By: Di Miller, Beat Writer Colorado Mammoth
Lacrosse is Awesome
On Saturday April 23, the Colorado Mammoth (11-6) hosted the Toronto Rock (5-12) in front of 14,122 play-off ready fans. Toronto wanted to be the spoilers and defeat the Mammoth, but unfortunately for the Rock, they couldn’t put a halt to the Mammoth and their determination to break their three-game losing streak. Colorado would also tie their season-low five goals allowed in the contest. Final: Colorado 10—Toronto 5.
Heading into last night’s contest, John Grant Jr. was only two goals away from tying Brian Langtry’s record; Callum Crawford was two goals shy of a single season record and had 10 more assists and had surpassed the record set by Gavin Prout untouched since 2008; Robert Hope was sixth in the NLL with 118 loose balls and tied for fourth among non-faceoff guys; Dillon Ward was third in the NLL with a 10.97 GA and third in the league with a .786 GAA. The Mammoth had the fewest penalties (59) in the league 9.56 minutes per game while Toronto had the highest (122) an average of 24.13 per game. Colorado had scored more goals in the second quarter than all other NLL teams and Toronto had the fewest; the Mammoth were 6-1 at home while the Rock were 1-6 on the road. With the scales tipped in favor of the Mammoth in all around stats, Toronto had a tough challenge heading into the Loud House.
The game would start out quickly with Crawford putting the Mammoth on the board only 34 seconds in, however it would become a defensive battle with both net-minders making great saves and the defense on both sides doing well protecting the net and causing turnovers. It would be the Mammoth who would break the silence when Crawford would get his second and final of the night at 8:36. Toronto would answer back with a shot from Turner Evans at 11:09, but the Rock would be stopped there as Ilija Gajic would score unassisted at 12:39. Score at the end of one: Colorado 3—Toronto 1.
Toronto would score the only goal of the second when Rob Hellyer would put it between the pipes at 2:56 (assist Stephan Leblanc and Sandy Chapman). The Rock were ahead with shots on goal for the first half 28-26. Score at the end of the second: Colorado 3—Toronto 2.
Colorado would start off the third with a goal from Mike Mallory at 2:13. Then Rock defenseman Colin Boucher would be called for two “checking from behind” penalties to put the Mammoth on a four-minute power play. It would be Mammoth forward Eli McLaughlin capitalizing on the five-on-four with two power-play goals at 4:15 and 6:07. The second a stick side goal. The Mammoth weren’t done yet as Josh Sullivan would get the ball on a rebound and score on a breakaway unassisted at 10:29, the final of a four-goal run for the Mammoth. Unfortunately with only 6.6 seconds left in the quarter the Mammoth were caught off guard when Grant Jr. would not pick up the loose ball which allowed Chapman to score an empty netter. Score at the end of three: Colorado 7—Toronto 3.
It would be Toronto finding the net first in the fourth when Kasey Beirnes with a quick stick shot would score stick side on Ward at 2:18. Grant Jr. would be the next to hit net when he attempted the shot, almost falling over a downed Rock player but was still able to hit bottom left at 8:24. Toronto wasn’t ready to give up and Dan Lintner would score stick side at 9:43. That would be the final time Toronto would find the net in the contest. It was then that Grant Jr. would fake a behind-the-back shot, come across and shoot the ball which rolled behind Nick Rose and through the pipes, the goal that would put him at 230 in a Mammoth jersey and tying him with Langtry. The Rock would pull Rose at 2:41 for the extra attacker and as the Rock attempted a pass from behind the net, Gajic would intercept the pass scoring an empty netter for the final goal of the game. Final Score: Mammoth 10—Rock 5.
Dillon Ward would be the MVP of the game as he lowered his GAA to 10.36 moving ahead of Nick Rose from Toronto; and Aaron Bold of the Rush for the lead. He was a power-house stopping 49 of 53 shots on goal, improving his save percentage to .799, the best in the NLL.
On Friday April 29, the Mammoth (11-6) will host the Vancouver Stealth (5-11) for their final regular season game before heading into the play-offs on May 7. Toronto (5-12) heads to Calgary on April 30 to face the Roughnecks (7-10) for their final game of the 2016 season.
Di Miller, Beat Writer Colorado Mammoth
Lacrosse is Awesome