Di Miller, Colorado Mammoth Correspondent
Lacrosse is Awesome©
Photo Credit: Jordan Jones
The Colorado Mammoth (1-0) are an entirely different squad this year after trading away some of their biggest stars including Zed Williams, Connor Kelly, Connor Robinson and Tyson Gibson. They would see four of their rookies starting tonight’s contest including Rookie Face-Off Specialist Matthew Paolatto who went 16-20 at the dot completely dominating Vancouver. The Mammoth were 10-3 overall against the Warriors with Kurt Malawsky being 0-3 since he took over as Bench Boss for Vancouver in July 2023. Tonight, when they opened the season at Rogers Arena, they would continue with the streak once again defeating the Warriors, putting their win streak to five in a row. Final Score: Colorado 10—Vancouver 7.
Colorado would win the opening draw in an almost scoreless first. The two netminders fought off shot after shot, the defensive stance was stellar on both sides with players and goalkeepers blocking shots. The fans witnessed an amazing defensive battle for over 14 minutes. As the clock was winding down in the frame, Mammoth Bench Boss Pat Coyle decided to go with the empty net with 20.3 seconds remaining. Ryan Lee found Andrew Kew (2-5) who was making his debut in the burgundy and white jersey, out in front, and Kew sent it sailing right through traffic down low with four seconds left on the ticker. Vancouver couldn’t capitalize on the draw and the clock hit zero. Score at the end of one: Colorado 1—Vancouver 0.
Once again, the Mammoth won the draw to start the second. But as fans would see, the game would see a multitude of penalties with Colorado going man down 2:31 in. While the Warriors couldn’t find twine, Colorado would notch their first of several short-handed tallies on the night. Will Malcom (6-2) used a little jab step and bounced the shot up and over the right shoulder of CBD for a short-handed marker 3:45 into the frame with the Mammoth going up 2-0. Malcom would end up notching his third sock-trick of his career before the night was over. Vancouver would get on the board 38 seconds later. Curtis Dickson found Ryan Sheridan (1-1) who sat most of the 2024-25 season, on the doorstep, he pirouetted on the crease and put the power-play tally over the shoulder of Dillon Ward to get them on the board 2-1 in favor of Colorado. But the Mammoth would reestablish their two-goal lead 90 seconds later. Ryan Lee (1-6) got the feed from Kew, caught the ball in midair as he was flying through the crease and found a tiny opening over the left shoulder and it was 3-1. Once again, the defenses would do their jobs, and neither would find twine for almost eight minutes. But Malcom would get hit with a holding call with 1:16 left in the half giving the Warriors their third man up opportunity in the contest and they would capitalize again. Keegan Bal flipped to Jesse King (1-3), he hesitated, pump faked and bounced it five-hole on Ward for his first goal in the black and gold. With nine seconds left in the half, Christian Nok, one of the rookies for Colorado would get nabbed for a holding call which would carry over into the third. Score at the end of two: Colorado 3—Vancouver 2.
Halftime Stats
Colorado Mammoth—SOG 22; Saves 18; Sv% .900; FO 4-6; PP 0-3; LB 34; TO 21
Vancouver Warriors—SOG 20; Saves 10; Sv% .864; FO 2-6; PP 2-4; LB 31; TO 19
The Warriors would open the third still on the man up and they’d put up their third power-play tally on the night. Curtis Dickson (2-1) also making his debut in the black and gold, got the feed, stepped down and fired an overhand shot top corner right side 1:22 into the frame for the equalizer and it was 3-3. With Malcolm getting called for another hold, Vancouver would tally their fourth man up marker. Adam Charalambides (2-1) got the behind-the-back feed from King, dove and went far side 3:24 in and they would get their first and only lead on the night 4-3. And that’s when the Mammoth kicked into high gear, scoring five in a row with Malcom notching the first three. Malcom would fight his way to the crease carrying two defenders with him, tucked it home and put it near side just 19 seconds later to tie it at four. His next tally was not only a power-play goal but would also give him the hat trick. Malcom got the BTB feed from Kew, and his outside snipe shot upstairs put the Mammoth up 5-4 with 9:10 in the frame and they would not relinquish the lead. Once again, Kew and Malcom would team up for another power play tally. Kew would feed a BTB pass to Malcom, he fired an over-the-top shot high short side with 6:20 to go and it was 6-4. The next tally was all Kew. With a stutter step, he fooled the defender and sent a side arm shot into the back of the net just 59 seconds later to put Colorado up by three 7-4. Their final tally of the run came from none other than Malcolm when he burned by two defenders, fired across his body and his shot went far side doubling up the Warriors 8-4. Vancouver would finally halt the run with 2:30 left in the third. Charalambides fired through traffic and put it up top 8-5 still in favor of Colorado. As the clock was winding down, the Mammoth would be nailed with a delay of game with 1:04 to go. The Warriors could not capitalize but would carry the man up into the fourth. Score at the end of three: Colorado 8—Vancouver 5.
The Warriors would have 54 seconds left on the previous man up heading into the fourth but could not find twine. Instead, just 2:11 in, they would get hit with a crosscheck penalty but instead of Colorado finding the back of the net, Dickson on the run, fooled his defender with a stutter step and put a tough angle sidearm shot far side for a short-handed marker getting them to within two 8-6 with plenty of time on the ticker. Shortly after the goal, Vancouver would go man down again and once more they’d tally a short-handed goal. This time Keegan Bal (1g, 6a) with just 17 seconds left on the power play, would skip a low shot across the floor and he found an opening on the far side and the gap was one 8-7 which would turn out to be their last tally on the night. But the Mammoth were not done. It took only 12 seconds before Malcom would notch his third sock-trick of his career. His overhand shot found the near side of the net, and they were up by two 9-7. The final goal of the night came from former Warriors forward Dylan McIntosh (1g, 1a). He headed to the crease, got CBD to drop and he put it far side for his first goal in the burgundy and white. Vancouver would go with the empty net with 60 seconds on the clock, but unfortunately even with a late holding call against Colorado, they could not find twine. Final Score: Colorado 10—Vancouver 7.
STARS OF THE GAME:
Will Malcom—Colorado Mammoth: 6g, 2a
Andrew Kew—Colorado Mammoth: 2g, 5a
Ryan Lee—Colorado Mammoth: 1g, 6a
GAME STATS:
Colorado Mammoth: SOG 45; Saves 34; Sv% .829; FO 16-20; PP 2-7; PIM 16
Vancouver Warriors: SOG 41; Saves 36; Sv% .800; FO 4-20; PP 4-8; PIM 14
NEXT UP:
The Colorado Mammoth (1-0) have a bye week and will be in action again on Saturday December 13, 2025, when they head to Wells Fargo Arena to face the Philadelphia Wings (0-0), game time 1:00 p.m. EST. Fans in the USA can see the action on ESPN+ and NLL+. While fans in Canada can catch the game on TSN+.
The Vancouver Warriors (0-1) also have a bye and will host the Las Vegas Desert Dogs (0-0) on Saturday December 13, 2025, at Rogers Arena, game time 10:00 p.m. EST. Fans in the USA can see the action on ESPN+ and NLL+. While fans in Canada can catch the game on TSN+.
Di Miller, Colorado Mammoth Correspondent
Lacrosse is Awesome©