Justin Ivey, Co-Editor
Lacrosse is Awesome©
The NLL playoffs are so close, some games are starting to have that extra edge. Friday night at the Loud House in Colorado was a prime example. The West leading San Diego Seals (12-4) came to visit division opponent Colorado Mammoth (9-7) and the two teams combined for 62 penalty minutes. 24 of those and a game misconduct belonged to veteran San Diego captain Brodie Merrill. In the back-and-forth battle of a game, the Loud house home fans were in for a rollercoaster of a night. Behind hat tricks from Eli McLaughlin (3G, 3A) and Connor Robinson (3G, 1A), the Colorado Mammoth willed their way to a big win with the post season just around the corner. Final Score: San Diego-14, Colorado-15.
San Diego found the scoreboard first with an unassisted goal from Dane Dobbie (3G, 4A) just 1:31 in. After a couple great defensive possessions from both teams, Dobbie had a pass deflected back to him outside. After rolling to the middle, he found an open shooting lane and buried it from afar. Colorado answered right back. Tim Edwards won the ensuing faceoff and scrambled what felt like a quarter mile with a defender on his back. He twisted back and rolled to the cage, finding just one defender splitting himself and Anthony Joaquim (1G) at the goal line. He drew the defender and flipped the ball to Joaquim who finished with ease. Then the penalties came, and they came consistently. The first quarter alone had 20 total penalty minutes and both teams would capitalize on some of the opportunities. Ty Thompson (2G) gave Colorado the lead on a powerplay goal 3:22 in, but Wes Berg (6G, 3A) scored two powerplay goals in a row for San Diego before the halfway point to reinstate a one goal Seals’ lead. On the ensuing faceoff, Danny Logan (1G) won the draw and took it all the way to the net himself extending the lead to two for the visitors. With 6:17 remaining, Dobbie scored his second of the quarter rolling around a screen and finding the five hole from up top. Suddenly, the Seals had a three-goal lead. Two minutes of scoreless action followed before Robinson scored his first of the game with a laser to the corner from outside. Colorado had finally stopped the San Diego run, but a mere 46 seconds later a beautiful dodge and drive from Austin Staats (3G, 1A) put San Diego ahead three again with 3:29 remaining. At the end of the first quarter, San Diego led Colorado 6-3.
A late Colorado penalty at the end of the first quarter saw San Diego quickly get the man advantage to start the second (an earlier San Diego penalty meant the quarter started four on four). Who else but Berg to tally the goal with the advantage. Just 59 seconds into the quarter, and San Diego now had a four-goal lead. It almost stretched to a five-goal lead, but a Staats goal was called back with 12:53 on the clock. For the rest of the half, it was a different story. The defenses were still playing hard but kept it clean. The only penalty of the second quarter would come with 50 seconds left. Colorado swung the favor in their direction with both teams playing at full strength. While the defense and netminder Dillon Ward (41SV) held the Seals scoreless, the offense strung together five unanswered goals to take the lead. Robinson started the onslaught, scoring off a feed inside from Ryan Lee (1G, 7A) with 11:38 remaining. After a big defensive stand off the next faceoff, Ward cleared the ball down turf to Josh Sullivan (1G, 1A) who scored the transition marker. Tyson Gibson (1G, 1A) joined the party with his lone goal of the game and 6:33 left. John Lintz (1G, 1A) scored in transition on the next Colorado possession and McLaughlin scored his first of the game with 4:07 left on the clock. In just eight minutes of game play, Colorado turned a four-goal deficit into a one goal lead. At halftime, Colorado led San Diego 8-7.
That penalty on San Diego’s Kevin Crowley (1G, 1A) with 50 seconds left in the second gave Colorado the five on four advantage to start the third quarter. It took just 21 seconds for Lee to find the corner of the net as he drove towards Seals goaltender Frank Scigliano (34SV). The goal made the Mammoth run six. Crowley quickly redeemed himself after being let out of the box. Just 43 seconds later he found a corner of his own dodging to the net in an isolation set. Colorado buckled down again after that goal though, rattling off three in a row in a two-minute span. Thompson started the rally with a diving goal and an assist from Lee and McLaughlin. The same two assisted on the next goal, just 1:12 later. Instead of Thompson, it was Zed Williams (2G, 3A) sniping a corner with just one second left in the shot clock. After winning the faceoff, Colorado set up and Robinson drove to the net for the third unanswered Colorado goal and a 12-8 lead. Scigliano was actually replaced in favor of Christopher Origleiri (2SV) before the goal. The penalties returned to haunt the Mammoth though. 16 of the 23 penalty minutes assessed in the third quarter belonged to Colorado. That San Diego advantage helped them to score three out of the remaining four goals of the third as two of the goals came with a man up. Staats scored first, unassisted. Williams did answer that goal for Colorado but Berg was on fire and scored the last two goals of the quarter, the second with 51 seconds remaining, to bring us to the final 15 minutes. At the end of the third quarter, Colorado led San Diego 13-11.
Scigliano was back in net for the fourth quarter. A five minute high sticking major penalty was assessed to Colorado’s Evan Downey with 2:38 remaining in the third quarter and San Diego took advantage. They tied the game before the penalty expired. Berg and Staats scored the sixth and seventh power play goals of the game for the Seals. A Dobbie tally with 9:23 remaining in the game handed the lead to the visitors. A little bit of chaos interrupted the game with 8:04 left, and ultimately swung the game towards a conclusion. While killing a penalty, the Seals Merrill caught Robinson up high in the helmet with a cross check. A delayed whistle was in effect and Colorado scored on a McLaughlin goal to tie the game at 14. Robinson stayed on the ground for a while as Merrill headed to the box. Merrill was called for a five-minute-high stick, a game misconduct, and ejected from the game. On the man advantage, McLaughlin scored his second in a row for the lead with 4:36 remaining. No more goals were allowed the remainder of the game but a scary hit on Evan Downey by Logan with 4:23 left saw Downey leave in a stretcher. The game took a pause as both teams showed their respect and concern. Final Score: San Diego-14, Colorado-15
Up Next:
The Colorado Mammoth (9-7) visit the Saskatchewan Rush (6-9) on Saturday, April 22 at 9:30 Pm EDT.
The San Diego Seals (12-4) host the Las Vegas Desert Dogs (5-11) on Saturday, April 22 at 10:00 PM EDT.