The Edmonton Rush have a lot to prove. They’re one of those teams whose records doesn’t really reflect the quality of the team. Underestimate them, and they’ll quickly capitalize on your mistake. For the Colorado Mammoth who had a win under their belts over the Rush two weeks ago and a 4-0 record, it would have been very easy to look past Edmonton. They didn’t however, and the game between these two teams was very aggressive and hard fought.

1^st Quarter

On a pass to center from Derek Hopcroft, Jordan McBride takes it to the net to start off the scoring for the Colorado Mammoth. The next play, the Rush on the power play, take it hard to Chris Levis peppering him with shots. Levis makes several difficult saves in a row, but the Mammoth fail to get the rebounds and Scott Evans is able to score on a screened shot after receiving a behind the back pass from Ryan Ward. Mammoth continue to struggle to recover the shot on goal rebounds. Chris Corbeil recovers one of these rebounds and does a long outlet pass to John LaFontaine giving him a 1:1 opportunity for a goal and what will be the Rush’s only lead. Aaron Bold has his own fair share of shots on goal to contend with despite John Grant Junior shooting several times wide of the net. Putting Bold to the test, he successively blocks several shots in a row until he blocks a shot from JGJ that bounces the wrong way off his leg pad and into the net for a Mammoth goal. With 2:15 remaining in the quarter, Edmonton scores but the goal is waived off for a shot clock violation.

Colorado Mammoth 2, Edmonton Rush 2

2^nd Quarter

Starting off the quarter with a highlight clip worthy attempt, Mat MacLeod gets a 1:1 opportunity against Bold after Jed Prossner grinds out the loose ball, gets slammed into the boards before sending the outlet pass down the floor. Running hard, MacLeod takes the shot from the left side of the crease but Bold is able to get across the net in time to make the save, making it look easy. Edmonton fail on their possession and Mammoth bring it right back down the field where Adam Jones takes a shot from around his defender and gets it past Bold for the goal. Aaron Wilson gets around his defender and catches the pass from Zack Greer at the crease, shoots and scores to tie the game again. The goalies continue to get peppered with shots but the offense for both teams just can’t seem to find the sweet spot. In one instance, Levis blocked a shot and remained on his knees, apparently thinking he had the ball, the Rush recovered and took a shot but with luck on his side, the ball ricocheted off both posts behind him and went out. After over eight minutes without a goal, JGJ finally breaks the scoring drought. He throws a swim move over his defender, attacks the net, and then fakes before shooting and scoring.

Colorado Mammoth 4, Edmonton Rush 3

3^rd Quarter

Adam Jones starts off the scoring in the second half, hitting the net from the outside. Play continues back and forth with the Rush heavier on the possessions but no scoring. Midway through the quarter in a brilliant play, Gavin Prout shoots, Bold blocks it but fumbles the rebound, Prout knocks the ball out of the crease into the corner where he and a Rush player fight over the loose ball. Prout manages to grind it out, he passes to JGJ who takes the shot, but Bold comes up with the save. With six minutes remaining, the scoring drought finally comes to an end with a goal from Wilson followed by on from Zack Greer on the power play to tie the game back up. Jordan McBride scores back to back goals, one a straight shot from the crease, the second also at the crease after faking twice before scoring. Closing out the quarter Scott Evans scores for Edmonton with a hard low right side arm shot.

Colorado Mammoth 7, Edmonton Rush 6

4^th Quarter

Scott Evans starts off the scoring six minutes into the final quarter, shooting outside, he hits the cross bar and the ball goes in to tie the game again. The play increases in aggressiveness from both teams, but in some questionable calls and no calls (but seriously, when is that not the case?), the refs attempt to keep control of the game. It would appear that Chris Levis has studied some Judo, after Scott Evans crashes into Levis, Levis uses Evan’s momentum and flips him to the ground. Both players get penalties – Evans for goalie interference and Levis for roughing. Adam Jones manages to score in traffic on the power play giving the Mammoth back the lead with under 5 minutes remaining. In an unusual side arm shot around his defender, JGJ also manages to score. In a beautiful play, Dan Coates in a 1:1 opportunity scores on a running behind the back shot. As the clock wound down, the Rush began to pull Bold from the net for the extra attacker. Mammoth recover the ball and Jarrett Park manages to beat Bold to the net scoring in a not quite empty net goal.

In a show of class (which from comments I received on Twitter is typical of him,) after Evans was sent to the box on a 5 minute major high sticking penalty to Rory Smith’s chin, (Smith himself got a roughing major after trying to get Evans to throw down the gloves, but Evans refused,) Evans proceeded to get into it with the fans behind the penalty box, Smith, and the fans. He continued to shout and taunt the fans all around the arena after game’s end. Apparently Scott Evans is the Draco Malfoy of lacrosse. It should be interesting when these two teams face off again April 20.

Final score:

Colorado Mammoth 11, Edmonton 7

Attendance: 14,055 (actual appeared closer to 8,000 due to the snowy conditions)

1^st Star – Chris Levis, with 44 saves on 51 shots, Levis was an important factor in the Mammoth’s win.

2^nd Star – Aaron Bold, with 38 saves on 49 shots, Bold was standing on his head. He kept the Mammoth to a low scoring game until the final minutes of the fourth quarter. Which, when you’re facing the offensive talent that includes John Grant Jr, Ilija Gajic, Gavin Prout, Adam Jones, Jamie Lincoln and Sean Pollock, that’s saying something.

3^rd Star – John Grant Jr, with eight points on the night, JGJ was a part of almost every goal the Mammoth scored. Although, with 13 shots on goal (23%) and 7 shots completely wide on the goal, JGJ was also part of why the Rush had as many possession as they did. But then, JGJ has always had a high shots to goal ratio.

Around the League

Toronto Rock 15, Philadelphia Wings 6

Washington Stealth 11, Buffalo Bandits 10 OT

Minnesota Swarm 14, Rochester Knighthawks 16

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While many Rochester fans were happy to see JGJ go saying he was washed up, just as many were upset over their star player being traded away. (Colorado fans were just as polarized, but I’ve discussed that previously and won’t discuss it further here.) While JGJ struggled to find his groove last year, he’s having a remarkable season already, and we’re only a quarter into it. Rochester who came out strong in their season opener against the Philadelphia Wings winning by 10 goals is now on a three game losing streak after dropping back to back games against Toronto and Colorado.

1^st Quarter

The Mammoth start the scoring of a minute in on their first possession after the Knighthawks get a shot clock violation.  John Grant Jr passes it to Gavin Prout behind the net, who hits Adam Jones with a bounce pass. Jones passes it to Sean Pollock on the crease for a one on one opportunity with the goalie, making it look easy.  Rochester scores their own goal 37 seconds later after a Mammoth shot on goal is blocked and recovered on the rebound. Cory Vitarelli takes it with an over the shoulder shot. Mammoth then go on a three goal run led by Adam Jones with a bounce shot from the crease following a perfect goal to goal outlet pass from JGJ. Jamie Lincoln follows it up cutting from the outside, he shakes off his defender for a left to right cross body side goal. After a play with multiple dropped passes, Jamie Lincoln manages to recover the ball and passes to Gavin Prout for the score. Stephen Keogh scores one for the Knighthawks just under the seven minute mark. Seventeen seconds later, JGJ scores on a phenomenal behind the back shot hitting Vinc 5-hole for the goal. Mammoth start the quarter off looking extremely strong with lots of cutting and solid goal shots but the second half of the quarter they have a lot of dropped passes and a flat offense.

Colorado Mammoth 5, Rochester Knighthawks 2

2^nd Quarter

Colorado starts the scoring thirty seconds in by Jamie Lincoln with a low side arm shot hitting 5-hole. Stephen Keogh gets his second goal of the night thirty seconds later. Sean Pollack notches his second of the night with a shot down the middle. Derek Hopcroft scores his first of the night with a high jumping shot at the crease, shooting at the apex before landing behind the rear crease line. To Mammoth fan’s delight, Matt Vinc is replaced in net by Jake Henhawk. The first round Henhawk faces, the Mammoth score but it’s called for a crease violation. After Vinc is pulled, the Knighthawks defense really steps it up and plays much more aggressive preventing Colorado from getting shots off on the new goal tender. After having some time to settle down, Vinc comes back into net.  Capitalizing on a power play, John Grant Jr making it look easy scores on a left sidearm shot. Johnny Powless closes out the half by scoring for the Knighthawks.

Colorado Mammoth 9, Rochester Knighthawks 4

3^rd Quarter

Colorado comes out in the third looking like a completely different team. They’re dropping passes left and right and the offense looks completely flat. No cutting, predictable ball movement, lack of hustle for rebounds and loose balls and Rochester makes the most of it. Mike Accursi scores after the Knighthawks recover a rebound at the crease. Scott Stewart scores an unassisted goal with a one on one opportunity with Matt Vinc hitting the top right corner. Cody Jamieson scores almost immediately into their first power play after Jarret Park is sent to the box for Holding. Alexander-Kedoh Hill scores on the next play followed by another goal from Accursi.  Jamie Lincoln scores for the Mammoth, but Cory Vitarellir scores with a behind the back shot almost immediately after to bring the Knighthawks within two.

Colorado Mammoth 11, Rochester Knighthawks 9

4^th Quarter

John Grant Junior kicks off the scoring with a hat trick goal, assisted by Dan Coates. Mike Accursi gets his own hat trick followed by a goal from Cody Jamieson to bring narrow Mammoth’s lead to one.  Sean Pollock gets his own hat trick scoring on the power play. Midway through the quarter, Creighton Reid scores an unassisted Mammoth goal after getting a one on one opportunity to give Colorado a three goal lead. Gavin Prout scores on an outside shot, but it’s waived off for a moving pick violation. Mammoth defense looks super aggressive and succeeds in keeping Rochester away from the crease and quality shots on goal. While the Mammoth looked good overall, if Rochester hadn’t played the previous night, Colorado’s lackluster play in the third may have been more costly. In the National Lacrosse League, unlike other sports, no lead is safe and Colorado played the third quarter like it was.

Final score:

Colorado Mammoth 14, Rochester Knighthawks 11

Attendance: 15,210

1^st Star – John Grant Junior; with three goals on seven shots and four assists, JGJ once again lead the Mammoth in points.

2^nd Star – Mike Accursi; with three assists and his second half hat trick, Accursi was a much needed spark for the Rochester offense to keep the Knighthawks in the game after ending the first half down by five goals.

3^rd Star – Sean Pollock; new to the Mammoth this year, Pollock is quickly making his mark. With three goals and two assists, he wasn’t far behind JGJ on the score board.

Around the League:

Friday

Rochester Knighthawks 11, Toronto Rock 13

Philadelphia Wings 13, Buffalo Bandits 10

Saturday

Buffalo Bandits 11, Minnesota Swarm 19

Toronto Rock 14, Calgary Roughnecks 13 OT

Edmonton Rush 16, Washington Stealth 5

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While the term Battle of Alberta is usually reserved for when Edmonton and Calgary face off, the past few seasons, the Mammoth have had their own Battle of Alberta facing off against both Edmonton and Calgary in back to back games. Playing a barn to barn game is tough enough but at least you’re playing a team that also played the previous night. The Mammoth headed into Alberta faced with the challenge of playing not just two different teams but two strong division rivals. They definitely had their work cut out for them and they rose to the challenge.

Colorado Mammoth at Edmonton Rush

1^st Quarter

If there was any doubt in Colorado’s mind that Edmonton came to win, the first five minutes of the game definitely erased it. The Rush took a commanding three goal lead with a bounce shot goal before the game hit the minute mark, followed by a phenomenal play from Zack Greer where with a combination of faking and fancy footwork he was able to get around his defender and shoot one over Levis’s shoulder. Not to be left out, Scott Evans scored on an outside shot.

Rookie Adam Jones gets the Mammoth on the board with a crease shot from a behind the net pass from John Grant Jr. Sean Pollock scores off a diving shot but it’s waived off for crease violation and understandably, since it’s still very early in the game, there’s no challenge from the Mammoth bench despite it looking like a good goal. Zack Greer answers with his own assisted by Shawn Williams. Jones gets his second goal assisted by Sean Pollock to close out the quarter.

Colorado Mammoth 2, Edmonton Rush 4

2^nd Quarter

While Edmonton started off strong and the Mammoth offense looked flat and unfocused, the second quarter was a whole other story with Colorado dominating completely. The Mammoth offense looked good. It was hard to believe it was the same team. Levis found his groove and the defense prevented a lot of shots as well. Again assisted by Pollock, Jones starts off the scoring notching a hat trick as the only Mammoth player to score. John Grant Jr scores an unassisted goal on a running shot from the outside bouncing it five hole. In a beautiful play, Pollock spins to the outside of his defender to break away and score with a crease shot. The Rush stop the bleeding for nearly eight minutes before Jed Prossner scores his own unassisted goal followed by Jones scoring his fourth on the night.

Colorado Mammoth 7, Edmonton Rush 4

3^rd Quarter

Early in the third quarter, Mammoth rookie Jamie Lincoln blasted a hard shot at Rush goalie Aaron Bold only to have it ricochet off the side of Rush defender Jim Quinlan’s head ringing his bell. Zack Greer opened up the scoring with his hat trick goal four minutes in. In a questionable call for a game that hadn’t been remotely chippy, Mammoth player Rory Smith and Rush player Scott Evans both receive two minute roughing penalties for a non-fight. Apparently in the East coast, they get full on team brawls, however, on the West, mild pushing and shoving is the same penalty. The next play John Grant Jr scores his second goal of the game followed by Gavin Prout with a power play goal. In a beautiful underhand five hole shot, Shawn Williams follows up with his own power play goal for the Rush launching the Edmonton into their own run. Corey Small followed by Ryan Ward with his own power play goal and Brett Mydske to tie it up. With four seconds remaining in the quarter, John Grant Jr scores his hat trick goal on the power play to take back the lead.

Colorado Mammoth 10, Edmonton Rush 9

4^th Quarter

Thirty seconds in, Adam Jones kicks off the final quarter with his 5^th goal assisted by John Grant Jr. Tom Johnson scores his first goal of the night followed by a pair of goals from Ryan Ward, (one of them a shorthander), to take the lead for Edmonton. John Grant Jr dashes Edmonton’s hopes though by scoring both the tying goal and with fifteen seconds left, the game winner. Both teams made a lot of mistakes and it’s obvious it’s early in the season, but both teams showed potential and their next meeting February 4^th in Denver should be exciting.

Final

Colorado Mammoth 13, Edmonton Rush 12

Attendance: 8, 192

1^st Star – Adam Jones, the rookie had 5 goals (4 of them in the first half), a 41.7% shot percentage, and was second in loose balls.

2^nd Star – John Grant Jr, hard to argue with 5 goals, especially when his last two tied the game and subsequently won it.  He also had 4 assists and 6 loose balls.

3^rd Star – Scott Stewart, there’s plenty of discussion about how important face offs are and whether having a dominant face off guy a la Geoff Snider is important or not, but as Stewart won 22 of 29 including key moments like the end of the game, this at least is one instance where the face off guy had a huge impact.

Colorado Mammoth at Calgary Rush

1^st Quarter

Coming from across the crease, Sean Pollock makes the most of the first Mammoth possession scoring 47 seconds in. A Minute later, Daryl Veltman scores with a low hard shot going top shelf on a power play provided by John Gallant. (Unfortunately, what happened was off camera. Gallant was charged with a minor roughing, but game play was stopped and the trainer came out to check on him and he looked like he was in a lot of pain walking to and sitting in the box. By the look of it, he may have been lucky he only had to serve about 10 second of the penalty.) In the first of what would be many Roughneck illegal substitution penalties, John Grant Jr. capitalizes almost immediately to retake the lead. Kaleb Toth scores on the next play to knot it back up and kick off a Calgary run. Scott Ranger and Shawn Evans both score on the power play followed by Curtis Manning. Derek Hopcroft stops Calgary’s run heading in to the second quarter and on the assist, John Grant Jr scores his 1,000^th career point.

Colorado Mammoth 3, Calgary Roughnecks 5

 2^nd Quarter

Rookie Jamie Lincoln starts things off scoring for the Mammoth in the first minute followed by John Grant Jr on a penalty shot forty seconds later after the Roughnecks were served with a trio of penalties for delay of game (Kaleb Toth), illegal substitution and unsportsmanlike conduct (Dane Dobbie). Mammoth Captain Gavin Prout scores his own power play goal a minute later followed by a power play goal from Gavin Prout to retake the lead. Daryl Veltman and Curtis Dickson each score a goal in under twenty seconds to retake the lead. And that was just the first three and a half minutes! Adam Jones scores on the power play for the Mammoth to tie the game, but Veltman immediately follows it up to give Calgary back the lead. Pete McFetridge scores a short hander after Mammoth take a shot, fail to get the rebound and Mike Poulin passes it down the floor to give McFetridge a clear one on one opportunity.

Colorado Mammoth 7, Calgary Roughnecks 9

3^rd Quarter

For as heavy scoring and back and forth as the second quarter was, the third quarter was relatively quiet aside from penalties. Midway through the third, Shawn Evans scored on the power play followed by Scott Ranger making it look easy as running ahead of his defender he catches a pass from Shawn Evans and scores from the crease to give the Roughnecks a four goal lead, but John Grant Jr scores a short hander and in an unusual circumstance Derek Hopcroft recovers a rebound off a bad Calgary pass that bounced off the ref to score his second goal of the night to cut the lead back to two.

Colorado Mammoth 9, Calgary Roughnecks 11

4^th Quarter

Curtis Manning starts of the scoring with a one on one break away to take Calgary back up to a three goal lead. In a play that would get anyone else benched for even attempting, John Grant Jr scores on a no look behind the back shot to the top right corner. Jones gets his own breakaway chance to score bringing Calgary’s lead down to one. Chris Levis may have had some rough moments early in the game, but the fourth quarter was all about Levis standing on his head making tension inducing saves. Especially against Dane Dobbie who was relentless, peppering him with one shot after another. Adam Jones scores his hat trick goal on the power play to tie the game. Levis continues to make one phenomenal save after another to keep fans of both teams on the edge of their seats as the game goes to over time.

Colorado Mammoth 12, Calgary Roughnecks 12

Overtime

As expected, Geoff Snider won the faceoff for the Roughnecks giving them a definite advantage in overtime however Levis is able to block the shot, Mammoth get the rebound. In a “what in the world were you thinking” move, Shawn Evans clearly intentionally trips the Mammoth player giving the Mammoth a man up advantage which Gavin Prout uses to his advantage to score the winning goal.

Final

Colorado Mammoth 13, Calgary Roughnecks 12

Attendance: 9,341

1^st Star – John Grant Jr, four goals and six assists in this game was huge.

2^nd Star – Adam Jones, the second highest scorer on the night with three assists, and instrumental in sending the game to overtime.

3^rd Star** – Chris Levis, Calgary had plenty of opportunities in the fourth including stonewalling Pete McFetridge on a breakaway, with ten seconds left, and a diving shot from Dane Dobbie, who went zero for fourteen on the night, immediately afterwards but Levis stopped them all. Without Levis’s performance in net the last quarter, Calgary would have had the game in the bag.

**Gavin Prout was a strong consideration for third star, especially as not only did he have the overtime game winner, he also had another goal and four assists, however, in a game where their opponent was capitalizing on power plays, he had 7 penalty minutes because of his tussles with Andrew McBride.

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Washington Stealth 9, Philadelphia Wings 10 OT

Buffalo Bandits 12, Rochester Knighthawks 9

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Copyright Melissa Dafni, All RIghts Reserved

Yesterday marked a very important day in Colorado sports history.  What?! No, I’m not talking about Tim Tebow and the Denver Broncos.  The Colorado Mammoth celebrated the start of their 10^th season.  While the Denver Broncos were facing their own battle, the Mammoth faithful were packed in to the Pepsi Center.  While it was a smaller crowd than usual, and definitely less than the reported attendance, the Mammoth were well supported by their fans; a fitting way to say goodbye to fan favorite Brian Langrtry who announced his retirement in October.

Before the game began, there were plenty of speeches and hugs and tears. Langtry’s speech filled with love for his family, his team and the fans was full of the passion he’s known for. His fiery intensity will definitely be missed this season, but with his underdog story and local entrenchment, he will be an inspiration for many years.

1^st quarter

As you would expect, both teams looked unsettled and a bit rusty. Stick work was sloppy with several bobbled shots on net and dropped passes in the offensive zone. The Minnesota Swarm did a good job of reading the plays and intercepted several Mammoth passes. Both teams came out aggressive and willing to mix it up although more Mammoth players had a seat in the sin bin. Jordan MacIntosh started off the scoring giving Minny the lead making the most of their first power play. The lead didn’t last long though. John Grant Jr. scored a shorthanded goal just over a minute later.  With the quarter half way over, Matt MacLeod scores for the Mammoth giving them the lead.  It’s very short lived however as Callum Crawford scores for the Swarm 30 seconds later to tie the game.  Jamie Lincoln scores on the power play to give the Mammoth the lead but minutes later, Jamie Shewchuck scores his own power play goal for the Swarm to tie the game back up.  As the clock wound down, Gavin Prout scored his first goal of the season, but refs said it was after the buzzer.

Colorado Mammoth 3, Minnesota Swarm 3

2^nd Quarter

The Swarm come out strong scoring back to back goals within twenty seconds three minutes in to take the lead.  The first, scored by Ryan Benesch on a power play, the second by Corbyn Tao. Not to be shown up, John Grant Jr. scores his second of the night to cut the lead by one. Ilija Gajic shoots on net, Patterson blocks it, MacIntosh recovers the rebound and takes down the floor, he passes to a wide open Benesch who shoots it over Chris Levis’s left shoulder. With just over five minutes left in the half, Gajic  scores a tricky behind the back goal as he dives across the corner of the crease. The ref rules it a no goal, the challenge flag is thrown, and upon review, the goal is ruled good.  Lincoln scores his second goal of the night to tie the game quickly followed by a goal from Sean Pollock on a bounce shot to take the lead, getting taken out afterwards sandwiched between Joe Cinosky and Nik Bilic. Kevin Ross scores off the crease to send the game into halftime tied.

Colorado Mammoth 7, Minnesota Swarm 7

3^rd Quarter

Just under four minutes in to the half, Gavin Prout scores on a screened over hand shot to retake the lead, but as was the case in the first half, the Swarm match it with their own goal thirty seconds later courtesy of Andrew Suitor. The goal is waived off on the floor as a crease violation. Swarm challenge, and after review, the goal is ruled good.

Mammoth struggle on the rebounds and loose balls giving Swarm plenty of opportunities but it’s the Mammoth who go on a scoring streak six and a half minute in led by the rookie Adam Jones. Rookie Jordan McBride scores a quick stick goal near the crease off a behind the back pass from John Grant Jr. Rookie Jamie Lincoln closes out the triple rookie threat by scoring a hat trick goal. Lincoln also scores an unsportsmanlike conduct for his comments to Nick Patterson after the goal putting the Swarm up on the power play. Pollack scores a short hander for the Mammoth before Minnesota is able to stop the run.  Swarm call a time out to settle the game down. Callum Crawford scores almost immediately followed by Ryan Benesch.  The Mammoth close out the third by giving the Swarm a 5:3 opportunity but despite a one on one opportunity on the crease between Levis and a shot faking Benesch, the play is broken up from behind by the rookie Dan Coates.

Colorado Mammoth 12, Minnesota Swarm 10

4^th Quarter

Thirty seconds into the forth, Crawford scores on the power play assisted by Benesch. John Grant Jr. immediately follows it up with his own goal for the Mammoth kicking off a flurry of back and forth goals. Brendon Doran scores for the Swarm then Gavin Prout for the Mammoth; Jay Card for the Swarm capped off with a Brian Langtry like goal, Mat McLeod dives across the front of the crease kicking off what will be a six goal run for Colorado.   Showing why Levis is the starting goalie, with under eight minutes left, Suitor shoots on Levis, he blocks it, misses the rebound, MacIntosh picks it up and shoots, Levis diving blocks it, lands flat on his back as play continues behind the net. Levis gets back on his feet in time while Rory Smith covers MacIntosh like red on an apple keeping him from getting another shot off.

With less than two minutes left in the game, Crawford scores his fourth goal of the night on a penalty shot after Mammoth are charged with an Illegal Substitution. The Mammoth made a lot of mistakes and had some costly penalties, but they really started to show chemistry in the second half, which, after last season’s constant gear grinding is something very solid to build on.

How fitting is it though that on the night the Mammoth retires Brian Langtry’s number 6 jersey, the Mammoth win by six goals?

Final score: Colorado Mammoth 20, Minnesota Swarm 14

Attendance: 14,106

As it appears that the league is either no longer listing or simply no longer doing a game MVP, I have decided that I will list my three stars of the game.

1^st star – John Grant Jr. He had 4 goals on the night, 7 assists and 13 second assists, not to mention the number of defensive plays he made. A frequent complaint last year was that JGJ was slow on transition, often watched the ball and opposing players  go by without any attempt to stop them. This year he seemed like a completely different player and was all over the floor making plays.

2^nd star – Gavin Prout. He had 3 goals, 6 assists and 7 second assists.

3^rd star – Sean Pollock. In his first game in a Mammoth sweater, he had a huge impact with 2 goals, 6 assists and 7 second assists.

Around the League                   

Rochester Knighthawks 22, Philadelphia Wings 12

Toronto Rock 10, Buffalo Bandits 12

Calgary Roughnecks 13, Washington Stealth 10

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Image by MPR529 via Flickr

The Colorado Mammoth headed into this weekend with their playoff destiny squarely on their shoulders. If they won both games, they would clinch the fourth and final spot.  If they lost both, the Edmonton Rush would clinch that spot.  And if they split the games, things wouldn’t be as simple.

Their destiny still is in Mammoth hands, now it’s just a matter of Colorado either winning in Denver against Calgary April 15 or in Minnesota April 23.  For the Rush to get that fourth spot, they need to beat the Toronto Rock and the Mammoth need to lose both games.

The next two weeks will be pivotal.

The rivalry between the Calgary Roughnecks and the Colorado Mammoth is long-standing with much of it stemming from playoff battles.  This year might not be any different.  With the Mammoth and Roughnecks facing off twice in a week and the potential of playing a third time two weeks later in the playoffs, both teams will be giving it their all once again.

Friday, April 8 vs Calgary Roughnecks

The Mammoth started the game very strong with John Grant Jr scoring in the first 40 seconds followed quickly by a goal from Ned Crotty a minute later.  Midway through the first, Daryl Veltman scored with Geoff Snider winning the subsequent faceoff and taking it down and immediately scoring and unassisted goal.  Dan Carey scored for the Mammoth on the power play followed by another goal from JGJ.

Penalties and therein power plays had a big impact in the second quarter.  Calgary capitalized three times while the Mammoth scored once on the power play in addition to two short handed goals.  Starting shortly after the 5 minute mark, a flurry of goals began with one scored almost every minute.  Heading into halftime, the teams were only separated by one goal.

Curtis Dickson scored for the Roughnecks off the opening faceoff but like in the in the second quarter, penalties were the big factor in the third as well.  The Mammoth scored twice on the power play while the Roughnecks scored one power play and two short handed goals.  The Roughnecks outscored the Mammoth 7-3 in the third giving Calgary a three goal cushion heading into the fourth.

Neither team was going down without a fight though. Early on, the Gajic brothers each score a goal to bring the Mammoth within one but unfortunately for the Mammoth, on the faceoff immediately following Alex Gajic’s goal, Geoff Snider managed to snag another face off which he then preceded to run down the field with and score to give the Roughnecks back a two goal lead.  The remaining eight plus minutes were intense with both goalies standing on their heads blocking shots on goal. With eight seconds remaining in the game, Carey manages to get his third goal of the night past Poulin, but it wasn’t enough and the Roughnecks hold on to their lead.

Final: Colorado Mammoth 13, Calgary Roughnecks 14
Attendance: 12,213

MVP: Daryl Veltman

Saturday, April 9 vs Edmonton Rush

The Mammoth played a hard fought game the night before and lost.  The Edmonton Rush were well rested and playing in front of their home crowd.  Playoff implications were on the line.

Brian Langtry, who has been relatively quiet on the goal front this season, started off the scoring with trademark style. Leaping from the left side of the crease he pulled his stick around his body and shot from behind as he dove through the air, scoring before hitting the ground in a highlight real worthy goal.

Corey Small snuck a low shot past a screened Chris Levis a few minutes later to put the Rush on the board.

Nick Carlson has taken a lot of flack this season with many fans frustrated by his lack of production on the floor and mistakes resulting in goals.  Many have even speculated that this is probably Carlson’s last season. But looking like the Nick Carlson of old, he runs down the field on a breakaway with a one on one opportunity against Matt Disher and scores.

A few minutes later, in a beauty of a goal, Joel Dalgarno manages to step around Kyle Sweeney, fakes a couple of times before shooting on net for the score to start off a flurry of goals.  Mac Allen scores on a one on one opportunity from a turnover from Scott Evans for the Mammoth.  It’s quickly followed by a Rush goal by Ryan Ward less than thirty seconds later.  John Grant Jr scores his first goal of the night a minute later to give the Mammoth a three goal lead heading into the second quarter.

After an offensive end to the first quarter, the second quarter was decidedly defensive with only two goals scored for each side as the quarter wound down.  Three of the goals were scored in under 90 seconds starting with a power play goal from Ward cutting through the center.  Dalgarno makes use of a solid screen to shoot around Sweeney for the score followed by another diving across the crease goal from Langtry.   With two minutes remaining and the Mammoth on a power play, Rush have the ball.  Ward takes a shot, Levis blocks but Brodie Merrill gets the rebound.  He passes to Bill Greer at the center of the crease line who puts it past Levis for the goal.

The third quarter starts off with frenetic play from both sides until the Mammoth begin to find their groove with John Grant Jr scoring on a pass from Gavin Prout.  A minute later, Dan Carey scores undefended from the left side on a cross crease pass from Dalgarno.  Scott Evans scores for the Rush on a low hand shot around Ian Hawksbee that hits the pipe before going in.

After several minutes of defensive play and many blocked shots from both goalies, Brian Langtry manages to notch two more to finish out the third quarter giving the Mammoth a five goal lead.

The Mammoth finish off the fourth quarter with solid defensive play but a relatively mellow offense.  Alex Gajic scores on the power play mid way into the fourth while JGJ scores his third goal of the night a couple minutes later.

Final: Colorado Mammoth 13, Edmonton Rush 6

Attendance: 7,164

MVP: Chris Levis

Around the League

Friday, April 8

Buffalo Bandits 11, Toronto Rock 8

Saturday, April 9

Philadelphia Wings 7, Boston Blazers 9

Buffalo Bandits 9, Rochester Knighthawks 8

Minnesota Swarm 15, Washington Stealth 16 OT

Sunday, April 10

Rochester Knighthawsk 10, Philadelphia Wings 6

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Image via Wikipedia

  Leading up to the National Lacrosse League trade deadline, things were pretty quiet overall… and then the Colorado Mammoth made some moves. They reacquired former captain Gavin Prout from the Edmonton Rush, and Joel Dalgarno and Ian Hawksbee from the Washington Stealth.

Although the Prout trade got the most coverage, Dalgarno had the bigger impact… unless of course you do believe there really was a Prout curse.  The Mammoth haven’t won a home game since Gavin Prout was traded.  While most feel it is merely coincidence, others feel that trading Prout was equivalent of trading the heart of the team away.  Regardless of which side you fall on, the Prout trade was certainly divisive.

The Boston Blazers came in to the game after playing the Washington Stealth the previous night, the Mammoth had fresh legs, but hadn’t played for three weeks.  Not to mention, the Mammoth made some big changes to the lineup but hadn’t see them in action.

Both Anthony Cosmo and Chris Levis made some great saves, especially when they counted most.  Both defenses were also instrumental throughout the game, but it’s offense that grabs headlines.

Despite taking thirteen shots, John Grant Jr. only scored twice, however, as his second goal was the game winner, many will overlook the misses.  On the one hand, Wayne Gretzky is right; you do miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.  On the other hand, how many better scoring opportunities were missed because JGJ doesn’t seem to pick his shots?

For the first time all season, the Mammoth offense didn’t look flat most of the game.  They were picking and rolling, cutting, cross pass shooting and just in general working to get the goalie to move to set up a shot.  Unfortunately, too often, the Mammoth were unable to get the rebound when Cosmo did make the save.

While the Mammoth still have a long way to go, they’ve at least taken the first step.  Or as John Grant Jr told fans after the game, “There’s more to come, be ready.”

Game Summary

1^st Quarter

The Boston Blazers were given an early gift when Josh Sanderson apparently tripped over his feet or the carpet and went headlong into the boards.  Sanderson was okay, however, Mammoth captain was given a two minute checking from behind penalty.  He was also given a two minute unsportsmanlike conduct penalty for jawing at the refs.  The Blazers were able to capitalize on both with goals from Dan Dawson and Kevin Buchanan.

Making his mark quickly on his new team, Joel Dalgarno notches the only goal for the Mammoth on a side arm bounce shot.

Mammoth 1, Blazers 2

2^nd Quarter

Casey Powell starts the second quarter off notching a Blazer goal in the first minute assisted by Buchanan.  Dalgarno quickly counters with his second goal of the time thirty-five seconds later.  Josh Sanderson scores his only goal of the night a few minutes later for the Blazers followed a minute later by a quick pair of goals from Alex Gajic and John Grant Jr for the Mammoth to tie the game.  The tie wouldn’t stay long though as Nick Cotter scored the last goal of the quarter with just over five and a half minutes remaining to give the Blazers the lead going into half time.  There was a brief scare when Damon Edwards tripped over Anthony Cosmo’s foot while trying to block Dalgarno and hit hard head first into the boards.  Edwards remained on the turf for several minutes but left the floor under his own power.

Mammoth 4, Blazers 5

3^rd Quarter

The third quarter proved to be very defensive with one goal scored a piece just over half way in; Cotter for the Blazers and Dalgarno for the Mammoth. 

Mammoth 5, Blazers 6

4^th Quarter

Casey Powell scored his second goal of the game two minutes in the quarter on a power play provided by Jarett Park who was sent to the sin bin on a holding penalty.  His brother, Ryan Powell, scored a little over a minute later to give the Blazers a three goal lead.  Gavin Prout started the Mammoth streak off scoring on the power play just under nine minutes in to the 4^th.  Alex Gajic scored his second goal just under a minute and half later to bring the Mammoth within one. With the clock winding down and the Pepsi Center electric with anticipation, the Mammoth pulled Chris Levis for the extra attacker.  Dan Carey scores his only goal of the night with under thirty seconds left to tie the score sending the game into overtime.

Mammoth 8, Blazers 8

Overtime

Heading into overtime, the Pepsi Center was deafening. It’s been entirely too long since I’ve heard it that loud.  The Mammoth won the face off and quickly call a time out.  Play commences, and to nobody’s surprise, John Grant Jr is given the ball.  He runs around and although some of the other players may have had a better opening, takes a shot and Cosmo makes an easy save. Boston gains possession, Casey Powell passes to Dan Dawson who shoots wide.  After much battling over the loose ball, John Gallant comes up with the loose ball, passes to Steve Forsythe who passes to Prout.  Prout passes to Langtry.  Langtry makes a pass but it’s tipped and Boston recovers.  Casey Powell crosses the midline and passes it to Jamie Rooney.  Boston passes it around several more times before Rooney attempts a bounce shot that goes wide.  Mac Allen recovers the ball for the Mammoth.  The Mammoth slow the pace down passing back and forth setting up the play.  Prout gets the ball and gets ready to shoot on net when the whistle is blown and Alex Gajic is called for an illegal pick.  Boston regains possession.   Dawson starts off the passing for the Blazers.  Sanderson takes a shot, but Levis makes the save.  After much fighting for the ball, it’s whistled dead and possession awarded to Colorado.  Dan Carey picks up the ball and passes it across the center line to Jed Prossner who quickly passes it to John Grant Jr.  JGJ does a swim move over the top Kyle Rubish and shoots five hole to get the game winner.  The goal is reviewed while everyone waits with anticipation.  After watching several angles multiple times, the goal is called good and the fans go nuts like it was a playoff win.  Anthony Cosmo is very upset over something and after being very vocal to the refs for several minutes is given a two minute unsportsmanlike penalty.

Final Score: Mammoth 9, Blazers 8

Attendance: 17,123

MVP: John Grant Jr

Around the League:

Friday, March 25

Minnesota Swarm 13, Edmonton Rush 14

Toronto Rock 9, Calgary Roughnecks 14

Boston Blazers 8, Washington Stealth 9

Saturday, March 26

Philadelphia Wings 10, Rochester Knighthawks 13

Sunday, March 27

Buffalo Bandits 12, Minnesota Swarm 9

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Edmonton Rush at Calgary Roughnecks

Although the Edmonton Rush made their first playoff appearance ever in team history, it didn’t show in their play. Veteran goalie, Matt Disher ,was a strong asset for the Rush as he made 60 saves on 67 shots whereas Mike Poulin made 23 saves on 33 shots. Disher and the Edmonton Defense shut down many of the Roughneck stars including Josh Sanderson who went 0/13 and Tracey Kelusky who went 1/11. It certainly didn’t help Calgary that while the Roughnecks went 0/4 on the power play, the Rush went 3/3.

Proving how dangerous their offense can be, the Rush had goals from six different players with Gavin Prout, Andy Secore, and Corey Small each with two, Dean Hill had three, Ryan Ward and Jim Quinlan each notched one. Dane Dobbie was the only Roughneck able to notch more than one goal and he got three.

A definite rivalry has been developing between the Edmonton Rush and the Calgary Roughnecks because of their proximity to one another, but this game definitely added fuel to the fire. Edmonton has been playing very well the second half of the season and their momentum has carried them forward to the semi-finals next week.

Edmonton Rush 11, Calgary Roughnecks 7

MVP: Matt Disher

Attendance: 10,388

Minnesota Swarm at Washington Stealth

The Minnesota Swarm showed the Washington Stealth why in the NLL, no lead is safe, despite how large it is.

The Washington Stealth went in to the second quarter with a commanding five goal lead over the Swarm and it appeared the Stealth were going to notch an easy win over the Swarm who have been struggling the past few weeks. The Swarm on the other hand weren’t going to give up without a fight. The change in both teams was so dramatic in the second quarter, it was hard to believe it was the same teams. The Stealth were kept scoreless after the first couple of minutes in the second whereas the Swarm went on a run of their own to bring the lead within two ending the half Swarm 6, Stealth 8.

The Swarm struggled on the power play, going 1/5 while the Stealth went 2/4 plus notched two shorthanded goals.

Minnesota had a revolving door with their net minders. Goalies Nick Patterson and Kevin Croswell, swapped duties four times with Patterson finishing off the game.

Rhys Duch proved why he should be the game MVP notching six goals on ten shots and five assists for the Stealth while teammate Jeff Zywicki scored five goals on ten shots.

Minnesota Swarm 10 ,Washington Stealth 14

MVP: Rhys Duch

Attendance:3,268

Buffalo Bandits at Toronto Rock

It looked like the Buffalo Bandits were going to run away with this game, especially with Mike Accursi scoring six goals nearly in a row. But whereas the Rock’s momentum continued to build until it peaked in the 4^th quarter, the Bandits seemed to peak early and just couldn’t get back into the game once they relinquished the lead.

While Mike Accursi was on fire only missing four shots, All Star Forward Mark Steenhuis only scored twice on ten shots and, future Hall of Famer, John Tavares went zero for eight. Colin Doyle and Stephan Leblanc led scoring for the Rock with Doyle notching 4/8 and Leblanc 5/11.

Looking at the shots on goal can be slightly misleading. The Rock finished with 46 and the Bandits 37. However, showing how much stronger the Rock played towards the end, 31 of those 46 shots were in the second half whereas the Bandits only had 15.

Buffalo Bandits 11, Toronto Rock 13

MVP: Stephan Leblanc

Attendance: 9,367

Boston Blazers at Orlando Titans

To say this was a close game is a bit of an understatement. These two teams were so well matched that as the clock wound down, you half expected it to come down to the wire in overtime. It didn’t go into extra quarters, but it was still a close contest.

Shots on goal were only separated by three with Titans on top, but Blazers led in the other important areas such as looseballs and faceoffs. All of the penalties were in the first half, with Orlando only capitalizing on one, and Boston on zero although the Blazers did have two shorthanded goals in the first quarter.

In the end, it came down to a battle of the goalies with neither team scoring in the final four minutes.

Boston Blazers 11, Orlando Titans 12

MVP: Casey Powell

Attendance: 4,205

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While Colorado may not have had a perfect weekend, they managed to keep their slim playoff hopes alive with some help from the Minnesota Swarm.

Friday vs Edmonton Rush

Coming off a three game winning streak, the Edmonton Rush looked to take first place in the Western Division with a win over the Mammoth.  Colorado had other plans in mind.

The Mammoth looked amazing claiming a solid win over the Rush.

Goaltending has been an issue for much of this season, but you wouldn’t have guessed it watching Chris Levis play. He made some phenomenal stops behind a defense that did a great job of keeping the Rush from getting in close to the net. Brad Richardson won more than half the face-offs, and Chris McKay had 13 of the 71 Mammoth loose balls.

Just as important, while the Mammoth went 0 for 2 on the power play, Colorado held the Rush 1 for 2 on their man advantages.

Then there was the Mammoth offense.

The Rush successfully shut down Alex Gajic, who went 1 for 2, but Brian Langtry and Jamie Shewchuck picked up the slack. Despite injuring his ankle, Langtry notched 5 goals on 14 shots and 2 assists. Game MVP Jamie Shewchuck scored 4 goals on 12 shots and 5 assists.

Although the Mammoth allowed a short-handed goal in the 3^rd quarter, they stepped it up in the fourth.  Colorado kept Edmonton to one goal in the quarter, scored by former Mammoth Captain Gavin Prout, his second on the night.

Final Score – Colorado Mammoth 14, Edmonton Rush 10

Saturday vs Calgary Roughnecks

Playing back-to-back games is never an easy task, especially when playing different opponents each night.

The Mammoth came out strong in the first half against Calgary, playing much like they had the previous night.  However, by the second half, exhaustion appeared to set in.

Unlike the previous night where there were only two infractions for a total of four minutes between the teams, it seemed Calgary was looking to set a penalty minute record and bring the Mammoth along with them. It’s typically chippy between these two teams, as they have a long history that has most certainly developed into a strong rivalry.

In the first quarter alone, Calgary had 8 penalties resulting in 27 penalty minutes and Jeff Moleski being ejected. The Mammoth had 5 penalties for 13 minutes in just the first quarter. Unfortunately for the Mammoth though, they were only able to capitalize on 2 of their 8 power plays, while Calgary went 3 for 5 including a short-handed goal.

Going into the half, the Mammoth led 7-4, but they came out in the 3^rd looking like a different team.

Calgary made the most of it, scoring 5 goals and taking the lead while the Mammoth struggled both offensively (1 goal) and defensively.  Adding insult to injury, 2 of their goals were on the power play, and one was short-handed.

Calgary dominated the first half of the fourth quarter, but the Mammoth fought hard to retake the lead.  Colorado was only able to get within one before the final buzzer.

Jamie Shewchuck had another strong game with 3 goals on 9 shots and 2 assists. Jed Prossner had one of his best games this season, notching 4 goals on 12 shots and 1 assist. Alex Gajic struggled, though, going 0 for 7.

Faceoffs seemed to make a huge difference in the game as Brad Richardson struggled, only winning 5 of the 25.

With the Minnesota Swarm losing both of their back-to-back games this weekend, winning over Calgary would have put the Mammoth solidly into the playoff race. Even with the loss, the Mammoth are still in the playoff race, although their chances are slim.

Final Score – Colorado Mammoth 11, Calgary Roughnecks 12

Around the League:

Friday

Rochester Knighthawks 12, Minnesota Swarm 11

Saturday

Washington Stealth 17, Orlando Titans 7

Toronto Rock 10, Buffalo Bandits 13

Philadelphia Wings 12, Rochester Knighthawks 15

Minnesota Swarm 8, Boston Blazers 13

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Although the Mammoth lost in their home opener 13-14, and still have plenty of kinks to work out, they also had a strong showing with many positives.

To begin with, rookie Ilija Gajic had a strong showing.  He had 7 points on the night made up of 4 goals and 3 assists.  The Mammoth worked very hard to acquire Ilija, including trading captain Gavin Prout to the visiting Edmonton Rush in the off season.  Prout also had 7 points, all from assist, in his return to Denver.

Fan favorites Brian Langtry and Jamie Shewchuk also had 7 points each, with Langtry finding the back of the net 3 times and Shewchuk twice.  Alex Gajic also had a strong showing with 2 goals and 4 assists.  Although Cory Conway only had 1 goal, he still left his mark on the game with 7 assists.

Last week, penalties proved very costly to the Mammoth. Whether or not the Mammoth could’ve beat the Stealth is subject to debate. However, taking 62 minutes worth of penalties certainly didn’t help, especially when losing four players to ejection.  This week, the Mammoth were able to stay out of the box fairly well, only racking up 5 penalties for 13 minutes. Unfortunately, Edmonton was able to capitalize on two of them for power play goals.  The Mammoth’s power play proved to be very inconsistent, turning Edmonton’s 7 penalties into 6 goals…4 scored by the Mammoth and 2 by the Rush.

One large problem facing the Mammoth is, for the second week in a row, they had more shots on goal than their opponent and they still lost.  This may be a matter of the Mammoth offense not choosing their shots well, or they are having the misfortune of facing two goalies who were playing at the top of their game.  54 shots on goal against the Rush certainly is telling that they had their opportunities. However, Edmonton goalie Matt Disher was able to stop 41 of them.

The other large problem facing the Mammoth appears to be goaltending.  It is unknown whether Curtis Palidor started last week because Coach Bob McMahon felt he was playing stronger than Andrew Leyshon, or because of something else. What is certain is that Leyshon didn’t play either game at the level he did last season.  Against the Stealth, Leyshon had a weak showing, letting in 13 goals on 36 shots. Against the Rush, Leyshon didn’t prove to be much better, letting in 14 goals on 37 shots.

This upcoming weekend may prove a rough one for the Mammoth as they play back-to-back games on the road.  Friday night they play in Minnesota against the Swarm, and Saturday they play in Philadelphia against the Wings.  With Curtis Palidwor now on injured reserve, Mammoth fans may get to see rookie goalie Neil Tyacke tested for the first time in an NLL game. Tyacke had a 78% save percentage with his former Canadian team, the New Westminster Salmonbellies.

Attendance – 15,178

Around the League:

Calgary Roughnecks – 10, Minnesota Swarm – 12

Edmonton Rush – 7, Washington Stealth – 15

Boston Blazers 7, Toronto – 8 OT

Rochester – 13, Buffalo Bandits – 11

Boston – 8, Philadelphia Wings – 12

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Some Mammoth fans will be in for quite a surprise Saturday when the Edmonton Rush visit the Pepsi Center for Colorado’s home opener. As part of their off season overhaul, the Mammoth traded Captain Gavin Prout to the Rochester Knighthawks. The same trade that brought Ilija Gajic to Colorado. Rochester later traded Prout to the Edmonton Rush.

As would be expected, the Mammoth hate to lose. They especially hate to lose at home. After last week’s devastating loss to the Washington Stealth, the Mammoth have a lot to prove. What better place to do it than one of the loudest houses in the NLL?

The Edmonton Rush, playing the second game of a back-to-back series, also have a lot to prove.

In four seasons, the Rush have yet to make it to the playoffs, but after making numerous changes in the off season as well, they are hoping to change that this year. Ironically enough, two of their biggest acquisitions were former Mammoth players, although Prout was the only one who wore a Mammoth jersey. The second acquisition, Ryan Powell, was not a Mammoth player for long. Powell was originally acquired during the off season by the New York Titans in the dispersal draft after the Portland Lumberjax disbanded. He was then traded to the Mammoth who later traded him to the Rush.

The Rush will be opening their season against the Stealth, who will be playing their second home game of the season. In the NLL it’s not uncommon for teams to play what’s referred to as a “barn to barn” where the same teams play back to back games, one in each “barn”. However, once in awhile a team gets the short end of the stick and plays two different teams back to back.

This could either be good or bad for the Mammoth.

Because the Rush have not played yet this season, their game against the Stealth will provide them an opportunity to work out any kinks before coming to Denver. However, playing back-to-back games against two strong opponents can also make for an exhausted team. Because of that, it’s not uncommon for a team to split a few of their key players, only having them play in one game or the other.

Curtis Palidwor, who started last week against the Stealth was put on injured reserve after taking a ball to the face mask that damaged its cage and broke the bone surrounding his left eye. This leaves the Mammoth with last year’s starting goalie Andrew Leyshon and 3rd-string rookie Neil Tyacke. Although a rookie, many Mammoth fans are curious to see how Tyacke will do in net after recording a 78% save percentage with a Canadian team, the New Westminster Salmonbellies.

With one of the highest average attendances in the league, the Mammoth expect a packed house. Tickets may still be available and start at just $5 per seat. Game time is at 7 pm MST, and will also be aired on Altitude.

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