Rod Smith will join fellow Broncos greats in the Ring of Fame this fall (photo: Denver Broncos)

Smith represented Denver at the Pro Bowl three times, and set franchise records in receptions (898), receiving yards (12,249) and receiving touchdowns (74).  In the playoffs Smith set records for catches (49), yards (860) and touchdowns (6) making him the most prolific postseason receiver in franchise history as well.

Perhaps most important to Rod Smith’s legacy is that he was a proven winner.  Rod won two Super Bowl titles with the Broncos, and was part of 126 wins in 183 games played.  He was a flawless route-runner who never possessed top-flight talent, but made the most of what he had in an era where flashier receivers commanded the national spotlight.

Pat Bowlen announced Rod Smith’s induction into the Ring of Fame today, 28 years after the Broncos owner created the popular addition to Old Mile High Stadium to honor retired players.

“Players like Rod don’t come through your door very often, but he came through ours every day with a purpose and hunger to be great,” wrote Bowlen.  “Rod’s production and numbers – as outstanding as they were – paled in comparison to his commitment to winning and the respect he commanded from each and every one of his teammates throughout his career.”

Bowlen also hit on the most remarkable aspect of Smith’s career in his statement – the fact that Rod came to the Broncos as an undrafted free agent, not a hyped collegiate star.  “Emerging from an undrafted player to one of the best to ever play his position, Rod has truly earned his place among the greatest Broncos of all time.”

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Paul Stastny leads the US Men's hockey team into the IIHF Quarterfinals this Thursday (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The United States lost just once in seven Group H games to open the tournament.  This is the first time the US Men have kicked off an IIHF tournament with as many wins in the opening seven games since 1939.  Two of those six victories came in overtime, including a hard-fought 5-4 triumph over Group H winner Canada on May 5th.

Next up for Stastny and the United States is a group play rematch against co-host Finland in the quarterfinals on Thursday.  The US pounded Finland 5-0 on Sunday to vault ahead of the Fins in the Group H standings.  Finland finished third ahead of Slovakia on the strength of a head-to-head tiebreaker.

Slovakia, the only team to defeat the United States so far in this tournament, will draw Canada in the quarterfinals.  The winner of that game will face either Sweden or the Czech Republic in the semifinals, while the US-Finland winner will draw either Russia or Norway.

You can catch the US-Finland quarterfinal match this Thursday morning at 9:30MT on NBC Sports television.  Surviving Finland would take the United States into the semifinal this Saturday.

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Then the strangest thing happened…

Bob Apodaca has ruined a generation of young pitching talent. Can he do it again? (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Brothers dug deep and struck out Brandon Belt.  Rex took a deep breath, looked around at the bases loaded jam he had put himself in, and mowed down All-Star slugger Melky Cabrera on three nasty pitches.

Just like that the Rockies bench exploded into a frenzy of violent activity.  Brothers gave a war cry as he stalked back to the dugout.  His teammates met him bodily at the bottom step, and for a moment Colorado looked like the promising young team that fought its way to a 10-9 mark to start the season.

A few pitches later the losing stench that has followed the Rockies all up and down the West Coast throughout this disastrous 8-game road trip was blown out over San Francisco Bay.  Imported infielder Marco Scutaro launched his first home run of the season over the left field fence on a 1-2 count.  Rafael Betancourt allowed two base-runners but earned his 7th save, and the Rockies headed home to face Arizona tomorrow.

Not that it’s all sunshine and puppy farts in Colorado.

Jim Tracy looks utterly lost managing this highly unorthodox squad.  Bob Apodaca is doing his best to destroy another generation of Colorado pitching prospects.  Dan O’Dowd and the Brothers Monfort are in a state of near-catatonic denial.

Rex Brothers dug so deep on Tuesday night that he must have forgotten everything Apodaca ever told him.  In that fugue state Brothers looked every bit the prospect that came up through Colorado’s farm system.  Against Cabrera (the Giants’ only .300+ hitter) with the bases loaded behind him, Rex buried two fast balls up before crafting a nasty slider down and in.  Melky bit and Brothers caught fire.  Hopefully the change is permanent.

Rockies General Manager Dan O’Dowd took the time yesterday to assure the media that Tracy was going nowhere following the “indefinite extension” of his contract in the offseason.  O’Dowd – who has actually brought in a fair share of talent during his tenure as GM – assured the media and fans, “That’s not how we do business.”  Maybe it should be.

Dan picked a good time to back his boys, though.  The tight win makes Tracy and Apodaca look good even if it was unusual effort that saved them from themselves.  Both had plenty to do with the Giants getting back into this game.

Jim and Bob thought it wise to let Josh Outman – a converted starter who was on the DL until a week ago – face the heart of the San Francisco batting order in the 7th Inning.  The Rockies had a 4-1 lead and were desperately in need of a win.  This, of course, was a great time to experiment with Outman in his new role as a long reliever.

Josh got two quick outs to end the 6th, then was (painfully) sent back in for the 7th.  The result was two walks and a Cabrera double that scored two runs.  Melky eventually scored with Matt Belisle in to clean up another Tracy-made mess, and now Outman can proudly claim a 36.00 ERA on two appearances for Colorado.

For now, of course, the free-fall is over.  Rockies fans will welcome Colorado back to Coors Field with a tenuously renewed hope.  Bad management did not burn the Rockies this time, and Coloradans are historically quick to flock back to the boys in purple after a couple of noteworthy late-season runs.

It would be comforting to think, though, that Tracy and Apodaca are at least on a short leash.  It would be nice to imagine that a continued inability to utilize available talent – to win close games with any kind of consistency – would result in at least a stern warning.

That’s not how we do business, though.  Apparently.

So Rockies fans will fill up Coors Field this weekend for a three-game set against the lame Seattle Mariners.  In all likelihood, the Rockies will leave Denver having won most of their 5 game homestand.  And Jim-Bob will be cleared for failure once again.

Eventually it will be O’Dowd’s ass on the line, though.  If this season does not turn around, the ax will inevitably fall.  You, me and the Monforts all hope it doesn’t.  But we have to wonder if Dan will be so quick to back his boys if they manage the Rockies to another 6-14 slide.  The merciful thing to do would be to end it now.

“I believe the talent is there. That’s what scouts who come in and see us tell me.  We need the pieces of the puzzle to fit,” said O’Dowd on Monday.

Either that or we need two new puzzle-masters.

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Ty Lawson earned an opportunity to propel the Nuggets into the second round with his Game 6 performance (Photo: Wikipedia)

The Nuggets proved with this runaway 96-113 win that they are more than a match for the Lakers.  Kobe Bryant played with a touch of the flu, but still scored at will until he was pulled halfway through the fourth quarter with the game all but decided.  Really, the problem for the Lakers was not their ability to score.  Ty Lawson dropped a game-high 32, and five Nuggets finished with double-digit points as Denver simply sliced through the LA D.

This game proved two things that should have Lakers fans shaking in their wingtips:

1) You cannot game-plan for the Nuggets.  JaVale McGee beat LA in Game 5 with fierce interior play.  Denver guards Lawson, Brewer and Miller beat LA in Game 6 with aggressive ball movement and hot shooting.  The Lakers can try to standardize their defense to what they think the Nuggets will do, but this Denver team is as versatile and deep as any in the league.

2) The Nuggets have gotten better every game this series.  After getting blown out in Game 1, Denver almost stole Game 2 in Los Angeles.  The Nuggets won comfortably in Game 3 and would have won Game 4 if they hadn’t fallen asleep at the wheel with a fourth quarter lead.  Game 5 was a scrappy road victory for this young Denver squad, and Game 6 was an exhibition of outstanding individual talent coupled with voracious team play.

Kenneth “Manimal” Faried had another monster double-double for Denver, dropping 15 points and grabbing 11 assists.  The rookie sensation picked up the Nuggets just as they slowed down and the Lakers picked up steam in the third quarter.  Faried effectively took the torch from McGee and carried it home after JaVale’s big Game 5 performance in LA.

Meanwhile, the fourth quarter belonged to Corey Brewer.  Denver’s Weapon X scored the first 11 points of the fourth quarter for the Nuggets, and finished with 18 points in just 19 minutes of play.  Brewer was a big part of the Dallas Mavericks’ NBA Championship last season, and he has shown an ability to run as hot as any player in the playoffs.

The Nuggets will find themselves at Staples Center in Los Angeles on Saturday for Game 7 at 8:30MT.  The Lakers have an edge based on home court and Kobe Bryant’s continued superior offensive play.  Still, Denver has a lot of momentum to play with in this one game playoff.  The Nuggets have four quarters to prove that they belong in a Western Conference Semifinal series against OKC.

Meta World Peace (aka Ron “Elbows” Artest) will be eligible to play in that game, and he will likely get the start over Devin Ebanks.  World Peace is a physical player known for his defensive tenacity, but it will be interesting to see how the referees handle him after his vicious elbow to the head of James Harden in the final week of the regular season.  The Nuggets have gained a ton of confidence in Meta’s absence-by-suspension, and it may be too late for the Lakers to slow down this dynamic and deep Denver team.

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Athletic center JaVale McGee is giving the Denver Nuggets a chance to overcome the LA Lakers in a first round playoff series (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

The Nuggets managed to take a game in Denver, and have stayed close in all but Game 1. Now George Karl’s young guns will take a 2-3 series deficit back to Pepsi Center with a chance to force Game 7 in LA.

Andre Miller led the Nuggets with 24 points – a shocking performance from Denver’s backup point guard. The 12 year NBA veteran has been forced to play more minutes with starting guard Ty Lawson struggling to find scoring space against the Lakers.

Lawson did finish +11 on just 9 points scored Tuesday night – showing improved defensive presence and ball distribution. Both Lawson and Miller registered 8 assists, but the key stat for Denver’s point guards was 1 turnover (Miller’s) in the whole game. For a team plagued by sloppy play in the regular season, this tight performance against top-flight competition in an unfriendly building was a revelation.

The real warrior for the Nuggets on this night was athletic center JaVale McGee. After depending more than he would like on overmatched center Kosta Koufos earlier in this series, George Karl gave 33 big minutes to the young big man imported from the lowly Washington Wizards at the trade deadline.

McGee battled twin towers Bynum & Gasol, scoring 21 points and pulling down a game-high 14 boards. Andre Miller found McGee with ease during a big third quarter run, attacking the paint and then dishing to JaVale for a series of thunderous finishes. If the Nuggets have designs on winning this series, they will need to replicate that punishing combo with either Miller or Lawson feeding McGee off movement.

Kobe Bryant, of course, did not lack for killer instinct with a chance to put the Nuggets away. The Lakers star played 43 minutes and had a point to show for every single one of them (no… really, 43 points in 43 minutes.) Still, Bryant had a chance to finish the Nuggets off – or at least force overtime.

With Denver up three and twenty seconds to play, Bryant could not force the game-tying three ball over Nuggets star defender Arron Afflalo.  Then Kobe missed again trying to shoot over Andre Miller with five seconds to play. A big rebound kicked out to Gasol, who dished to Ramon Sessions for another game-tying attempt. The late-season Lakers addition missed as well as Danilo Gallinari contested the shot, and it was appropriately McGee rising to ensure that Los Angeles did not get another chance to tie.

The Nuggets will welcome the Lakers to Pepsi Center in Denver this Thursday, May 10th at 8:30MT. Denver had a chance to win Game 4 on Sunday but fell apart late. Now they have no margin for error with a chance to force a do-or-die slugfest Saturday in Los Angeles.

“Usually I’m nowhere near the playoffs,” said McGee when asked about his big performance after the game. “So I didn’t want this to be my last game.”

Nuggets fans would love to see JaVale lift Denver beyond the first round for just the second time in their nine-year playoff run.

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General manager Brian Xanders, head coach John Fox, majority owner, president, and CEO Pat Bowlen and executive vice president of football operations John Elway listen as quarterback Peyton Manning speaks during a news conference announcing Manning's contract with the Denver Broncos. (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)

Brian Xanders was one of the last connections to the Shanahan Era in Denver. Now he is looking to land work as General Manager of another NFL franchise.

Broncos VP John Elway announced the decision to part ways with Xanders yesterday, making Elway himself the only strong connection to the Shanahan years. Xanders came to the Broncos after 14 years in the Atlanta Falcons organization, and served as Assistant General Manager under Shanahan before a promotion to GM under Josh McDaniels in 2009.

The decision to have Xanders leave the Broncos with a year remaining on his contract was mutual according to Elway.

“Brian and I had a very productive conversation earlier today. Although it was an extremely difficult decision, it became clear that it was best for both the Broncos and Brian to part ways,” said Elway in an official statement.

There does not appear to be anything disingenuous about Elway’s statement, but Xanders did not return phone calls from various media outlets requesting his side of the story. What is certain is that Brian Xanders wanted more executive control than he was ever going to get in Denver.

John Elway has been less than shy about his complete overhaul of the Broncos organization. Elway brought in a new coach, new coordinators, and famously engineered the entrance of Peyton Manning – along with the exit of Tim Tebow.

Beyond considerable personnel changes, Elway has also been aggressively streamlining the Denver front office.

Last year John hired former player agent Mike Sullivan to take over contract negotiations and monitor salary cap issues for the Broncos. He also promoted Matt Russell to Director of Player Personnel without replacing his position in the college scouting department.

In fact, Elway himself has been taking on a lot of the scouting responsibilities formerly associated with other executives. John flew all over the country (while courting Peyton Manning) prior to the NFL Draft – exhibiting the same dedication to his executive position that defined his career as a player. His journey resulted in a slew of undrafted college free agents joining the broncos since the NFL Draft.

Now Elway’s streamlining appears in the form of Xanders’ exit and no apparent replacement. The end result will likely be John Elway taking on even more responsibility as he shapes the Denver Broncos in his Championship image.

“My responsibility to the Broncos and our fans is to build a championship football team. The setup we have throughout every phase of our football operations will better position us for success going forward,” Elway said. “Making a change with someone of Brian’s caliber is not easy. I thank him for everything he did for the Broncos and wish him all the best as he continues his career.”

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Part of the excitement of the playoffs is that regardless of their regular season record, in a one and done scenario, everyone starts with a clean slate. It’s anyone’s game, and while some teams crack under the pressure, others thrive. The Minnesota Swarm played in the first round of the playoffs five times, but was unsuccessful in playing in the second round until now. The Colorado Mammoth on the other hand have been in the playoffs several times, although in their ten years have only made it to the Championship Cup once. They too have struggled through several first round losses.

While the Mammoth didn’t crumble, they also didn’t play like they wanted it; there was no sense of urgency or aggression. Perhaps they were already looking ahead to the next game. Rumor around the Blue Sky Grill after the game was that the Mammoth players felt it in their bones that the Edmonton Rush was going to win despite the odds in favor of the Calgary Roughnecks. Apparently the players were quite excited at the prospect of a potential second round home playoff game rather than playing in Calgary. The Swarm on the other hand played like a team that wasn’t going to stop fighting until the final buzzer.

Many Mammoth fans are blaming the refs. While there were some questionable calls, that’s pretty much the case in every game. Certainly, they have impacted the outcome of some games, but blaming them for a loss where your team was simply outplayed is childish. Normally, Denver is a respectful sports town. But between petulant announcer Willie B. Hung getting the crowd to boo Swarm fans before he would yell “YOU’RE NOT WELCOME HERE!” and how many fans felt the need to chant “YOU SUCK!” to the Swarm players as they exited the field, I guess I shouldn’t be surprised at the amount of sour grape comments.

The Mammoth struggled all season with both offensive and defensive rebounds. At one point in the game the Swarm got at least eight shot rebounds before they managed to score. If you continuously give your opponent shot opportunities, eventually, they will score. If you continuously rely on one shot opportunities, it’s going to be much more difficult for you to score. Pretty simple, at least in theory. One thing is for sure, if John Grant Junior isn’t going to do more than an over the head stick check as defense, he absolutely needs to not play transition and simply get off the floor. Several goals this season, including two in this game, were the result of the opposing offense getting a breakaway opportunity with the goalie because he did little more than make them do a stutter step around him.

Towards the second half of the season, a lot of emphasis was placed on the possibility of John Grant Junior breaking John Tavares’s single season point record. While JGJ did succeed in breaking the record, the Mammoth offensive strategy seemed to focus more and more on getting him the record. When the offense spread the ball around, which they did effectively in the first half of the season, the offense was strong. Their opponents would shut down one threat only to have four more to deal with. In the second half, the focus seemed more on getting JGJ the ball so he could get points. Perhaps that is a simply a bit of hindsight, but there is no doubt that the more the organization highlighted the record, the more the Mammoth offense struggled.

The Mammoth have a really strong foundation to build on. Fans can only hope it doesn’t get completely ripped apart and completely rebuilt like it has every season since 2007. Sometimes, that amount of change is necessary, but other times, in doing so, you’re actually ripping out the soul of your team.

Final Score:

Minnesota Swarm 14, Colorado Mammoth 10

Attendance: 14,152

1st Star – Ryan Benesch, with three goals and four assists, he was a huge factor in the Swarm win.

2nd Star – Evan Kirk, while the Mammoth did give Kirk some easy shots to block, he also made some incredible saves and proved that Tyler Carlson isn’t the only one who can face down a potent Mammoth offense.

3rd Star – Jordan MacIntosh, although MacIntosh had a relatively quiet night with only one goal and one assist, he won nearly 57% of the faceoffs which kept his offense on the attack.

Around the League:

Friday

Philadelphia Wings 13, Rochester Knighthawks 14

Saturday

Buffalo Bandits 6, Toronto Rock 7

Edmonton Rush 19, Calgary Roughnecks 11

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Junior Retired ... Not (Photo credit: Scott's View of the World)

Former Chargers great Junior Seau was found dead in his home this morning, victim of an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound to the chest. Seau, who also played for the Dolphins and Patriots in his illustrious career, was one of the Broncos’ fiercest opponents, leading Hall of Fame quarterback and team VP John Elway to tweet “Junior was a true competitor and a special player… He played the game the way it was meant to be played”.

Reactions of shock are pouring in from around the league, from current and former players alike. According to friends and family, he left no indication he was despondent in the days leading up to his untimely death. On a day when the league is dealing with the fallout of the bounty scandal and continuing to wrestle with the long-term effects of the game on its players, it begs the question of whether long-term head injuries contributed to the mental state of the famously hard-hitting Seau.

From this group of rabid Broncos fans, our condolences go out to the Seau family. As much as we hated to see Junior on the other side of the ball, our ill feelings were borne out of respect for his talent and passion for the game, and for anyone to pass at 43 is too soon.

Information from this article was used in compiling this report: http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/7882750/former-nfl-linebacker-great-junior-seau-dies-43

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Denver Broncos VP John Elway (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)

John Elway reminded Broncos fans and NFL observers alike of his business acumen in last week’s NFL Draft. Denver clearly now values its rapidly-establishing system over draft hype.

Elway is setting a new standard for his Broncos by establishing a method for replenishment through the draft, and everything John has done so far in 2012 speaks of amazing maturity for such a new executive.

Even during Mike Shanahan’s years running the Broncos, questionable defensive selections made Denver a less than efficient NFL machine. While the Patriots were building their strength in the northeast on the strength of the draft, the Broncos were simply feeding Shanny’s offensive juggernaut – often sacrificing defensive consistency for that privilege.

This was just Elway’s second draft with the team, but he knocked it out of the park. Not that John’s first rodeo was a failure.

In 2011 John E teamed up with defensive-minded head coach John F to draft and develop pass-rush specialist Von Miller with their first pick. Von just so happened to end up the NFL’s defensive rookie of the year, and was as much of a spark during Denver’s big 7-1 run as the departed Tim Tebow.

In 2012, Denver’s first pick has ‘experts’ rating the Broncos’ entire draft poorly. For those addicted to the hype machine that promotes future draft busts, let’s try to clarify exactly what Elway & Company were doing not following the prescribed draft board.

After twice trading down from their original #25 pick the Broncos took Cincinnati DT Derek Wolfe early in the second round. Highly-touted defensive tackles Devon Still and Jerel Worthy were still on the board when Denver selected Wolfe, and ‘experts’ howled that the Broncos were ‘reaching’. But the two players they were supposed to be considering for that #36 overall pick kept falling. San Diego also picked a DT (Kendall Reyes) before either Still (#53) or Worthy (#51) went off the board.

To be clear: the Broncos avoided two players that were mistakenly anointed first round picks by the media, got the guy that best fit what they are trying to do with their specific defensive scheme, and were able to manufacture an extra 4th round pick by dropping down 11 picks to take Wolfe.

By the way, Derek Wolfe was the Big East Defensive Player of the Year last season, has been lauded for his aggressiveness, leadership and intelligence, and was rumored to be San Diego’s preferred selection as well. So any knocks on him as a player – within the Broncos system – and on the Broncos for taking him earlier than experts predicted that he would go are absolute nonsense.

The Broncos’ 2012 draft was a success because of Von Miller, but largely unfocused past that. This year’s draft was more rounded, with Denver casually filling needs after trading out of the first round to gain more late-round ammo.

The Broncos used some of that ammo to move up in the third round and pick running back Ronnie Hillman – a fantastic selection that netted the best open-field runner in the draft. Hillman helps Peyton Manning right away by giving him a set of good hands out of the running back position. If Manning can get Ronnie the ball in space the Broncos will have added a whole new dimension to their offense.

Meanwhile, Denver has already begun preparations for life after Manning. In a surprising move also termed a ‘reach’, the Broncos picked up 6’7” quarterback Brock Osweiler in the second round. Two rounds later Denver drafted mammoth center Philip Blake out of Baylor. Osweiler and Blake now have a chance to come up through the Denver Broncos organization together. With Manning expected to spend at least another three years in the league, Denver is taking two physically profound but raw players and giving them ample time to become NFL starters.

The rest of Denver’s draft was spent feeding the defensive standard that the Broncos are establishing under John Fox – a poignant contrast to Mike Shanahan’s strategy of drafting three guys at a single defensive position and hoping one of them panned out. Each of Denver’s other three 2012 draft picks is a defensive player coming from a different college system into the Broncos’ system to fill a different position, but each will have help finding a comfort zone.

Cornerback Omar Bolden will follow Osweiler to Denver from Arizona State. Defensive end Malik Jackson will sit behind fellow Tennessee Volunteer Robert Ayers on Denver’s depth chart before he gets a chance to play. And linebacker Danny Trevathan (the Broncos’ last pick of 2012) will try to learn from fellow Kentucky product Wesley “The Lumberjack” Woodyard (undrafted in 2008) how to survive in the NFL on less than premier talent.

The Broncos’ six-player 2012 draft was focused – something Denver fans have not been able to say for fifteen years. Every pick has a place, and the Broncos were able to fill their greatest area of need by finding a DT that they can build around. Denver now has their quarterback of the present (Manning), their quarterback of the future (Osweiler), and their “oh crap!” quarterback (Caleb Hanie) to bridge the gap if Peyton falls. Best of all, they are building a consistent defensive presence around a great defensive head coach and a draft strategy that emphasizes the system over the player.

So while draft critics are panning the Broncos for failing to follow the script carefully laid out for them by the all-knowing media over the last few months, rest assured that John Elway has been sleeping like a baby knowing he executed his draft strategy to perfection.

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While I’m not trying to take anything away from the Minnesota Swarm and their win, they looked solid in every area, but I have to wonder what was going through the Mammoth players’ minds. Yes, Gavin Prout was out for both games and yes, he has a huge impact on the floor, but just because he isn’t playing doesn’t mean you should just give up. The Colorado Mammoth team that showed up against the Edmonton Rush last week and the Minnesota Swarm this weekend looked more like the team that went 5-11 last year and 4-12 the year before. Throughout the night, the Mammoth continuously dropped and over threw passes. They continue to struggle with rebounds in front of the net (on both sides) giving the Swarm extra opportunities to shoot on Chris Levis, while the Mammoth frequently took a shot right away wasting most of the shot clock and making it easy for the Swarm to get the rebound and send it back down the floor. If time of possession was recorded, there would be a very large gap between the two teams with the Swarm dominating ball possession.

A lot of emphasis and speculation has surrounded John Grant Junior this season and whether or not he would be successful in breaking John Tavares’s 2001 Single Season Point record of 115 points. You almost have to feel bad for Garrett Billings of the Toronto Rock who has been having his own potentially record breaking season but has been completely overshadowed by JGJ. Billings finished the season just one shy of tying Tavares’s record while JGJ did indeed break it with 116 points. Hopefully now that the record is no longer a factor, the Mammoth offense will be able to focus on what’s truly important.

1st Quarter

Joel Henry, looking like he’s playing golf rather than lacrosse, gets a power play goal to put Minnesota on the board. Sean Pollock puts the Mammoth on the board with a bounce shot off a no look pass from Jamie Shewchuck. Kevin Ross scores after getting ahead of his defender near the crease to take the lead back. Colorado will neither tie nor take the lead for the remainder of the game. In a beautiful no look spinning back hand shot, Ryan Benesch scores on Chris Levis. With just under six minutes remaining in the quarter, Tyler Hass gets a shorthanded breakaway goal. Mammoth challenge and upon review, it’s ruled no goal due to a crease violation. Derek Hopcroft left wide open makes it look easy, scoring on the power play to bring the Mammoth within one. With less than thirty seconds left on the clock, JGJ scores at the crease but it’s waived off. Andrew Watt of the Swarm gets the ball and passes it down the floor to a wide open Callum Crawford. Crawford catches the pass, turns and scores.

Colorado Mammoth 2, Minnesota Swarm 4

2nd Quarter

Capitalizing on more Mammoth mistakes, Colorado shoots on net, Tyler Carlson blocks it, Dan Ball recovers the rebound for the Swarm, who are on the power play, and while the Mammoth focus on their line change, Ball passes to Brendon Doran who is already on the other side of the floor giving Doran an easy one on one opportunity against Chris Levis. Mat MacLeod scores immediately on the next play with a 5-hole bounce shot. Joel Henry, using his defender as a screen, gets a goal from center. In a highlight reel worthy play, Josh Gillam catches a no look pass from Jay Card who subsequently goes rolling through the back of the crease. Gillam shots and scores, but it’s waived off because of Card. Minnesota challenges, but the call on the floor holds and it’s ruled no goal. Scoring his first career hat trick, Henry scores on the power play with a quick stick at the crease on a pass from Callum Crawford. With just over 5 minutes left in the half, Andrew Suitor scores with a hard shot from center to give Minny a 5 goal lead. Bob Hamley pulls Chris Levis from net and puts in Tye Belanger. Belanger does well blocking the first few shots he faces, Dan Coates recovers the rebound for the Mammoth and passes it down the floor to Ilija Gajic. Gajic runs towards the net undefended with a Mammoth player as back up. Gajic has so much time to shoot, it looks more like a penalty shot than a breakaway. Gajic shoots it 5-hole scoring with a bounce shot. With under a minute left in the quarter, Tyler Hass undefended scores on Belanger from the crease.

Colorado Mammoth 4, Minnesota Swarm 9

3rd Quarter

Minnesota starts off the second half aggressive getting in the first shots on goal but unable to score on a refreshed Chris Levis. Rory Smith recovers a rebound for the Mammoth and he and Mat MacLeod run down the floor. Smith shoots, Tyler Carlson blocks and MacLeod scoops up the rebound and quickly shovels it in for a goal. Jordan McBride scores for the Mammoth off a pass from Derek Hopcroft on a bounce shot before defenders are able to get to him to cut the Swarm’s lead to three. Josh Gillam scores midway through the quarter after catching a shot rebound off the post. Mammoth initially challenge the goal as Gillam’s feet may have been in the crease before the ball crossed the goal line, but before the goal was reviewed, the Mammoth picked their challenge flag back up. With just over three minutes left in the quarter, Jamie Lincoln recovers a dropped pass and manages to score. On the next play, Dan Coates capitalizes on a breakaway opportunity after Ilija Gajic wins the face off to bring the Mammoth within two. With about thirty seconds remaining in the quarter, the Swarm get a pair of back to back goals from Crawford and Jordan MacIntosh.

Colorado Mammoth 8, Minnesota Swarm 12

4th Quarter

Ryan Benesch notches a pair of goals, one using a screen, the other on a power play, to kick off the 4th quarter. Chris Levis is again pulled from net. Jordan MacIntosh and another Swarm player immediately get a 2:0 opportunity against Tye Belanger with MacIntosh getting the goal. Immediately on the next play Scott Stewart channeling some Geoff Snider snags the face off ball, runs down the floor, shoots as he’s falling and scores. Mammoth get the ball again the next play. Adam Jones catches a behind the back pass from John Grant Jr and takes it to the corner. On the next play, after the Mammoth recover the Swarm rebound. Cameron Holding passes the ball to JGJ as he comes off the bench. JGJ catches the pass and continues to run down the field towards Carlson. JGJ takes the shot and scores the single season record tying point. In the play that will go down in the record books, with over four minutes left in the game, an undefended JGJ catches a pass from Jamie Lincoln and shots from the outside to score on the power play and bring the Mammoth within three of the Swarm. With a minute and a half remaining in the game, Jay Card undefended at the top of the crease catches a pass and shoots over the defender trying to catch up to him. Despite repeatedly pulling Belanger for the extra attacker, the Mammoth are only able to notch one more goal. Jamie Lincoln has the ball and is running around the back side of the net, Carlson knocks Lincoln’s stick, the ball bounces out of the pocket and on to the ledge, hits the glass and goes back into Lincoln’s pocket. Lincoln continues running around the back of the net and shoots and scores before Carlson is able to get back in to position.

Final:

Colorado Mammoth 13, Minnesota Swarm 16

Attendance: 11,297

1st Star – Tyler Carlson, he kept his cool throughout the game and most importantly for the Swarm, during the 4th quarter flurry from the Colorado Mammoth. Facing 55 shots on goal and making 42 saves was huge in the Swarm winning.

2nd Star – Ryan Benesch, he had three goals on five shots and four assists and was a leader on the floor.

3rd Star – Jordan MacIntosh, not only was MacIntosh a loose ball machine, he had two goals and four assists plus he did well in the faceoff circle which definitely had an impact on the game.

Around the League:

Philadelphia Wings 7, Rochester Knighthawks 9

Toronto Rock 12, Edmonton Rush 11

Buffalo Bandits 17, Washington Stealth 16 OT

Playoff Schedule for Week 1

Friday, May 4

Philadelphia Wings at Rochester Knighthawks, 7:30pm ET, NLL Network

Saturday, May 5

Buffalo Bandits at Toronto Rock, 7pm ET, TSN & NLL Network

Minnesota Swarm at Colorado Mammoth, 7:30pm ET, CBS Sports Network

Edmonton Rush at Calgary Roughnecks, 9pm ET, NLL Network

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