Di Miller, Beat Writer Colorado Mammoth
Lacrosse is Awesome
On Saturday January 14, 2017, the Colorado Mammoth (2-1) hosted the New England Black Wolves (0-2) at the Pepsi Center in front of 11,246 screaming Mammoth fans. Colorado just came off a beating by the Vancouver Stealth the weekend before and wanted to show the fans they were a team to be reckoned with. New England had just come off a huge loss to the Rochester Knighthawks as well and both wanted to come out victorious. However, the Mammoth were having nothing to do with that and would come away with an exciting overtime victory. Final Score OT: Colorado 11—New England 10.
New England would be the first to score in the period with a nice shot by forward Kevin Crowley (assist Evans) at 2:47 on the power-play off an illegal cross-checking on Joey Cupido; followed by Pat Saunders less than two minutes later with a top right shot over the shoulder of Dillon “The Wall” Ward. It would take the Mammoth over five minutes to put one between the pipes. Jacob “The Rooster” Ruest (assist McLaughlin) would shoot from the left side and score stick side of Evan Kirk. Jeremy Noble would score his first of two at the 10:30 mark stick side upper right corner to tie the game 2-2. But the Wolves would answer back less than three minutes later off a behind the back pass from Dan Burns to Jay Thorimbert with only 1:12 left to close out the quarter with the Wolves leading the Mammoth by the score 3-2.
Noble would start off the second with a nice up the middle shot through the five hole with a quick stick shot 3:45 into the frame (assist Crawford). This would start a five-goal run by the Mammoth with Eli McLaughlin on the power-play less than a minute later (assist Greer); Chris Wardle with a nice shot from behind the net left side and over the shoulder of Kirk (assist Crawford); Zack Greer would score on a left-handed shot over the left shoulder of Kirk; and Crawford would score unassisted on the power-play to close out the first half with 2:33 left on the clock. The Black Wolves would not score in the second quarter. At the end of the first half Crawford’s stats would be (1 G; 3 A, 8 SOG). The Mammoth would lead SOG 32 to New England’s 22 SOG. Score at the end of the first half: Mammoth 7—Black Wolves 3.
Heading into the third, Crawford would get his hat-trick on the night only 26 seconds in with a nice spin, dodge and jump shot from the right side top left corner. But New England would strike next with back-to-back goals from Kyle Buchanan at 3:06 and 9:07 on the power-play off a two-minute hooking penalty off Creighton Reid bringing them to within three. 
Score Mammoth 8—Black Wolves 5. Shawn Evans would hit net with a quick stick shot over the top right shoulder of Ward at 10:05. But it would be Crawford closing out the third for the Mammoth at 11:04 (assist Noble) with a sick jump shot to stun Kirk and put it between the pipes. Colorado would lead at the end of three 9-6.
New England would start out the fourth with Evans putting it over the right shoulder of Ward only 2:51 into the frame. Kevin Crowley would net a freebie off a tip from Robert Hope that rolled over the plane of the goal at 4:48 bringing them to within one. Less than 30 seconds later Crawford would get his fourth of the night at 5:25 with a spin dodge lower left shot (assist Ruest). But it would be New England who would come back firing back-to-back goals from Kevin Crowley at 11:17 and Saunders at 14:20 (when New England would pull Kirk for the EA) to tie it up. The Mammoth held tough with Ward in net to force the game into OT. Score at the end of regulation: Mammoth 10—Black Wolves 10.
The fans were on their feet for the OT. The Wolves would win the face-off, but Ward would stave off the shot and the Mammoth would head down the field with one thing on their minds…putting the ball between the pipes. Crawford fed the ball to Greer for the pass to McLaughlin who would send it past Kirk for the win only 51 seconds into OT. Final Score OT: Mammoth 11—Black Wolves 10.
When it comes to an exciting game, this has to be on the top of the list. The fans were not disappointed and had the pleasure of watching over 60 minutes of top notch, high intensity lacrosse.
The Mammoth earned this win with good defensive moves; net-minding; and good transition. Their penalty minutes were minimal, something that the Black Wolves need to work on. Over the course of the last two weeks, the Black Wolves have accumulated a total of 56 minutes in the box (44 against Rochester and 12 against the Mammoth).
Here’s your game stats:
Mammoth: Goals 11; SOG 53: Saves 36; SV% .783; FO 11-26; FO% .423; PPA 6: PPG 2; PIM 4
Black Wolves: Goals 10; SOG 46; Saves 42: SV% .792; FO 15-26; FO% .577; PPA 2: PPG 2; PIM 12
The Mammoth had a decisive lead at the end of the first half, but gave up some goals that should have been prevented if the transition was more in synch. They are still taking some shots on goal that aren’t well thought, but Ward has held strong in net. If the Mammoth can tighten up their defense, they’ve got the talent and the power in their shooting game to be contenders against any team in the league.
Next up for the Mammoth, they face the (1-2) Calgary Roughnecks at the Pepsi Center 7:30 p.m. MST Friday January 20, 2017. Colorado is hoping to go 3-1 on the season and the Roughnecks are looking to even out their record at 2-2.
Di Miller, Beat Writer Colorado Mammoth
Lacrosse is Awesome