Justin Ivey, Co-Editor
Lacrosse is Awesome©
The Albany Firewolves (1-5) travelled west to play the Colorado Mammoth (4-2) at MVP Arena Saturday night. Due in large part to a career night from Tye Kurtz (7G, 2A), the Firewolves jumped out to a comfortable early lead that grew to as many as seven goals in the second quarter. They could not hold on though, as the home team rallied around Connor Kelly (5G,2A) and mounted a fierce comeback. Mammoth goaltender Dillon Ward (12GA, 41SV) and the Colorado defense held the young Albany offense scoreless in the fourth quarter on way to the come from behind victory. Final Score: Albany-13, Colorado-15.
Colorado jumped on an early power play opportunity to score the game’s opening goal. Connor Robinson (4G, 2A) scored just 1:59 in with the extra man. The goal though, provided no early momentum. Albany’s defense clamped down and held the home team scoreless for the remainder of the quarter as Kurtz went to work. Showing the highest level of on field connection, Kurtz buried three first quarter goals and each one had the immediate assist credited to Alex Simmons (3G, 4A). The three goals were quite evenly spread. The first with 10:11 remaining tied the game and the second with 5:01 left gave the visitors a one goal lead. Simmons scored the third Albany goal, with 4:18 remaining, before Kurtz completed the first quarter hat trick with just 4 seconds left on the clock. At the end of the fist quarter, Albany led Colorado 4-1.
The onslaught continued to start the second quarter as Albany took control of the field. Simmons rattled off two goals to start the quarter. The first was a hard high to high shot during an odd man break, and the second came on the power play. Less than 30 seconds later, Kurtz added his fourth of the night. Rookie Dyson Williams (1G, 1A) joined the Albany scoring party next, increasing the lead to 8-1 with 10:23 left. Looking almost hopeless on offense until this point, Colorado flipped a switch and outscored the visitors 6-2 in the rest of the half. Eli McLaughlin (3G, 1A) and Robinson scored 40 seconds apart before Eric Fannell (1G, 1A) got one back for Albany. Connor Cook (1G) scored for Colorado just over a minute later, but Patrick Kaschalk (1G, 1A) answered that goal just 38 seconds later. In the final 3:30 of the quarter though, the Mammoth seemingly figured out how to beat Albany goaltender Doug Jamieson (15GA, 38SV) and rattled off three straight. McLaughlin scored first before Kelly notched his first of the night. Robinson rounded it out for a total of 12 goals in the second quarter. At the half, Albany led Colorado 10-7.
Neither team could gain an advantage in the third and the teams ended up trading goals. Kelly cut the deficit to two goals with a powerplay goal just 14 seconds in before Kurtz eventually answered on an Albany powerplay with 8:26 left. Robinson scored next, almost four minutes later but Kurtz again answered on an Albany powerplay. Kelly brought the score within two once more with 38 seconds left, but Kurtz scored his seventh goal of the night just 18 seconds later. At the end of the third quarter, Albany led Colorado 13-10.
Having gotten back to within striking distance, Colorado pitched a perfect game in the fourth. Kelly scored just 30 seconds in and Damon Edwards (1G) made the score 13-12 just 3:33 in. With 8:06 remaining, Kelly tied the game 13-13. The Albany offense was struggling to get anything past a clearly confident Ward. Zed Williams (1G, 4A) gave the home team the lead with 7 :18 remaining as the crowd erupted and McLaughlin doubled the lead with 5:57 left. Neither team could find an opening for the remainder of the game. Final Score: Albany-13, Colorado-15
Up Next:
The Albany Firewolves (1-5) host the Colorado Mammoth (4-2) on Saturday, January 18 at 7:00 PM EST.