned to the game. 2nd quarter ended Mammoth 5, Swarm 8.
Proving they came to play, the Mammoth came out for the 3rd quarter fired up.
Jed Prossner scored the first goal of the second half 1:30 in. The Mammoth subsequently dominated the 3rd quarter. The Mammoth kept the Swarm to one goal scored midway through the quarter while they tallied a total of five of their own. Ilija Gajic scored twice, his brother Alex scored once, and Langtry added his third goal of the night. The Mammoth took the lead for the second time in the game, ending the quarter with 10 goals to the Swarm’s 9.
The Swarm tied the game early in the 4th quarter scoring their fourth power play goal.
The Mammoth followed immediately with their own goa,l again taking the lead. The Swarm tied the game again midway into the 4th, but the Mammoth were able counter with another strike, regaining the lead one more time. Unfortunately for the Mammoth, Ryan Benesch, who was a thorn in the Mammoth’s side last week, scored the game-tying goal on a screened shot.
With about 30 seconds left in the game, the Swarm won the face off and forward Tim Campeau scored on a bounce shot from the crease. The game ended Mammoth 12, Swarm 13.
The Mammoth don’t play again until March 13th when the Edmonton Rush come to the Pepsi Center.
However, they have lots of positives to consider going into that game. Not the least of which is the expected return of Mammoth captain John Gallant who was out for 6 weeks with a damaged hand that required surgery. You can read more about John Gallant here.
Attendance, 15,427
Around the League:
Edmonton Rush 12, Rochester Knighthawks 11 OT
Washington Stealth 9, Boston Blazers 11
Philadelphia Wings 15, Buffalo Bandits 11
