By: Di Miller, Beat Writer Colorado Mammoth
On Friday January 29, 2016 the Colorado Mammoth (4-1) would suffer their first loss of the 2016 NLL Season at the Sasktel Centre in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan against the Saskatchewan Rush (2-1) in front of a crowd of 8,624 fans. The Rush were hoping to give the Mammoth their first loss of the season and they were successful in doing so. Final Rush 12—Mammoth 10.
Heading into the first, John Grant Jr. would put the first ball in net a little over four minutes in the period with an assist from Jeremy Noble. Eli McLaughlin would score two unanswered goals before the Rush would see their first points on the Board. Zack Greer would score only 20 seconds letter followed by two more unanswered goals from Adrian Sorichetti and Jarrett Davis to tie the game at three a piece. Callum Crawford of the Mammoth would score the final goal of the period at 12:54 giving the Mammoth the lead going into the second. The only two penalties of the first would come from John Lintz of the Rush for holding; and Kyle Rubisch for an illegal cross check. Mammoth 4—Rush 3.
Going into the second, Grant Jr. would score only 1:36 into the quarter, with the next eight minutes of the second scoreless. However, the Rush would be the next to score when Greer got his second of the game followed by Mark Matthews again tying the game. Dan Coates would break that tie less than three minutes later, but the Rush would quickly answer back when Greer would score again giving him a hat-trick and the Rush would tie up the game. Penalties would be even in the second with Rush players Jarrett Davis getting called for a delay of game; Zack Greer an unsportsmanlike; and Mammoth players Robert Hope a holding call; and Josh Sullivan caught checking from behind. Score at the end of the first half was tied. Mammoth 6—Rush 6.
Starting off the third, Jordan Gilles of the Mammoth would hit net only 54 seconds into the quarter. The Rush would answer back at 6:46 when Matthews would get his second of the game. Adam Jones of the Mammoth would answer back two minutes later with his first and only goal of the game. Ben McIntosh of the Rush would score two minutes later; followed by Gilles getting his second of the game for the Mammoth. Matthew would end the quarter for the Rush with his third giving him the hat-trick. Oddly enough there were no penalties in the third. The score at the end of the third would again be tied, Mammoth 9—Rush 9.
In the final quarter of the game, Jeremy Noble would be the only Mammoth player to score 48 seconds in. The fans would watch almost eight minutes tick off the clock before the Rush’s offense kicked in. Matthews would get his fourth of the game; Robert Church his first goal; and the quarter would end with Chris Corbeil scoring the knockout punch at 12:24. The Mammoth one of the most powerful scoring teams in the league would be held in the final two and half minutes of the game to no goals. Again, penalties were even in the fourth with Mammoth player Josh Sullivan getting his second delay of game penalty; Joey Cupido was called for goalie interference; and Rush players Kyle Rubisch would get his second of the game this time a check from behind; and the final penalty of the game would be a holding call again Rush player Brett Mydske. Final score: Rush 12—Mammoth 10.
Game Stats:
Colorado Mammoth: 45 SOG; 12 SOFF; 64 LB; 8-25 FO; .320 FO%; 4-5 on the PP
Saskatchewan Rush: 50 SOF; 19 SOFF; 66 LB; 17-25 FO; .680 FO%; 0-3 on the PP
Goalie Stats:
Colorado Mammoth: Dillon Ward—60 minutes; 38-50 Saves; .760 SV%
Saskatchewan Rush: Aaron Bold—60 minutes; 35-45 Saves; .777 SV%
It’s obvious that face-offs are the key to winning the game and the Mammoth winning only eight of 25 face-offs is a problem that needs to be addressed if the Mammoth want to come away with their next victory.
MVP of the Game: Mark Matthews of the Rush—4 G; 2 A
Next Saturday February 6, 2016 the Mammoth (4-1) head to Vancouver to take on the Stealth (1-2) at the Langley Events Centre.
Di Miller, Beat Writer Colorado Mammoth
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