By: Di Miller, Beat Writer Colorado Mammoth
Lacrosse is Awesome
On Sunday April 10, 2016 the Colorado Mammoth (10-4) faced the Georgia Swarm (5-9) at the Infinite Energy Arena in Georgia. Although this game held play-off implications for both teams, the Swarm could only muster up 3,577 fans to see them in action. With the loss by the Rush against New England on Friday night, it gave the Mammoth the opportunity to gain a one-game lead in the Western Division. Unfortunately for the Mammoth, they were unable to walk away victorious keeping them statistically behind the Saskatchewan Rush in the Western Division. This would be the second game in two weeks that the Mammoth would be without veteran John Grant, Jr.; Jeremy Noble; and starting net-minder Dillon Ward. This game would also be the first loss to an Eastern Division team as well as season high goals against with 17 coming from the Swarm. Final Score: Georgia 17—Colorado 10.
The game would pop quickly with Chad Tutton, transition for the Swarm scoring on Alex Buque only 1:27 in (assist Kiel Matisz). The Mammoth would jump right back into the hive and score three unanswered goals. They would see forward Mike Mallory (assist Mike Burke and Callum Crawford) hit at 5:26; Adam Jones would get his first in the game only 40 seconds later (assist to Crawford); followed by Crawford hitting net at 8:18 (assist to Mallory). But the Swarm weren’t so quick to give in. Johnny Powless would find the net at 9:10 (assist to Lyle Thompson and Randy Staats); and the final goal of the quarter for the Swarm would come from (L) Thompson at 11:04 (assist to Shayne Jackson and Staats). The Mammoth would close out the quarter with a shot from Burke (assist Eli McLaughlin and Mallory) at 12:05. Score at the end of the first: Mammoth 4—Swarm 3.
The Swarm controlled the second quarter and again would find the spot between the pipes with a shot from Jackson at 1:01 (assist Tutton and Jason Noble). They would score twice more at 2:06 (Miles Thompson); and at 4:15 (L) Thompson putting them two ahead of the Mammoth. The fans would watch both teams run up and down the field for seven minutes of scoreless play until Colorado would finally break the silence with a goal from McLaughlin at 11:12 (assist Crawford and Jones). But this time the Swarm would be the ones to close out the quarter with a penalty shot from Powless at 12:52. Score at the half: Swarm 7—Mammoth 5.
The third quarter was totally dominated by the Swarm. They would see (L) Thompson get the hat-trick only 47 seconds in; followed by Jackson (4:49); and Matisz (5:23). The Mammoth would get their only goals of the quarter coming from Adam Jones with back-to-back goals at 5:54 and 7:27, giving him another hat-trick on the season. The final five and a half minutes of the third would be dominated by Georgia. Jesse King would start the four goal run at 9:18; Staats at 10:08; Tutton with his second on the night at 13:14; and Staats closing out the period at 14:18 (assist to Matisz and Jackson). Score at the end of three: Swarm 14—Mammoth 7.
Heading into the fourth, the fans would have to sit through yet another five and a half minutes of scoreless lacrosse. Unfortunately for the Mammoth the fourth quarter would not fare well for them as they could only come up with another three on the afternoon. Georgia on the other hand would match that number which was enough to put the victory out of reach for the Mammoth. Thompson (M) would score the first of the period at 5:29; and Powless (7:22) hat-trick. The Mammoth would get another from Jones at 7:58 (assist Crawford) giving him four on the night; and Burke would get his second of the night at 9:12 (assist Crawford). The Swarm put the nail in the coffin for the Mammoth with another goal from Staats at 11:33 (hat-trick). The Mammoth would see one final goal coming from McLaughlin with his 16th of the season at 12:32. Final Score: Georgia 17—Colorado 10.
The Mammoth just didn’t play as a team with many opportunities only to be wasted. They would however see some good stats from the players:
- Forward Callum Crawford extended his NLL-leading assist total to 67, tying Gavin Prout (2008) for the single-season team record. He now has eight more than any other player in the league.
- Forward Eli McLaughlin scored two goals to bring his season-total to 16. The 2015 NLL All-Rookie Teamer had 15 a year ago.
- McLaughlin has now scored five goals in his last two outings, the best two-game-stretch of his two-year career.
- Forward Adam Jones led all scorers with four goals, the last of which was the 100th power-play point of his career (53g, 47a). The fifth-year player is six shy of 200 total goals.
- Jones now has 11 power-play goals this season, tied for fourth in the NLL.
- With 11 loose balls on Sunday, defenseman Robert Hope cracked the century-mark for the season. The second-year pro now has 103 on the year, fifth-most in the NLL (third among non-face-off men).
- Defenseman Ilija Gajic, in his second stint with the Mammoth, played in the 100th game of his NLL career.
- Goaltender Zak Boychuk recorded his first saves in a Mammoth uniform, playing in the final three-minutes and 40-seconds of the game. He recorded four stops without allowing a goal.
Game Stats:
Colorado Mammoth: 46 SOG; 12 SOFF; 60 LB; 15-31 Face-offs; .484 FO%; 4-7 PPG; 17 GA; .696 SV%
Georgia Swarm: 56 SOG; 14 SOFF; 84 LB; 16-31 Face-offs; .516 FO%; 5-5 PPG; 10 GA; .783 SV%
With the win, the Swarm are still hanging on in the play-off race, and the Mammoth are looking to take back the top spot in the league.
Colorado (10-4) will play back-to-back games against their Western Division rivals the Saskatchewan Rush (10-4) first on Friday April 15 at the Pepsi Center in Denver; then again on Saturday April 16 at the Sasktel Center in Saskatoon. This weekend is pivotal for the top leaders in the league all with matching records of 10-4, the Colorado Mammoth; Saskatchewan Rush; and the Buffalo Bandits.
The Swarm (5-9) will head to Rochester (6-9) on Saturday April 16 to face their Eastern Division rivals the Knighthawks who currently sit a full game ahead of the Swarm in the East.
Di Miller, Beat Writer Colorado Mammoth
Lacrosse is Awesome