Di Miller, Colorado Mammoth Correspondent
Lacrosse is Awesome©
Featured Image Photo Credit: Mike McGinnis
The #4 Seed Colorado Mammoth headed to Pechanga Arena on Friday May 5, 2023 to face the #1 Seed San Diego Seals for a repeat of 2022 when the Mammoth would also knock the #1 Seed Seals out of the playoffs. What was different about last nights contest, the Seals kept their composure throughout 59 minutes and 29 seconds of the game which was unlike them but it was that last 30 seconds of the contest and the holding penalty called with 31 seconds left on the ticker that would be their fate. Colorado led for most of the contest and no team this season had defeated them when they were leading after the third and last night was no different. With 1.8 seconds on the ticker, Eli McLaughlin would be the hero once again and used a twister shot to put one down low to notch the one and only power play tally for Colorado to break the tie sending them to the semi-finals to face either Panther City or Calgary. Final Score: Mammoth 13—Seals 12.
The Seals would win the opening draw but couldn’t capitalize. With several changes of possession, Ward made a nice outlet pass to Jordan Gilles (1g) on the break and he fired it near side to get them on the board at the 4:08 mark and it was 1-0 Mammoth. Less than two minutes later, Chris Wardle (1g) would shoot around his defender with a nice side arm shot went far side at 5:44 for the two-goal lead 2-0. The net minders were brick walls for the next nine minutes staving off shot after shot, and it was the Seals who finally broke through the barrier. Dane Dobbie (1g, 4a) would back his way in, roll back, got parallel to goal line extended and dropped it far side with 4:22 left in the first and it was 2-1 still in favor of Colorado. With 3:32 in the first, the Mammoth would extend the lead back to two with a dish from Ryan Lee to Eli McLaughlin (4g, 3a) and he fired it far side. Dillon Ward was amazing in the first as he had made 12 of 13 save with a Sv% of .923%. Score at the end of one: Mammoth 3—Seals 1.
The second got off to a slow start with neither team being able to find twine until five and half had ticked off the clock. Zed Williams (2g, 3a) crashed the cage, flew through the crease and dunked it far side at the 5:37 mark and it was 4-1. At the 6:56 mark, McLaughlin would feed to Ryan Lee (4g, 5a) and he dove through the crease to put it in just under the glove of Frank Scigliano to make it 5-1. San Diego would stop the three-goal run when Curtis Dickson (1g, 5a) fought his way to the cage, rolled and fired a twister shot that bounced five hole at 6:42. Ward fell backwards while trying to make the save and Mammoth bench boss Pat Coyle immediately through the challenge flag when it was called a “good goal”. After review there was inconclusive evidence to overturn so the call stood so the score went 5-2 still in favor of Colorado. With 5:25 left in the half, McLaughlin headed to the cage, got underneath with a twister shot dove through the crease and put it far side. This time Seals bench boss Patrick Merrill tossed the red flag and again, there was no evidence to overturn the call so it stood as a good goal and the score went in favor of Colorado 6-2. The Mammoth would get tagged for their first penalty of the game and Seals fans were hopeful this would turn the tides. Instead they weren’t able to capitalize on the man up. With 45.2 left in the half, Lee from way out fired an unbelievable low to low shot that hit far side giving the Mammoth their largest lead on the night 7-2 and the arena went quiet. But the Seals were bound and determined. They’d go on their second man up opportunity of the half. As the clock was winding down, Dobbie would feed to Kevin Crowley (3g, 3a) and he’d fire a twister shot over the top for a power-play tally that caught Ward off guard with 8.6 seconds left on the buzzer. This was Crowley’s first playoff goal in three years. Score at the end of two: Mammoth 7—Seals 3.
Once again, it took a bit for the quarter to get started. San Diego would be the first to find the net in the third. Dobbie would have a beautiful BTB to Austin Staats (3g, 1a) and he took to the air and from out in front dunked it over the right shoulder to make it 7-4 at the 3:35 mark. The next goal came with just 2 seconds left on the shot clock. Dickson dished to Wes Berg (2g, 2a) and he used a couple of pump fakes to get Ward to move and he snuck to the back side and buried it between the stick and foot at the 4:10 mark and it was 7-5. A little over a minute later, Tim Edwards would fire one at Scigliano, he’d make the initial save, Edwards would get his own rebound and fire it right back five hole at 5:01 to increase the lead to 8-5. The Seals got that on back 90 seconds later. Crowley got the dish from Berg, pump faked and put it over the shoulder at 6:26 and it was 8-6. We’d see another three minutes come off as the teams fired on cage but couldn’t score as the posts did most of the work keeping them out of the net. And once again it was Colorado who found the magic. Williams found Lee behind the cage and he used the dive and dunk with 5:58 left in the third to reestablish the three goal lead 9-6. Williams then decided to notch his second and final tally on the night. He backed his way in, planted, spun and got underneath, then dove across the crease to put it far side with 4:56 and it was 10-6. The Seals would just not give up. With 1:43 remaining, Mac O’Keefe who had fired on cage multiple times throughout the night, finally found the back of the net. As he was cutting towards the middle of the floor he made a lucky grab on a flip toss and popped it in stick side to close the gap back to three. At the end of three the score was: Mammoth: 10—Seals 7.
The fourth was high scoring and fast paced. The Seals were fighting for their lives as they did not want a repeat of 2022. Colorado on the other hand had controlled the game from the onset and did not want to let up now. Staats got it started at the 2:05 mark. He went over the top, stepped down and his shot went far side to get them within two 10-8. San Diego would go on their third man up opportunity of the night hoping that they could get to within one. Unfortunately 30 seconds into the power-play, in transition Ryan Lee flew out of the “O” door and fired it down low far side and was able to score a short handed goal at the 3:58 mark and it was 11-8 Mammoth. The Seals still had time left on the man up and on a nifty tic-tac-toe play, Crowley to Dobbie then to Berg, Berg was able to use the quick stick finish to go top corner far side at 4:30 to get them back to within two 11-9. San Diego got another chance on the man up and would score again. Staats on the point stung the top corner with a half twister shot just 15 seconds in and it was 11-10 with plenty of time left on the timer. With 6:34 left in the game and 1 second left on the shot clock, O’Keefe tied the game when he stung the low corner as the shot bounced off the post and went in and the board read 11-11. Right after that the two teams ran up and down the floor in a track meet that lasted two minutes as neither team could break the brick walls that both Ward and Scigliano were putting up. Then with 4:17 in the game, McLaughlin came down the alley and used a twister shot to put it past Scigliano on the near pipe and it was 12-11 Mammoth. But San Diego was not ready to go home. Crowley got his own rebound, took a few steps and his BTB shot went under Wards’ armpit near side to tie it once again this time as 12’s with 3:16 to go. No team had beaten Colorado when they led at the end of three and San Diego had a huge hill to climb. For the next three both teams tried to score but were unsuccessful. Then the unthinkable. With 31 seconds left in the season, San Diego was near the Mammoth goal and were called for holding. Their worst nightmare came true. After having played a clean game for 59 minutes and 29 seconds a penalty…After a time out by the Mammoth to set up the play they’d toss the ball around until there was about 10 seconds left on the game clock. Then Lee would get the ball behind the net, feed to McLaughlin he’d use a twister shot, bring it back across his body and fire it down low for the game winner with just 1.8 seconds left on the clock sending the Seals packing once again. Final Score: Mammoth 13—Seals 12.
STATS:
Colorado Mammoth—SOG 45; Saves 52; Sv% .813%; FO 12-28; PP 1-1
San Diego Seals—SOG 64; Saves 32; Sv% .711; FO 16-28; PP 3-4
NEXT UP
The Colorado Mammoth will now have to wait & see who they will face next weekend in Round 2 of the Western Division Semi-Finals the weekend of May 12, 2023. It will be either the Calgary Roughnecks the Number 2 Seed or the Panther City Lacrosse Club the Number 3 Seed.
Di Miller, Colorado Mammoth Correspondent
Lacrosse is Awesome©