Many Avalanche fans are already celebrating the notion that former star goaltender Patrick Roy will replace outgoing coach Joe Sacco. Roy’s brother leaked information to the press late Tuesday indicating that Patrick has accepted an offer from the Avalanche to coach his former team of 8 seasons.

Patrick Roy is rumored to be the next coach of the Colorado Avalanche (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

From a fan perspective the news is exciting. Roy was one of the best, most competitive goalies in hockey history. He brought a fierceness to the Avalanche that landed Colorado the Stanley Cup twice in six seasons, and Patty retired holding a litany of NHL records.

Roy is severely lacking in coaching experience at any level, though. He successfully coached the Quebec Remparts of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League to a Memorial Cup title in 2006 – his first season as a head coach. The rest of Patrick’s time in Quebec was marred with violence on and off the ice, and he never duplicated the success he had as a rookie coach.

Most jarring is Patrick’s handling of his two sons while he was their coach in Quebec. In 2008 Roy seemingly ordered his son – the starting goalie for the Remparts – to charge across the ice during a 7-1 playoff loss and beat the hell out of the opposing goaltender. Jonathan Roy fought another opponent that night before being removed and eventually suspended for five games.

Early the next season son Frederick was suspended 15 games for a cross-check to the head of an opponent while playing for his father. Roy himself was broadly criticized in January of 2007 for an alleged fist-fight with the co-owner of another QMJHL team outside of an arena.

The question then becomes – even before questions about Patty’s ability to coach at the NHL level – can Roy lead a pro hockey team without losing his temper or, worse, inciting his players to lose theirs?

As a player Patrick was often at odds with the media, and as a junior league coach he often blamed the media for casting him as a hothead. But we know he’s a hothead, so what happens when Roy inevitably clashes with the hockey press? What happens when he clashes with pro-level players? Regarded by some of his former charges as a bully, Patty won’t be able to bully NHL veterans into playing his way.

So experience is a concern. Maturity and disposition are concerns. Roy’s knowledge of game-planning and his ability to make in-game adjustments has never been tested against even mid-level competition, much less the caliber of coaches currently populating the NHL. So why hire him?

The Avalanche stuffed Joe Sakic into a suit just weeks ago and announced that he would be taking a front office position. That’s two former Colorado stars with little (Roy) to no (Sakic) experience outside of playing to guide them, and now they will be running much of the Avalanche organization. Not that Joe and Patty are completely unqualified for the work that they will be doing, but they are each substantially less qualified than other candidates.

Meanwhile, Avalanche General Manager Greg Sherman has retained his position atop the slag heap. Sherman has overseen the most precipitous fall in the club’s history, and now he gets to work with (or around) two inexperienced former stars. One has to wonder at the direction of this organization when an abject failure by any measure is being teamed up with neophytes set up for future failure.

While three former Avalanche goalies shipped off by Sherman were starting for playoff teams, Greg & Co were appointing figureheads to distract fans from the dire situation Colorado is in. The Avs will have the #1 pick in this year’s NHL draft (a no-brainer pick that even Sherman and Sakic couldn’t screw up,) but they will continue to bring in cheap, ineffective free agents to fill out the roster around their superb young talent.

The Kroenkes – owners of the Avalanche since their move to Colorado – refuse to spend money on a top-flight team. And so much in the same way that the Monforts keep their terrible executive staff in place to take the heat for perennially crummy teams with cheap pitching fixes for the Rockies, the Kroenkes have set up Sherman, Sakic and Roy to take the heat for the next generation of disappointing Avalanche squads.

In the end this next season will likely be a successful one for the Avalanche in that the hiring of Roy and Sakic will increase season ticket sales and even fill seats until the losing sets in. The future is bleak in Avsland, though, and Peter Forsberg has too much good sense to be the next gimmick hire that keeps the franchise afloat in the eyes of fans.

I hope I eat my words. I hope a year from now the Avalanche are making a playoff run and the Sakic/Roy combo is the reason. It’s becoming increasingly difficult to be optimistic, though. Colorado has $14.5 million in cap space and unless they spend it filling out a real NHL roster, next year promises to look a lot like the last three. A fan base that set the league record for sellouts from 1995-2006 deserves better than figureheads, smoke and mirrors.

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The end of the season and subsequent start of the National Lacrosse League playoffs is always an exciting time of year. With single elimination and nearly complete league parity, it’s anyone’s guess as to what might happen. In most sports, the seeding actually has meaning. Not so much in the NLL. It’s not uncommon for the 4th ranked team to take the 1st ranked team out in the first round of the playoffs and go all the way to win the Championship. In a season where road teams hold a slightly higher winning record overall, the Mammoth winning wasn’t out of the realm of possibility. Well, unless you look at their playoff record. They’re 4-8 overall and now 0-6 since they won the Champion’s Cup in 2006.

So, needless to say, going into this game, Mammoth fans probably weren’t the most expectant towards a win. Heck, even the Mammoth organization didn’t seem to expect a win. Zero fuss was made about the team making the playoffs. The game wasn’t going to be broadcast live, and although in the past the Mammoth have hosted viewing parties using the internet feed, this time there was just silence.

The Mammoth started off strong with an undefended Adam Jones scoring at the crease, followed a couple minutes later by John Grant Junior scoring a goal after deeking his defender. Not to be outdone, the Roughnecks began their charge with three goals in under two minutes to take the lead. The first quarter ends with Calgary 4, Mammoth 3. The Mammoth start the second quarter off strong with a highlight reel goal from Jones followed by a power play goal from Casey Powell to retake the lead. Throughout the second quarter, Calgary would tie the game, and the Mammoth would score for a one goal lead. The half ends with the game tied at 7.

And then the second half Mammoth showed up. Mammoth fans have become quite familiar with this second half team. They come out complacent, looking tired and like the game is already over. They have no spark, no fire, no hustle, no drive. And that’s when the Roughnecks took control. Despite the gift the Roughnecks gave the Mammoth of a 5 min major early in the third quarter, it was Calgary who scored, and again. “Wait, they keep scoring on us but we’re the ones on the power play?!” was actually uttered at the get together I hosted to watch the game. Pretty much the entire power play the Mammoth defense was out on the floor. And at one point, the Mammoth offense was actually playing 3:4 because two of the Mammoth offense had already trotted off the floor. While it’s not uncommon (and actually rather impressive for the defense) when a team is held scoreless on a 5 minute power play, at the very least, your offense should be on the floor more than your defense. If that’s not the case, and it wasn’t, you really need to reevaluate your strategy.

The Mammoth went scoreless for the entire third quarter, and essentially most of the fourth. Casey Powell scored less than 3 minutes into the fourth to break the drought but the only other goals the Mammoth would score were gimmie goals with less than two minutes remaining in the game. When it was obvious the game was nowhere within reach of the Mammoth, Calgary pulled Mike Poulin and put in Frankie Scigliano. So, yes, although Jones and JGJ scored two more for the score sheet, scoring two goals on a cold second year goalie who has played barely more than 24 minutes all season is completely pitiful. But then, Mammoth fans are rather used to watching this poor excuse of a team.

Now the big question, what do the Mammoth need to do for next year? Change up the coaching staff? Change up the management? Overhaul the team? All of these things? None of these things?

One thing is for sure is John Grant Junior is a cancer to this team. While he may be a shooting stud when he’s playing it up for the camera, he is not a team player and pulls the entire morale of the team down with his temper tantrums and lackadaisical play. While I hate to see him go, I think this is most likely John Gallant’s last season. I think he will be retiring, and rumors abound that Gavin Prout may be as well. Although, depending on who you believe, Prout may be being forced into retirement. Jarrett Park was not the playing up to his potential this year and Creighton Reid blows coverage left and right and really should not be on the team. The Mammoth offense is stacked. Once you get rid of Junior, they might become a cohesive unit again.

Final Score:

Colorado Mammoth 10, Calgary Roughnecks 15

Attendance: 8,726

1st Star – Mike Poulin, he kept the Mammoth to 8 goals. Definitely impressive.

2nd Star – Jeff Shatler, with 3 goals and 4 assists, Shatler was an important part of the Roughneck dominance.

3rd Star – Geoff Snider, with 22 loose balls, Snider gave the Roughnecks extra possession after extra possession.

Around the League

Philadelphia Wings 8, Rochester Knighthawks 10

Edmonton Rush 11, Washington Stealth 12

Minnesota Swarm, Toronto Rock

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Cyprien can play strong safety but has enough range in coverage that he’s considered a free safety hybrid.  He’s a great help defender/open field tackler.  Not exactly hawkish on the ball but good at diagnosing and getting in a position to make a play.  Aggressive, big enough to cover tight ends, can run with wide receivers in the slot, and thumps hard enough to meet a running back in the hole.  Would fill an enormous gap in the middle of Denver’s defensive secondary, and gives the Broncos a guy that can cover interior receiving threats whether it be a tight end, a slot receiver or an HB coming out of the backfield.  Has the potential to be a spectacular all-around player.

Jonathan Cyprien, Safety, Florida International

A lot of mocks have Denver taking a DE because we lost Doom in a freak fax accident (faxident?)  I don’t think The Johns are that reactionary though.  The Broncos have Robert Ayers – who had his best year as a pro in 2012 – for less than $1million against the cap this season.  He’ll move into a starting role right away and give us some room to work defensive end out.  Not that Denver won’t pick a DE or two in this draft, but they don’t need another trigger-happy young edge rusher starting for a potential SB team.  Von Miller is already prone to overpursuit.  Ayers is a nice compliment; a veteran who is good against the rush and picks his spots.  A situational defensive end taken later in the draft could give the Broncos a 3rd down edge blitz without the high price tag.

What this Broncos team does need to compete is a safety that’s ready to play Week 1.  Cyprien is that player.  He was a four-year starter and the quarterback of his defense at Florida International.  He has a great blend of size and range that allows him to play all over the middle of the field.  His drawbacks – bites on run fakes and double moves – can be solved by good coaching and NFL experience.  Plus the failure rate for DB’s coming out of the first round isn’t as high as other positions of need for the Broncos like DE & RB.  Even if Cyprien doesn’t start his rookie year in Denver he could contribute on special teams immediately.

All that said, this draft is crazy deep at safety.  The top three rated safeties (Kenny Vaccaro, Matt Elam and Cyprien) all look like potential Pro Bowl caliber players.  Even Eric Reid could turn it around at the NFL level after a rough final year at LSU.  The Broncos could definitely try to hit a home run by drafting their highest-rated DE and hoping he makes it in the NFL.  Denver would then be counting on the depth at safety to address their DB concerns.  However, a safety with the first pick almost guarantees a starter for the 2013 campaign, and this team is built to win now.

We will find out late tonight how the Broncos handle their 28th Overall pick.  While John Elway says he plans to use it, shakeups above Denver could have them trading out of the first round for the second year in a row.  While you’re waiting for the NFL Draft to get underway, check out some video and a scouting overview of Cyprien:

Jonathan Cyprien highlight video:

http://youtu.be/z1f2_CFMi6Q

Jonathan Cyprien scouting report:

http://walterfootball.com/scoutingreport2013jcyprien.php

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If the Mammoth won, they would face the winner of the Calgary Rougnecks/Edmonton Rush game. If they lost, due to the cross-over rule instituted a few seasons ago, having a better record, they would take the Buffalo Bandits place in the East and face the Toronto Rock. In the West, the battle has been a fierce one for the Division with the Calgary Roughnecks, Washington Stealth and Edmonton Rush all finishing the season with a 9-7 record. If Edmonton would have won, they would have taken the #1 Spot overall with Toronto #2, but since they lost, due to the tiebreakers, Calgary takes the Western Division and the #2 overall spot, with their win the Washington Stealth takes #3 and the Edmonton Rush fall to #4.

It was hard to believe this was the same two teams who played last week. Whereas last week, the Swarm flat out dominated the Mammoth the entire game, this time around it was a lot more evenly matched with both teams playing hard to win.

The Mammoth dominated the first quarter with five goals from five different players; John Grant Junior, Sean Pollock, Adam Jones, Joey Cupido and Joel Dalgarno, but the Swarm didn’t go down without a fight with Matt Gibson making the most of a screen and Josh Gillam scoring the final goal of the quarter. Both teams were playing very aggressive, although slightly unfocused. The Swarm came on strong in the second though turning it into a one goal game at the half. The defense for both teams wasn’t very strong as both teams were able to take several quality shots on goal at the crease. Midway in to the second quarter, Tyler Hass had a crazy fluke goal for Minnesota. Matt Gibson takes a shot, it rings off the pipe and directly to Hass who quick sticks it in to the net.

As a fan, I’m often left very perplexed by some of coach Bob Hamley’s game decisions. There’s no denying that there is a lot of strategy that goes into when to use a challenge flag, a timeout, or change goalies. The result when used effectively can have a big impact on a game. But at times, it seems like Hamley doesn’t have a strategy. Sometimes he’ll leave a goalie out to dry for most of the game despite their poor play whereas other times a goalie lets in three goals, and he’ll yank them. A goal will be waived off but will look like a very solid goal that could impact the score but Hamley won’t throw the challenge flag, and then other times like in this game, he’ll throw the challenge flag early in the half on a goal that looks very iffy, and truly won’t impact the game in a meaningful way. It can be argued that sometimes just breaking the momentum is enough, but two minutes into the third quarter on a game tying goal?

The second half continued to be tight with Minnesota taking the lead midway in the third, but they were unable to hold it for long before the Mammoth were able to take it back on the first play in the 4th quarter. The fourth quarter became a shoot out with a total of twelve goals being scored as the result of lots of quick stick plays, transitions, breakaways and in general, just hard play. Minnesota fought hard and kept the Mammoth on their toes, but weren’t able to bring the lead closer than one goal after the Mammoth took it back.

The Mammoth continue to struggle with the same issues they have for most of the season. Poor shot clock management, passing issues and rebound issues. The Swarm had 30 more loose balls than the Mammoth and in a sport where many games are decided by one goal, every opportunity counts. While the odds are against both teams for going past the first round of the playoffs, it isn’t unheard of, and for the Mammoth, it’s always better to head into them off a win rather than a loss.

Final Score:

Colorado Mammoth 16, Minnesota Swarm 14

Attendance: 12,214

1st Star – Adam Jones, with five goals and three assists, Jones was on fire.

2nd Star – Tye Belanger, towards the end of the game, the Mammoth defense became really lackadaisical, not good in such a hotly contested match, and the only thing truly keeping the Swarm out of it was Belanger blocking shot after shot.

3rd Star – Jordan MacIntosh, although Ryan Benesch might be the more obvious choice with three goals and two assists compared to Macintosh’s one goal and three assists, MacIntosh had 24 loose balls. As I said, in a game where the lead was often only by one goal, every possession matters and MacIntosh gave the Swarm many opportunities. In comparison, the next closest player on either team only had seven loose balls.

Around the League

Rochester Knighthawks 10, Buffalo Bandits 9

Calgary Mammoth 12, Edmonton Rush 11 OT

Philadelphia Wings 13, Washington Stealth 17

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Copyright Melissa Dafni

This was an important game for both the Colorado Mammoth as well as the Minnesota Swarm. In a very tightly contested playoff race, the winner would claim a spot in the playoffs. Now, I believe I’m correct in saying, only one playoff spot remains and whether or not they go is squarely on Colorado’s shoulders. The Mammoth have to win next week or there is a good chance they will miss the playoffs for a second time in team history. If they lose, a few scenarios may allow them to squeak in, but you never want to rely on the luck of external factors.

The Swarm played a good game. The Swarm defense did a fantastic job of keeping the Mammoth offense from getting off quality shots, and the Swarm offense ripped apart the Mammoth defense and got shot after shot, often undefended, from the crease line. You give a team enough quality shots, and no matter how good your goalie is, they’re going to find the back of the net.

Tye Belanger who has been playing phenomenally in net really struggled this game, and the Swarm were able to take an early four goal lead on only five or six shots. And from that point on, the Swarm pretty much held the game in their hands. Dan Lewis came in briefly for Belanger early on in the first, but Belanger just wasn’t able to hold off the Swarm offense and Lewis took over in net in the midway into the second quarter.

Fan favorite Gavin Prout has been benched for several games recently, and although rumors abound, the most persistent reason seems to be that without him, the Mammoth seem to find a way to win, but when he’s playing, the Mammoth struggle. But is it merely a coincidence? Is Prout bringing the team down? Or is it because of an animosity between him and John Grant Junior? For example, John Grant Junior refusing to pass to a wide open Gavin Prout but taking the ball himself or passing to Casey Powell despite double coverage. Factors such as that certainly aren’t going to lead to a cohesive offense.

And while I’m ranting, I am completely over watching JGJ trot off the field with a large enough portion of the shot clock remaining that a play could be put together, or at the very least a shot on goal. JGJ routinely left his offense a man down. Now, if our defense was getting out on the floor quicker to prevent a breakaway opportunity, this might make some sense, but that doesn’t happen. Too many of the Mammoth players have absolutely no sense of urgency. It’s ridiculous the number of times half the shot clock has expired before the offense is fully on the floor, or how quickly they give the ball up rather than fight for the loosey, or to try and cause a turnover. Bob Hamley either needs to get his team fired up and playing hard, or he needs to cut the players pulling it down, regardless of who they are. If he can’t do it, than Steve Govett needs to explore other options. Maybe Dave Pym would be a better fit.

Something needs to be done. This team has no fire, not motivation and is completely lackadaisical in their play. On paper, the Colorado Mammoth have an all star team, but maybe that’s the problem. Just like an all star team, they’re all “stars” and aren’t playing as a team. It’s a sad day when most Mammoth fans I spoke with said they hope the Mammoth don’t make the playoffs.

Final Score

Colorado Mammoth 12, Minnesota Swarm 17

Attendance: 17,622

1st Star – Jordan MacIntosh, with five goals and one assist, MacIntosh was a force to be reckoned with.

2nd Star – Tyler Carlson, he faced 49 shots and made 37 wins and was a huge part of the Swarm win.

3rd Star – Casey Powell, with four goals and four assists, Powell was a glimmer of help.

Around the League

Toronto Rock 9, Philadelphia Wings 10 OT

Rochester Knighthawks 15, Calgary Roughnecks 14

Buffalo Bandits 15, Washington Stealth 10

Rochester Knighthawks 10, Edmonton Rush 14

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Wilson Chandler will take over for Gallinari, and may be a better fir for the Nuggets’ freewheeling attack (Photo credit: ccho)

When Carmelo Anthony was traded to New York for a dearth of Knick talent, the Denver Nuggets became a completely different team overnight.  Gone was the ball-stopping Melo taking 25 shots a game.  Gone was veteran point guard Chauncey Billups orchestrating a brilliant half-court offense.  Here was a new era in Nuggets history under George Karl.

Denver turned to ball movement and fast-breaks to keep their 100+ point-per-game average going.  They turned to the speedy Ty Lawson at point running an aggressive dribble-drive system that moved defenders out of position and opened up lanes for basket-attacking Nuggets.

The Nuggets collected role-players like Corey Brewer, Kenneth Faried and JaVale McGee to supplement their athletic team build.  Coach Karl substituted liberally and Denver’s altitude advantage at home doubled in potency as tired opponents fell apart late in games.  The Nuggets’ potent transition offense even opened up the defensive boards.  With Denver guards always shading towards the fast break, the opposition is forced to follow Nuggets instead of following shots.

The NBA being what it is, though, Denver still needed a solo attacker on the wing to challenge defenses on his own.  Enter Danilo Gallinari, broadly thought to be the greatest asset gained from the Melo trade.  Gallo replaced Melo even as the team switched gears, and his athleticism coupled with his willingness to share the ball made him a great fit for the new Nuggets.

In the two years since Melo left town, though, Denver has so completely abandoned its former isolation offense that Gallinari began to look out of place.  His greatest contribution in recent months came from beyond the three point line – where he can get into a deadly sharpshooting groove – and on the defensive end where he often covered smaller forwards.  Meanwhile, Wilson Chandler – who also came to Denver via the trade with New York – gives Denver a similar set of skills to Gallo’s with better athleticism and speed.

The Nuggets are flush at forward with C-Brew, Wilson Chandler and even Andre Iguodala capable of playing the three.  None are as big as Danilo, but each brings a unique skill set that makes matchups a nightmare for almost any opponent.  Better yet, each of these players is more than capable of producing Gallo-like statistics (16ppg, 5rpg, 2.5apg) with comparable playing time.

Against the Houston Rockets in their first game without Gallinari, the Nuggets had four players – two off the bench – put up a stat line similar to Danilo’s averages.  Denver scored 132 points and Wilson Chandler – the replacement for Gallo in the starting lineup – finished the evening +21 with 21 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists.

Meanwhile, Gallinari’s exit from the lineup cleared the log jam on the Nuggets’ bench that was preventing players like Chandler, Brewer, veteran power forward Anthony Randolph, and rookie shooting guard Evan Fournier from playing major minutes.  Brewer finished with 22, Randolph with 14, and Fournier scored 17 points on 7-14 shooting.  Brewer and Fournier went a combined 5-10 from beyond the arc, more than filling Gallo’s shoes in Denver’s greatest area of offensive need.

Obviously this kind of production will be difficult to duplicate in the playoffs.  Benches typically get shorter in the postseason as coaches keep their best players on the court for more of the game.  The Nuggets will certainly see some of that, but their 8-deep lineup will still allow them to go full-speed all the time.  Over a 7 game series that constant pressure will wear down opponents playing four starters for 35+ minutes a game.  Denver’s depth also gives Karl the ability to find the hot shooter each night, pull struggling starters in favor of fresh legs, and create matchup problems for the opposition with regularity.

Only point guard remains a concern position with Ty Lawson nursing a heel injury and an aging Andre Miler behind him.  Losing Gallinari at small forward opened up opportunities for Denver, but the Nuggets cannot go deep into the playoffs without their starting point guard playing near 100%.

A lack of primary ball handlers may doom Denver this postseason, but losing Danilo will let Denver know what they have in young Evan Fournier and Corey Brewer – who will be a free agent at the end of this campaign.  We’ll also see whether Andre Iguodala and Wilson Chandler can contribute on both ends of the court when the games matter most.

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Copyright Melissa Dafni

As a fan, this is one of the most frustrating seasons I have had watching on the Colorado Mammoth. This team is completely bipolar from game to game, from half to half and some nights, even quarter to quarter. We get brilliant highlight reel worthy plays and goals followed by the inability to perform the basics such as catching a pass. Players idly stand by and watch as teammates are double-teamed then trotting off the floor without doing anything other than preventing a timely player change.

The Mammoth have now had two games in a row where they had a very dominate first half and in the second half looked like an entirely different team. Of course it’s great to watch your team come together and overcome a large deficit, but while Calgary did start playing much stronger, the Philadelphia Wings did not. The Wings looked like what they were, a tired team that was badly beaten the night before.

I have to give Mammoth goalie, Tye Belanger, the recognition he deserves though. The kid has made some amazing saves the last few games. Both last week and this week, Belanger has been a huge key to keeping the Mammoth even in the game. Shame the Mammoth defense gives the opponent so many good shots and rebounds to try again.

To be honest, I am entirely amazed that we went completely scoreless for the entire second half and managed somehow to win. If Philly wouldn’t have played the Minnesota Swarm last night, they might have had enough fire left in the tank to take away the win. As it was, they gave a good run at it, but Kevin Crowley was the only one have repeat success on Belanger, and even with an extra attacker, they just couldn’t pull the win out.

Next week, the Mammoth face the second place Edmonton Rush. With rookie phenom Mark Matthews heading up their offense, the Mammoth are in for a tough battle. Once upon a time, playing the Rush was practically a guaranteed win; that Rush team no longer exists. The Mammoth are going to have to give it their all, and I’m not sure this team really has it in them. The Mammoth play the Minnesota Swarm twice to close out the 2013 season, and those games will most likely determine who squeaks into the playoffs and who stays home. If the Mammoth don’t get it together quickly, it looks like they will be missing the playoffs for the second time in franchise history.

Final Score

Colorado Mammoth 10, Philadelphia Wings 9

Attendance: 15,292

1st Star – Tye Belanger, was truly what kept the Wings from winning. He faced 28 shots in the second half and only allowed in five goals, which with the Mammoth offense MIA, resulted in a win.

2nd Star – Jordan McBride, with four goals and two assists, McBride was without a doubt driving most of the offense. (Casey Powell with a goal and six assists certainly helped).

3rd Star – Kevin Crowley, with four goals and one assist, Crowley was the only one on the Wings who managed to score more than once. With just a little more help, Crowley may have been claiming the game winning goal.

Around the League

Buffalo Bandits 11, Toronto Rock 18

Philadelphia Wings 11, Minnesota Swarm 20

Toronto Rock 8, Rochester Knighthawks 12

Calgary Roughnecks 13, Washington Stealth 11

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Copyright Melissa Dafni

After last week’s game ending brawl between several players on the Colorado Mammoth and the Buffalo Bandits, there was plenty of anticipation for round two. There was also plenty of curiosity as to who would actually play. For their participation in the altercations, Bandits David Brock, Nick Cotter, Jimmy Purves, Billy Dee Smith, and Mammoth Ilija Gajic, Chet Koneczny, Rich Morgan and Jon Sullivan all received one-game suspensions. For his obscene hand gestures and repeat offender violations, Koneczny received additional game suspensions. Although the Player’s Association has appealed most if not all of the suspensions allowing the players to play while waiting for their appeal to be reviewed, Ilija Gajic was not in the lineup. (Neither were Jimmy Purves nor Jon Sullivan as they were both involved in separate trades with Rochester). For his incident, Buffalo head coach Darris Kilgour was fined an undisclosed amount.

The trade deadline which occurred this week proved interesting as the Colorado Mammoth acquired Casey Powell from the Rochester Knighthawks. As can be imagined, this created plenty of grumbling and hurrahs from many Mammoth fans, myself included. I think the Powell’s are very talented, but the Colorado fans have already been snubbed twice by Ryan Powell and Casey Powell has struggled to transfer his outdoor lacrosse talent to the indoor game. He’s also 37 years old, so once again the Mammoth were in a position of trading young talent for seasoned talent. I can honestly say, I was pleasantly surprised with Powell’s play. While he may not have scored more than a goal, he had several assists and he definitely fought for the ball unlike some of the Mammoth players. It was a nice change, and it seemed to help spark a fire in the Mammoth that has not been there most of the season.

The Mammoth still had moments of lackadaisical passing, dropped and intercepted passes, and just generally frustrating play, but they also had moments of great goal tending, strategic plays, aggressiveness and awareness, and great stick work. This was the Mammoth team we fans keep waiting to see. The Mammoth offense didn’t look good because the Bandits defense played poorly, nor did the Mammoth defense look good because the Bandits offense played poorly. Both teams came out and played hard for four quarters. While I won’t deny each team did have moments where they fell off, the Bandits were simply out played. With two solid wins in a row under their belt, the Mammoth may finally be on the road to turn the season around. The fans can only hope that this truly isn’t an isolated incident.

And of course, as many of the Mammoth games seem to be this season, this game also wasn’t without its controversy. About midway in to the first quarter, Colorado Mammoth Defender Rory Smith and Buffalo Bandits Defender Steve Priolo decided to throw down. The fight actually went for quite a while with a flurry of punches thrown and landed from both players. Smith succeeded in ripping Priolo’s jersey off, but despite many attempts, Priolo was unable to do the same to Smith, nor use the jersey to stop the fight. The fight finally ended when Priolo hip tossed Smith to the ground. Both players were sent to the box and given five minute fighting majors. Smith was also given a roughing minor and after all was said and done an unsportsmanlike conduct for “instigating”. This is of course where the controversy lies. The fight seemed very much two sided.

According to Rule 80 in the 2013 rule book:

It is the intent and purpose of this Rule that the referee shall impose the “major and a game misconduct” penalty in all cases where the instigator or retaliator of the fight is the aggressor and is plainly doing so for the purpose of intimidation or punishment.

80.1

INSTIGATOR – An instigator of a fight shall be a player who by his actions or demeanor demonstrates any/some of the following criteria: distance traveled; gloves off first; first punch thrown; substitution direct from bench; menacing attitude or posture; verbal instigation or threats; conduct in retaliation to a prior game incident.

80. 2

INSTIGATOR PENALTY ASSESSMENT – A player who is deemed to be the instigator of a fight shall be assessed an instigating minor penalty, a major for fighting and a game misconduct.

So, if both players removed their gear within seconds of one another, is that truly intimidation? Or instigation? Lots of opinions and gray area. Adding to all the confusion, I have now heard from several different sources that this actually was not an instigator misconduct penalty, but actually an illegal equipment penalty due to the fact that Rory Smith was not wearing his league required shoulder pads. Unfortunately, it’s not uncommon for the official score sheets to have mistakes, and nothing was said in game, so I cannot provide much more insight.

Next week’s game against the Calgary Roughnecks could prove interesting. Depending on what the league rules on the suspensions, the Mammoth may be without several defenders going in to a very important game against a league rival.

Final Score

Buffalo Bandits 13, Colorado Mammoth 16

Attendance: 15,511

1st Star – Tye Belanger, many of Buffalo’s goals were scored on screens that would have flummoxed even the most seasoned goalies, and Belanger really came up with some fantastic saves late in the game when it counted the most. If the Bandits would have gotten Belanger off his game like the Mammoth did Anthony Cosmo, the score would’ve been very different.

2nd Star – Jordan McBride, with four goals and two assists, McBride made his presence known.

3rd Star – John Grant Jr, hard to argue with a hat trick in a game that was decided by three points.

Around the league

Toronto Rock 13, Philadelphia Wings 8

Edmonton Rush 11, Rochester Knighthawks 9

Washington Stealth 5, Minnesota Swarm 12

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When your team is on a losing streak, it can be very difficult as a fan. Sometimes, even when they win it can be difficult. The pair of back to back road trip games against the Toronto Rock and the Buffalo Bandits certainly frustrated me in numerous ways, and not necessarily how you might expect.

On Friday, against the Rock, the Mammoth started off strong. After Blaine Manning scored a power play goal for Toronto, the Mammoth went on a four goal run pretty much dominating the first quarter. The second quarter didn’t go so well with Toronto scoring seven goals to the Mammoth’s two, but going in to the half, the game was certainly in reach as they were only down 3 goals. But as seems to be the norm this season, the Mammoth only seem to have one solid quarter in them. Friday, that quarter happened to be the first and they lost to Toronto, 14-10.

Saturday, against the Bandits was a similar story in that they again only had really hard solid play in one quarter, it just happened to be the 4th this time and they came out technically victorious. I will get to that technically in a moment. The final score was 12-6 with the Mammoth keeping Buffalo scoreless in the fourth quarter. An important point as the Mammoth were shut out in the first quarter, but managed to tie the game in the second and again in the third. The fourth quarter was essentially a new game, and the Mammoth went to town.

So where’s my problem? First, Anthony Cosmo is a fantastic goalie. He is without a doubt, one of the top goalies in the National Lacrosse League and he made some phenomenal saves in this game. What I have an issue with is the numerous other shots the Mammoth offense took that required absolutely zero movement from Cosmo. He didn’t move before the shot was taken, nor after. The Mammoth offense simply shot the ball in to the target on his chest.

“We’ve got to keep peppering them with shots and we did that. We didn’t get fazed; we didn’t get discouraged and we battled through it.” This is a quote from Coach Bob Hamley on the Colorado Mammoth website. And there is certainly some truth to that. You let an offense take enough shots, and eventually, some will find their way through. The Mammoth actually had several good opportunities to score from the crease, many times on an undefended one on one with the goalie. Some went in, some didn’t, at least one was called back for a crease violation. As I said, Cosmo is a good goalie, you expect he will come up strong a lot so maybe I’m simply being harsh on the fact that he faced a reported 60 shots and only let twelve in. But, as I said, many of those shots were to his chest and he didn’t have to work to block them.

On the other hand was recently activated goalie Tye Belanger. The Mammoth got the win, and Belanger only let in six goals. Pretty awesome, right? Well, the Bandits scored three times on their first five shots in the first quarter. Thankfully, that ratio did go down, but according to the stats, Belanger only faced 36 shots. The Mammoth defense did a good job keeping the Buffalo offense away and not giving them good shots, although they gave them a lot of rebounds so it wasn’t for a lack of trying on Buffalo’s part. Some will argue the Bandits only lost because future Hall of Famer John Tavares was out, but I argue one man does not make a team. Buffalo has long been a team that once you chip away at them enough, they fall apart and just start looking for a fight. Look at the 2006 Champion’s Cup; in many ways, very similar to this game.

Now for the technically. Yes, the Mammoth won, and it was a much needed win. But I can honestly say as a fan I am both frustrated and embarrassed with my team. While I thoroughly dislike Buffalo Bandits coach Darris Kilgour, at least you get exactly what you expect from him. He’s an emotional hot head that is a censor’s nightmare. And there is plenty of speculation about his preference for goon like play. Last night was more evidence for that speculation. As the game wound down, Kilgour apparently decided to put in what some fans have referred to as the goon squad. Bob Hamley called a time out with just over 30 seconds on the clock and swapped out several players to what many others are calling a goon squad. Now, who did what first depends a bit on who you ask as both coaches essentially did the same thing. The play starts and four different fights break out on the field. The refs have their hands full, and send everyone (including both goalies) but the players who will play the final 30 seconds of the game off the floor.

The game ends and the refs still have their hands full as Darris Kilgour decides he wants to go after Bob Hamley and the Colorado Mammoth bench. Kilgour has to be restrained as well as at least one Mammoth assistant coach. It’s just a melee. 19 penalties were given with 30 seconds remaining in the game and three more after the end of the game against both benches, one each for Bench: Gross Misconduct and another minor penalty against the Mammoth for Unsportsmanlike conduct. Chet Koneczny, who has already had issues controlling himself this season received a Gross Misconduct Penalty for feeling the need to flip everyone in Buffalo off. The NLL hasn’t announced any suspensions, fines or penalties of any kind yet, but many are expected.

So yeah, the Mammoth won. But they showed poor sportsmanship and may be without several key players when they face the Bandits again Saturday, this time in Denver.

Friday

Colorado Mammoth 10, Toronto Rock 14

Minnesota Swarm 15, Calgary Roughnecks 19

Saturday

Colorado Mammoth 12, Buffalo Bandits 6

Washington Stealth 16, Philadelphia Wings 10

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This is a difficult game to write about. If the Mammoth won, well, it’s against the last place team in the East, so is it a good barometer of them doing well, or just playing well against an equally struggling team. If the Mammoth lose, than they must be horrible because they played an equally struggling team and lost. While there is some truth to that, it’s not wholly accurate either.

When you have such a small league that is so deep in talent, even the worst team is still dangerous and can turn things around in no time. Despite being 2-6, the Mammoth could still not only make the playoffs, they could still win the Champions Cup. Granted, they have a lot of work ahead of them to get to that point.

This team is difficult to watch. They’re as star studded as an all-star team, and despite going 11-5 last season , it’s almost like last season never happened. The Mammoth continue to struggle in almost every position. Earlier this week it was announced that struggling goalie Matt Roik had been cut and Tye Belanger signed after coming of the physically unable to perform list. As Roik has really only had one good game so far this season, this change was not wholly unexpected. Although it did surprise many fans when the Washington Stealth immediately picked him up and cut goalie Nick Patterson.

But I digress. The game against the Rochester Knighthawks was an exciting nail biter of a game. The lead changed hands several times and neither team was ever more than three goals up. It truly came down to the wire when Gavin Prout scored what would have been a game tying goal to send it in to overtime, except that the clock had expired before the goal crossed the line. Unlike in some sports, when the clock buzzes, the game is over regardless of whether the ball is in play, or in the air.

Both teams played hard last night, which is a good thing as it was an important game for both since both teams have been struggling this season. While I saw many improvements, the Mammoth still aren’t there. Passing continues to be sloppy and the Knighthawks blocked numerous passes and intercepted several more. The Mammoth were more aggressive about lose balls and the defense didn’t allow Rochester to get near the crease as often. A large percentage of their goals were from well utilized screens. Dan Lewis helped a lot as well. Despite only making 28 saves on 40 shots on goal, he was successful in an area that neither Chris Levis nor Matt Roik were. He was often able to capture the ball after a shot rather than allow a rebound. As the Mammoth have struggled to get those rebounds which allows the other team several subsequent shots on goal, this had a huge impact on the game.

One thing that continues to frustrate me as a fan though is John Grant Junior. When we had Gary Gait, many of us dubbed it the “Gary Gait Syndrome”. Basically, because Gat was such a phenomenal player, any time the game was on the line, or the offense had any doubt whether or not they could make the shot, they would automatically dish the ball to Gary Gait, regardless of whether he was being triple teamed or even if they had the better angle. Often times, passing to him didn’t make sense, but they did it because it was Gary Gait! The same seems to hold true for JGJ. This isn’t JGJ’s fault. He actually has stepped up and is passing the ball a lot more than he was a couple of season ago, however, the offense has the same issue. If the game is on the line, they will often send it his way despite that being exactly what the other team expects, despite heavy coverage, and often despite them having the better opportunity.

While I hate to point out the officiating, I also can’t ignore it in this game. It’s certainly the elephant in the room. Although it was nice that the refs essentially let them play and called very few penalties, there were also several plays from both sides that were dangerous and could have seriously injured players that warranted calls but received nothing. I say this against both teams. Paul Dawson and Rory Smith were both crossing the line into some dirty play. JGJ was knocked down several times with his helmet flying with no calls, a Mammoth player was charged into well after the play was whistled dead in front of the ref, Lewis was taken down, and yet, not a single call. In fact, there were only three penalties called the entire game. One for slashing, one for unsportsmanlike conduct, and a third I’m not entirely sure about. Definitely an under called game that thankfully did not get out of hand nor did anyone get hurt.

The Mammoth have a tough weekend ahead of them. They have back to back games against the Toronto Rock (6-3) and the Buffalo Bandits (5-4). This weekend will be a true test for where they currently are as a team. They’re deep with talent and certainly have the potential, it’s just a matter of coming together as a team and playing hard the entire game, not just a couple of quarters.

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