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

Articles similar to this:

• February 22, 2011 -- Mammoth Drop Back to Back Games (0)
  The Mammoth offense needs to get over themselves. I don...
• January 22, 2012 -- Mammoth Victorious in Battle of Alberta (0)
  While the term Battle of Alberta is usually reserved fo...
• February 5, 2012 -- Colorado Mammoth Win as Scott Evans Loses it (0)
  The Edmonton Rush have a lot to prove. They’re one of...

The Colorado Mammoth beat the Calgary Roughnecks in Denver to clinch a playoff spot on Friday night.  The two may meet up in the postseason.

It’s not unusual in the National Lacrosse League for teams to have somewhat wonky schedules with several back-to-back games or to play the same team several times in a row as Colorado did against the Edmonton Rush.  What is interesting about this occurrence though is how different each game truly can be.

Sometimes the teams look so different you almost feel like you’re watching a different set of teams.  Often when teams play one another in such quick succession, there’s often an extra level of chippiness.

Heading into Friday’s game against the Calgary Roughnecks, many Mammoth fans wondered if Kaleb Toth might be on the receiving end of extra Mammoth aggression after his hit from behind last Friday that momentarily knocked out Mammoth captain John Gallant.

Surprisingly, the game was relatively reserved in all aspects.  Outside of Geoff Snider, who got into it with Ilija Gajic in the second quarter and then ejected in the final minutes of the fourth after putting Matt Leveque in an MMA style guillotine, both teams could almost be described as aloof.

On the one hand, Calgary not playing super-hard isn’t too surprising, as they really didn’t have much to play for. With the playoffs starting in two weeks, why push yourself and risk injury right beforehand against the team you’re most likely facing?  On the other hand, these guys are competitors and no one likes to lose.

The Mammoth did have something to play for.  If they won, not only would they clinch the final playoff spot in the West, they would also have beaten the team for the second time this season they would be facing in the playoffs.  Watching their play though, you wouldn’t have known it.

The Mammoth made mistakes left and right all game and once again the offense barely moved the ball. Colorado scored four of their goals on the power play, one with an extra attacker and one empty netter.  They even scored a short-handed goal in the fourth.  Calgary only scored on one of their seven power play opportunities, and scored two short handed goals – one in each half.

Mammoth fans couldn’t help but be at least slightly nervous after Chris Levis failed to block the first shot he faced from Brandon Ivey.  Levis has been playing strong all season, but incidents like that definitely make some goalies crumble.

The Roughnecks won’t play again until the playoffs when they face the Mammoth in Calgary in two weeks.  The Mammoth though will head to Minnesota to face the Swarm in a game that may very well determine who takes second in the West.  If the Swarm wins, they will be tied with the Washington Stealth and the Swarm holds the tie breaker.

>Needless to say, the playoffs are going to be interesting.

Final Score:

Colorado Mammoth 11, Calgary Roughnecks 7

Attendance: 17,841

MVP: Chris Levis

Around the League

Boston Blazers 16, Buffalo Bandits 9

Philadelphia Wings 9, Minnesota Swarm 11

Toronto Rock 14, Edmonton Rush 18

Rochester Knighthawks 18, Washington Stealth 10

Articles similar to this:

• January 17, 2011 -- Levis Dominant in Mammoth Win (0)
  When you see one team has 61 shots on goal while the ...
• January 22, 2012 -- Mammoth Victorious in Battle of Alberta (0)
  While the term Battle of Alberta is usually reserved fo...
• April 11, 2011 -- Mammoth Still in Playoff Hunt (0)
  The rivalry between the Calgary Roughnecks and the Colo...

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

Articles similar to this:

• April 4, 2011 -- Mammoth Split Back to Back Games with Rush (0)
  Heading into Friday night, both the Colorado Mammoth an...
• February 22, 2011 -- Mammoth Drop Back to Back Games (0)
  The Mammoth offense needs to get over themselves. I don...
• January 22, 2012 -- Mammoth Victorious in Battle of Alberta (0)
  While the term Battle of Alberta is usually reserved fo...

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

Articles similar to this:

• February 14, 2011 -- Boston Blazers Dominate Colorado Mammoth (0)
  One would think that if your defense can put the kibosh...
• February 22, 2011 -- Mammoth Drop Back to Back Games (0)
  The Mammoth offense needs to get over themselves. I don...
• April 11, 2011 -- Mammoth Still in Playoff Hunt (0)
  The rivalry between the Calgary Roughnecks and the Colo...

As much as I wish I could say otherwise, there really isn’t much for me to say about this weekend. The same Mammoth offense showed up with the result being identical to every other game this season save one. Friday night, the Mammoth defense played on par with the offense and needless to say, the Washington Stealth made them pay.

But, when your defense spends the majority of the time on the floor, your goalies face a total of 64 shots and your defense is playing exhausted trying to stop some of the best offensive talent in the league, is it any surprise the Mammoth got their butts whooped?

No, it really isn’t.

I’ve said it elsewhere, but the Mammoth offense needs to get over themselves. I don’t care who you are, where you’ve played, what accolades you’ve received or what trophies you’ve won. If you’re not scoring, there are issues. If you can’t play hard for four quarters, or play as a team, or actually play intelligently, then sit your ass down.

Some people speculate we have too many egos on the team. Some think it’s a lack or issue of leadership. Fans are certainly calling for firings all the way from top with GM Steve Govett down to everyone on the bench and everywhere in between.

Maybe they’re right. Maybe they’re wrong.

What I see is an offense more interested in the name on their back than what’s on the front trying to be heroes and since everyone is trying to be an individual hero, no one is doing jack as a team.

On paper, we have one of the most talented teams in the league. Unfortunately, that’s not what wins games.

The Mammoth run the most stagnant predictable offense I think I have ever seen. Occasionally we get lucky and score, which probably reinforces this bad play.  But it’s no wonder we can’t score half the time when the goalie doesn’t have to work to block it and the defense doesn’t have to work to keep our guys away from the front of the net. If your fans, many of which have never played the game and are only slightly knowledgeable, know where and when you’re going to shoot, then the defenders with years of pro experience probably do too.

Usually teams get better as the season progresses, but this one seems to be getting worse. When a team is given multiple 5:3 opportunities and still can’t score, you really need to take a step back and ask yourself why. This is one issue I put squarely on the Mammoth; this is not a case of opponents doing that great of a job.

The Games

Friday vs the Washington Stealth

The Washington Stealth essentially put on a shooting clinic against the Mammoth with ten different players, three of them defenseman, scoring goals.  D man, Jeff Moleski had a hat trick along with Forwards, Rhys Duch, Joel Dalgarrno, and Lewis Ratcliff. Luke Wiles and Craig Conn each scored two with Paul Rabil, Mike Grimes, Eric Martin, and Cam Sedgwick each scoring one a piece.

For the Mammoth, John Grant Jr‘s 55 game scoring streak was finally broken. Alex Gajic scored three goals, Ilija Gajic two and Dan Carey and Mike McClellan each with one. Mammoth D man Mac Allen received a 2 minute Unsportsmanlike Conduct, a 10 minute Misconduct and a 10 minute Game Misconduct resulting in his ejection in the second quarter. Captain John Gallant received a 10 minute Game Misconduct in the third quarter resulting in his ejection. Unfortunately, the game feed had several visual issues and the Washington Stealth announcers are more interested in what’s happening on Facebook than what’s going on in the game so I really can’t tell you much more than that about what Allen or Gallent did to warrant ejections.

Final Score: Colorado Mammoth 7, Washington Stealth 20

MVP: Tyler Richards

Attendance: 3,160

Sunday vs the Minnesota Swarm

The first quarter, the Mammoth actually showed up and looked like they might have a strong showing with two goals from John Grant Jr. and one each for Jed Prossner and Connor Martin while Ryan Benesch was the only Swarm goal. Excitement was high and it was feeling a bit like the Pepsi Center of old heading into the second quarter, especially after Mac Allen scored 17 seconds in to give the Mammoth the lead, 5-1.

In the second, the Swarm showed they weren’t going to go down without a fight with Kevin Ross, Andrew Watt, Richard Morgan, and Matt Giles scoring before Brian Langtry was able to stop their run with his own goal that was quickly countered by Minnesota who pulled the goalie for the extra attacker. Benesch was able to capitalize and the half ended tied at 6.

And then things got crazy. Possibly stemming from an early cheap shot Brian Langtry gave to a Swarm player that may have been in retaliation for some in-net aggression by the Swarm…Pushing and shoving ensued and turned into punching and general chaos with all the players involved in one way or another. At one point it looked like there would be a rare goalie fight between Chris Levis and Nick Patterson. For the most part, none of the skirmishes got anywhere but Mac Allen and I believe Shane Bennet dropped their gear and went toe to toe. The refs finally got everything under control and the players went back to their dressing rooms.

The start of the third quarter brought out several penalty assessments.

For Minnesota, Travis Hill was given a 2 min Unsportsmanlike Conduct, a 10 minute Misconduct and a 10 minute Game Misconduct resulting in his ejection. Shane Bennett received a 5 minute Fighting and a 10 minute Misconduct. While Rory Smith only received a 10 minute Misconduct.

For Colorado, Mac Allen received a 5 minute Fighting and a 10 minute Misconduct. Brian Langtry was given a 2 minute Unsportsmanlike Conduct and a 10 minute Misconduct and finally, Cliff Smith received a 10 minute Misconduct. While I haven’t heard anything yet, I won’t be surprised if the league hands down additional penalties and/or fines.

The third quarter in comparison was quiet with the Mammoth once again being held scoreless for a quarter while Ryan Benesch notched two and Jamie Schewchuck notched oen for the Swarm. Andrew Watt continued the scoring streak into the fourth followed by one from Aaron Wilson before the Mammoth could finally stop their run. Cliff Smith scored followed by power play goals from Dan Carey and Alex Gajic. Ryan Benesch scored his fifth goal of the night with a minute and a half left. Carey scored again on an extra attacker play, but yet again, the effort was too little, too late.

Final Score: Colorado Mammoth 10, Minnesota Swarm 12

MVP: Nick Patterson

Attendance: 15,825

The Mammoth head into their first of two long breaks. The NLL All Star Game will be held Sunday. The Colorado Mammoth will be represented by John Grant Jr, Mac Allen, and Chris Levis. They will return home to face the Swarm again March 4.

Around the League

Friday

Rochester Knighthawks 5, Toronto Rock 10

Saturday

Philadelphia Wings 10, Buffalo Bandits 9

Toronto Rock 13, Rochester Knighthawks

Boston Blazers 14, Minnesota Swarm 11

Calgary Roughnecks 12, Edmonton Rush

Articles similar to this:

• January 10, 2011 -- Mammoth Show Potential in Home Opener (0)
  Although it was the first game of the season, the Color...
• February 7, 2011 -- Mammoth Maintain all Foreplay with no Finish (0)
  [caption id="" align="alignright" width="180" capti...
• April 11, 2011 -- Mammoth Still in Playoff Hunt (0)
  The rivalry between the Calgary Roughnecks and the Colo...

Image by Dinur via Flickr

At the beginning of the season, many people picked the Boston Blazers to finish number one or pretty close to it. With a talented offense compromised of Casey Powell, Dan Dawson, Josh Sanderson and now Ryan Powell, they’re certainly a force to be reckoned with. The Mammoth kept Sanderson to three goals, and Dawson and Casey Powell to one goal each. (Ryan Powell was a healthy scratch.)

One would think that if your defense can put the kibosh on your opponent’s leading scorers, you stand a pretty good chance of winning. Unfortunately, once again, the Mammoth offense didn’t do their part.

Einstein defined insanity as doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.

Apparently the Mammoth offense suffers from insanity. How else can you explain their same predictable play every game? They play flat, pass the ball around a few times and as the shot clock expires pretty much shoot at the goalie’s chest or 5-hole. As you might expect, a professional lacrosse goalie blocks such weak attempts every time. The Mammoth don’t work as a team to make things happen. They don’t cut, they don’t pick and roll, they don’t move. Yet they expect to score. Yep, this team must be insane.

The Game**

1st quarter

Ryan Dilks gets the first goal of the night scoring a short-hander just under six minutes in to the game to give Boston the lead. Dan Carey ties the game a minute later. The rest of the quarter ends up being very defensive and it looks like it may end tied at one each but that’s not the case. With 22 seconds left, Nick Cotter scores followed by a power play goal from Josh Sanderson 21 seconds later.

Mammoth 1, Stealth 3

2nd quarter

Cotter scores his second goal of the night under eight minutes into the second giving Boston its second short-handed goal followed a few minutes later by a goal from Jack Reid. The Mammoth swap Matt King in for Chris Levis but Sanderson scores on him a minute and half later folowed by a goal from Dan Dawson.

Mammoth 1, Stealth 7

3rd quarter

Casey Powell gets the first goal of the second half, extending Boston’s lead to seven. Mike McClellan finally breaks the Mammoth’s scoring drought 35 seconds later. Sanderson scores his third goal a few minutes later. Ilija Gajic finally notches a goal while Carey follows up with his second goal with a couple minutes remaining in the quarter.

Mammoth 4, Stealth 9

4th quarter

The fourth quarter stays tight until John Grant Jr. scores eight minutes in. Damon Edwards quickly follows up with Boston’s third short-handed goal of the night followed by an empty-netter with just over a minute left. With 32 seconds left, Grant scores his second goal of the night.

Final Score: Colorado Mammoth 6, Washington Stealth 11

MVP: Anthony Cosmo

Attendance: 8,462

Around the League:

Friday

Washington Stealth 12, Edmonton Rush 14

Saturday

Buffalo Bandits 16, Philadelphia Wings 7

Calgary Roughnecks 8, Toronto Rock 9 OT

Minnesota Swarm 10, Rochester Knighthawks 12

Edmonton Rush 15, Washington Stealth 14

The Mammoth head to Washington to take on the Stealth Friday night followed by a game against the Minnesota Swarm in Denver on Sunday.

** I apologize for the lack of details in the game summary this time around.

Articles similar to this:

• March 30, 2011 -- Mammoth Break Home Losing Streak (0)
  [caption id="" align="alignright" width="145" caption...
• February 22, 2011 -- Mammoth Drop Back to Back Games (0)
  The Mammoth offense needs to get over themselves. I don...
• April 11, 2011 -- Mammoth Still in Playoff Hunt (0)
  The rivalry between the Calgary Roughnecks and the Colo...

Image via Wikipedia

In what is starting to seem like routine, the Colorado Mammoth have their third one-goal game in a row. Unfortunately, they came out on the losing side, but there are some positives to balance the negatives.

To begin with, the Mammoth offense looked really good at times. Problem is, they’re still looking flat and relying more on capitalizing on their opponent’s mistakes than creating opportunities.

Boy, does that ever sound cliché but watching the Wings offense cutting across the field and showing lots of movement compared to the Mammoth offense which at times seemed more interested in watching John Grant Jr. try and make a play than making something happen… what else can you say?

For a team that has scored 12 goals combined in their last two games, the Wings showed they’re not a team to take lightly.

The Philadelphia Wings defense did a great job keeping the Mammoth offense away from the net and forcing them to take most of their shots from the outside instead of on the crease. Brandon Miller had some phenomenal saves, some of which you still wonder how he was able to make after watching the replay.

Did the Wings have a vendetta against Jamie Shewchuk? Seemed like every play someone on the Wings was knocking him on his butt, trying to take off his head, stick checking him in the throat or just otherwise thugging him in some manner. Shewchuk must have quite a way with words on the field.

Loose balls and rebounds have been a HUGE issue for the Mammoth both last season and so far this season, but they looked much stronger with both this game. The Mammoth successfully shut the Wings down several times throughout the course of the game by getting the rebounds and taking it down the field for their own attempt.

Once again, power plays hurt the Mammoth. Especially midway in the fourth quarter when the Mammoth defense looked tired and the Wings capitalized on their third power play goal to take the lead again.

The biggest issue however seems to be that the Mammoth are under the delusion that a lead is safe. For the second time in two weeks, the Mammoth have gone in to halftime with a solid lead, been held scoreless in the third quarter and been forced to scramble as the clock is winding down to make something happen to pull a win out. Maybe Mammoth fans should worry more when the Mammoth start out strong instead of struggle in the first quarter.

The next two weeks are going to speak volumes for this Mammoth team. The Mammoth head to Philly next week to take on the Wings again followed by a rematch at the Pepsi Center against the Washington Stealth the week after.

The Game

1^st Quarter

Brian Langtry starts the Mammoth off on the right foot with a side arm goal 24 seconds in to the game. Neither team will score for ten minutes when Josh Wasson-McQuigge in his Mammoth debut scores on a pass from Grant quickly followed by Langtry’s second goal and a power play goal from Mike McClellan. David Mitchell keeps the Wings from being held scoreless to end the quarter.

Mammoth 4, Wings 1

2^nd Quarter

Max Seibald starts the scoring off in the 2^nd quarter to bring the Wings within two. Alex Gajic scores his first goal of the season, and the Mammoth’s third short-handed goal in three games a minute later followed by Langtry’s third for the Mammoth and a power play goal by Brendan Mundorf for the Wings.

And then things get a bit crazy. In what I can only assume was a misplaced effort to control the game, despite it never getting past some words and shoving, the refs give Alex and Nenad Gajic, David Mitchell and Alex Turner matching 2 minute Roughing, 2 minute Unsportsmanlike Conduct and 10 minute Misconduct penalties.

This was one instance where the refs really mishandled the situation in my opinion. Not only did they overreact, they exacerbated the issue with their mishandling of splitting the players up and taking them to the penalty boxes. First off, there was only one ref trying to split up all four players while the other ref stood by and watched. Second, he focused on the less aggressive of the players which allowed for Turner to slip around him and start things back up.

Did the move work? Maybe for those four players, but there was still plenty of chippiness between the teams for the entire game.

Jamie Shewchuck scores his first goal of the night on the power play for the Mammoth to end the quarter.

Mammoth 7, Wings 3

3^rd Quarter

The third quarter proves to be a very defensive one overall with both Chris Levis and Brandon Miller making some phenomenal saves. Max Seibald scores his second goal just under five minutes in to start what will be a Wings’ five goal run. He’s followed up by Ryan Boyle’s first seven minutes later and Drew Westervelt’s first to end the quarter.

Mammoth 7, Wings 6

4^th Quarter

Kyle Sweeney scores for the Wings 8 seconds in followed by Seibald’s third goal of the night 30 seconds later to take the lead. John Grant Jr. assisted by Alex Gajic finally puts a stop to the Wings’ run and takes the lead back with a pair of goals 40 seconds apart. Grant had six assists on the night, but only went 2 for 22 on shots on goal. Capitalizing on a missed coverage by John Gallant, Paul Dawson scores a few minutes later to tie the game followed by Athan Iannucci on the power play to take the lead back for the Wings. The quarter winds down and Ilija Gajic scores with 2:30 left to tie the game, but unfortunately for the Mammoth, Dawson scores his second goal a minute later and the Mammoth are unable to recover.

Final Score: Mammoth 10, Wings 11

MVP: Brandon Miller

Attendance: 16,034

Around the League:

Friday

Boston Blazers 14, Toronto Rock 15 OT

Saturday

Rochester Knighthawks 11, Boston Blazers 10 OT

Toronto Rock 14, Buffalo Bandits 15 OT

Edmonton Rush 8, Minnesota Swarm 9

Washington Stealth 19, Calgary Roughnecks 15

Articles similar to this:

• January 31, 2011 -- Mammoth Continue to Struggle (0)
  This Mammoth team is talented but they just can’t see...
• February 22, 2011 -- Mammoth Drop Back to Back Games (0)
  The Mammoth offense needs to get over themselves. I don...
• April 11, 2011 -- Mammoth Still in Playoff Hunt (0)
  The rivalry between the Calgary Roughnecks and the Colo...

And what if I told you the winning team had a 25% shot conversion while the losing team had 11.5%?

If it weren’t for the PHENOMENAL job Chris Levis did in net, the game wouldn’t even have been close.

The Mammoth provided the Roughnecks with entirely too many power play opportunities and while everyone expected Geoff Snider to dominate on face offs (which he did taking 79%); Mammoth struggled on rebounds and loose balls giving the Roughnecks extra opportunities, especially in the 4th quarter.

While the Mammoth did a great job converting on the low number of shots taken on net, the Roughnecks did a fantastic job overall keeping them away from the net and giving them very little opportunities. But that’s the problem. With the amount of offensive talent on the roster, they should be making opportunities, but they’re still looking flat and not playing as aggressive as they need to.

The Game

1^st Quarter
The Mammoth started off strong in the first quarter with goals from Ilija Gajic, an empty netter from Mammoth Captain John Gallant, a shorthanded goal from Jamie Shewchuck, and a power play goal from Mike McClellan. To top it off, the Mammoth were successful in killing off two power plays and converting on the opportunity the Roughnecks gave them although, from their play. Dane Dobbie sneaks one in 5-hole for the Calgary Roughnecks as seconds left on the clock to end the quarter.

Mammoth 4, Roughnecks 1

2^nd Quarter
The second quarter saw the Mammoth continuing their momentum with two goals in the first five minutes. John Grant Jr. scores on a no look, behind the back shot while Cliff Smith scores on the power play assisted by Brian Langtry. Jamie Shewchuck scores with his second goal five minutes later. Shewchuck’s goal would be the last for the Mammoth for nearly 36 minutes.

On the other side, Curtis Dickson, Scott Ranger (on a power play), Cory Conway and Jeff Shatler would each add goals for the Roughnecks to keep the score within two.

In his rookie debut, Jason Jones certainly made his mark, although, I don’t think it’s the one he was hoping for. He and Roughneck veteran Andrew McBride got into it. Words were said, shoving ensued and the altercation ends with Jones spearing McBride and being ejected from the game while McBride goes to the penalty box on match penalty with a 2 minute roughing call. Roughnecks get a five minute power play and end the quarter half way through it.

Mammoth 7, Roughnecks 5

3^rd Quarter
The Mammoth successfully kill off Jones’ penalty and don’t give the Roughnecks any additional power play opportunities until the 4^th. But despite the Mammoth having three power plays they are unable to take advantage. In fact, it pretty much looked like Calgary who was playing more aggressively was on the power play each time, not Colorado.

John Grant Jr. scores twice for Colorado but the first is waived off immediately for a crease violation and the second as well after Calgary challenges. Jeff Shatler immediately follows up with his own goal, but Colorado is successful in their challenge. Forward Scott Ranger scores the only goal of the quarter, shorthanded to bring his total for the night to two and the Roughnecks within one.

Mammoth 7, Roughnecks 6

4^th Quarter
Geoff Snider scores just under five minutes into the final quarter to tie the game.  Dane Dobbie scores his second goal of the night to give Calgary the lead, but Coach Bob Hamley throws his second challenge flag of the night and the goal is called back on a crease violation.

I have to say, refs do take a lot of flak from fans, and sometimes for good reason, but I felt last night’s head ref did a good job with the reviews.  All three were very close goals that would have had an impact on the outcome of the game but I think most fans would agree with the decisions.

Game looks like it’s going to go into overtime with the clock rapidly winding down. Roughnecks attack the net hard but Chris Levis is a brick wall. Mammoth recover the ball and call time out with under twenty seconds left on the clock. Play resumes with Cliff Smith slowly walking the ball up the floor where he successfully puts it past Mike Poulin with 2.5 seconds left on the clock to give the Colorado Mammoth the win.

Mammoth host the Philadelphia Wings at the Pepsi Center Saturday, January 22., 2011.

Final Score: Colorado Mammoth 8, Calgary Roughnecks 7
MVP: Chris Levis
Attendance: 9,346

Around the League:

Friday
Minnesota Swarm 16, Washington Stealth 8

Saturday
Edmonton Rush 7, Boston Blazers 10
Buffalo Bandits 9, Philadelphia Wings 6
Toronto Rock 12, Rochester Knighthawks 9

Articles similar to this:

• January 22, 2012 -- Mammoth Victorious in Battle of Alberta (0)
  While the term Battle of Alberta is usually reserved fo...
• February 22, 2011 -- Mammoth Drop Back to Back Games (0)
  The Mammoth offense needs to get over themselves. I don...
• January 23, 2011 -- Mammoth Still Winless at Home (1)
  [caption id="" align="alignright" width="180" capti...

The intimidation factor seems to have been diluted greatly, and not just by the losing record.

Whereas it was once overwhelming to play in what is often cited as the loudest house in lacrosse, as players have matured and played here more frequently, it became less of a factor. Especially after it was eventually proven that the Mammoth could be beat at home and their fans silenced.

The Colorado Mammoth’s final game against the Calgary Roughnecks was hard-fought, with several reviewed goals so close they required an astute eye and easily could have gone either way.

The Mammoth went into the game fighting to end their season on a high note and break their home losing streak. The Roughnecks on the other hand were fighting to stay in the race for a home playoff game.

Chris Levis really seems to have found his groove in the second half of the season, making unbelievable saves left and right throughout this game. Whereas it seemed like the Mammoth offense gave Mike Poulin more easy goals to block than not, the Roughnecks made Levis stand on his head all game.

Power plays have been the Mammoth’s bane this year. They have been unable to convert when on the power play (worse, they have given up fourteen short-handed goals this season), and unable to kill the penalty. Last night was much better. They went 2 for 3 and kept Calgary to 1 for 3 including a 5 minute major given to Ryan McFadyen for high sticking in the 4^th quarter.

Jed Prossner continued to look strong, notching three goals on 10 shots.  Meanwhile Jamie Shewchuck, Cliff Smith and Jamie Floris each scored twice. In his second game back, Ilija Gajic went 1 for 2.

Overall, the game remained close, never getting more than a couple goals either way in either team’s favor.

As the clock wound down, it certainly looked like it was going to truly come down to the wire and head into overtime after Jed Prossner scored on an extra attacker play to tie the game with only 47 seconds left. Unfortunately for the Mammoth, in what is bound to be considered a controversial review, Scott Ranger’s goal with 15 seconds left was determined to be good and the Mammoth were unable to tie it up despite winning the face off. Final score, Calgary Roughnecks 11, Colorado Mammoth 10

While the Mammoth were unable to give their fans a win, they certainly made Fan Appreciation Night special by going above and beyond just the usual in-game giveaways. To start off the night, the fans who purchased the charity auction Blackout jerseys got to run out on the field with their respective players and even run down the line fist-bumping everyone. To end the night, 23 lucky fans won the season worn jerseys right off the players backs.

Despite losing, the players ran a lap around the arena to lots of applause from their loyal fans. Cliff Smith threw his lacrosse stick into the lucky hands of a four year old boy who apparently was so ecstatic, he not only didn’t want to put it down when he got home, he slept with it. Definitely a future Mammoth player in the making.

Attendance: 15,727

Around the League:

Friday

Orlando Titans 11, Philadelphia Wings 5

Saturday

Orlando Titans 12, Minnesota Swarm 11 OT

Rochester Knighthawks 9 , Washington Stealth 14

Boston Blazers 10 , Buffalo Bandits 13

Articles similar to this:

• January 17, 2011 -- Levis Dominant in Mammoth Win (0)
  When you see one team has 61 shots on goal while the ...
• February 22, 2011 -- Mammoth Drop Back to Back Games (0)
  The Mammoth offense needs to get over themselves. I don...
• April 19, 2010 -- Mammoth Notch Another First in Franchise History (0)
  After a tumultuous season, it's official – The Mammot...

Although a slow start, heading into the second half of the season, the Mammoth had the potential to turn it around. But despite the amount of control and influence they still held over their playoff potentials, when it really came down to the Mammoth needing to step up… they just couldn’t seem to do it.

Winning the game against the Calgary Roughnecks last week would’ve had a positive effect on their chances. Not only because they notched one more win, but because the Minnesota Swarm lost,it wouldn’t have made their game against the Boston Blazers a must win combined with a Swarm must lose situation.

The game between the Mammoth and the Blazers could be described with several words – calamity, circus, disaster, contentious, defensive, offensive, disturbing, wild, questionable… and the list goes on. However, none of them accurately depicts the game.

The game was certainly defensive. Going into halftime, the score was Blazers 3, Mammoth 2.* The first goal wasn’t scored until just over 4 minutes remained in the first quarter, the second three minutes later; both by Boston. With the quarter almost over, the Mammoth went on the power play but were unable to convert.

Unfortunately for the Mammoth, while Chris Levis and the Mammoth defense kept the Blazers scoreless for 11 minutes, Anthony Cosmo and the Blazers defense kept the Mammoth scoreless for over 21 minutes until Jed Prossner broke the scoring drought.

It certainly didn’t help the Mammoth that the offense struggled much in the first quarter, dropping several passes and giving Cosmo easy shots to block. Missing rebounds and loose balls resulted in the Mammoth defense being on the floor more than the offense.

While some fans were excited to see Ilija Gajic back in the line-up after fighting illness, many others couldn’t help but question the coaches’ decision. After all, the team finally seemed to be clicking, it was a pivotal game and Ilija hadn’t played since early in the season. It could be argued that Ilija had such a large impact in the first few games that not playing him now that he was better didn’t make sense. However, he looked rusty and was a big part of the passing issues.

Overall, other than a couple of minor skirmishes with one resulting in matching penalties as the second quarter wound down, the first half was pretty quiet. The second half was anything but.

*To begin with, as halftime ended, in an extremely questionable call, it was announced that Crew Chief, Chet Couture, had re-reviewed Alex Gajic’s goal during halftime and determined that it was not a goal. The goal in question had originally been determined good upon review, overturning the call on the floor. Couture’s reasoning behind the re-review behind closed doors? He claims he was not provided the correct footage for review.

Regardless of whether this was for or against the Mammoth, Couture’s decision completely undermines the purpose of the replay system. The first question one has to ask, if he didn’t recognize it as being incorrect footage at the time immediately after it happened, how would he recognize it as such several minutes later? The second question has to be, is that even within the scope of the official rules?

In what seems to have become the NLL standard this season, inconsistent refereeing reared it’s ugly head once again. Minor calls are one thing (and there’s often some fan bias) however, watching players picked up and tossed to the ground in front of the ref, players hit from behind, again in front of the ref… with no call? Although, in a rare call, Boston received a penalty call for “diving”.

The third quarter remained relatively defensive, with Jamie Shewchuck, Cliff Smith and Jed Prossner each scoring once for the Mammoth. Mat Giles notched one and Dan Dawson two for the Blazers to end the third quarter Boston 6, Mammoth 4.

The fourth quarter is when the melee started.

At the request of the Colorado Mammoth, Boston Blazer goalie Anthony Cosmo’s equipment was checked by the refs, overseen by Mammoth Assistant Captain, Bruce Murray, and Blazers Captain, Dan Dawson.

Cosmo’s equipment was found to be illegal. He received a 2:00 illegal equipment penalty in addition to a 10:00 game misconduct which resulted in him being ejected from the game.

It’s interesting to note that the Mammoth have now faced 8 goalies in four consecutive games.

It became apparent two minutes in to the fourth quarter that the refs were rapidly losing control of the game. As sometimes happens, between plays, several fights broke out although penalties were only handed out to five players. At one point Paul Dawson swung a right hook at Jamie Shewchuck, missed and hit the ref trying to break it up. Amazingly enough, neither of them received a penalty.

At another point Jonathan Dumo, who had received a penalty for fighting, nearly came to blows with the Mammoth announcer Willie B. One of Dumo’s teammates (Greg Downing or Kyle Ross) temporary tempered the fight by separating the men by pushing the penalty box door between them. However, even while sitting on the bench, Dumo didn’t want to let it go and while Dumo didn’t seem to receive any further warnings, Willie B mentioned after the game that he was threatened with a 5:00 penalty against the Mammoth if he continued.

Needless to say, the fracas brought to mind the Mammoth’s final home game of their inaugural season against the Albany Attack which resulted in a bench clearing brawl close to the end of the game.

Alex Gajic, Jamie Shewchuck and Rich Catton all scored goals for the Mammoth. Although the Mammoth kept him from shooting from the crease, the defense struggled to completely stop “Dangerous” Dan Dawson. He scored twice more from further out to bring his total to five. Jon Harnett also notched a goal as the clock wound down to end the game Blazers 9, Mammoth 7.

Adding insult to injury, the Minnesota Swarm lost their game againt the Philadelphia Wings in overtime.

The Colorado Mammoth play their final game of the season against the Calgary Roughnecks, Friday, 7 pm MDT at the Pepsi Center.

Attendance: 15,104

Around the League:

Buffalo Bandits 7, Orlando Titans 9

Rochester Knighthawks 7, Toronto Rock 15

Calgary Roughnecks 15, Edmonton 14 OT

Philadelphia Wings 13, Minnesota Swarm 12 OT

Edmonton Rush 14, Washington Stealth 13

Articles similar to this:

• February 22, 2011 -- Mammoth Drop Back to Back Games (0)
  The Mammoth offense needs to get over themselves. I don...
• March 30, 2011 -- Mammoth Break Home Losing Streak (0)
  [caption id="" align="alignright" width="145" caption...
• April 26, 2010 -- Despite Loss, Mammoth End Season With Fans Cheering (0)
  The Colorado Mammoth's final game against the Calgary R...