MVP Arena in Albany was jumping Saturday night as their beloved FireWolves were set to take their home turf for a heavyweight matchup against the Colorado Mammoth. This game was as closely contested as they come, as the biggest lead by either side was only three goals. After a boatload of ties and lead changes, it was the hometown FireWolves who snuck out with a 13-10 win.
Colorado always has a knack for silencing the crowd when they are on the road. It also helps their cause that they have a world-class goaltender in Dillon Ward between the pipes. The Mammoth did exactly that, as they scored the game’s first two goals and shutout Albany in the first quarter. Eli McLaughlin and Ryan Lee lit the lamp for Colorado, and their defense and Ward played outstanding right out of the gates. It can be a tough ask to silence the crowd at MVP Arena, but that was a masterclass of a quarter from the Mammoth. 2-0 Colorado after one.
The second quarter saw an uptick in scoring, as it featured “every other” type scoring. We told you it was going to be one of those games. Ethan Walker finally got Albany on the board with his first, but was quickly answered by Will Malcom, who had himself quite the game. Two consecutive power play goals followed, one by Alex Simmons, who also had a monster game, and the other from Lee. Simmons and Malcom traded two more goals, and Mike Byrne closed out the quarter with his first for Albany, making the score 5-4 Mammoth at the break. This one-goal deficit was the first time that Albany has trailed this season at halftime. Not a bad stat if you’re Glenn Clark and company.
“It’s just finally coming together”, said Lee at halftime. “We’re working together, each game we get better, we know how to play against Dougie (Jamieson), so it’s nice. We just have to start with moving our feet from the get-go, and we’ll have success.”
The goaltender matchup was a special one in this game. On one end, you had Ward, who was sensational in the first half. He made 21 saves on 25 shots. On the other side, Doug Jamieson was equally as impressive. Dougie made 24 saves on 29 shots.
The third quarter was a lot of the same when it came to the back-and-forth pace of this game. Tye Kurtz tied the game up for the FireWolves, much to the enjoyment of the fans in attendance. That joy was short-lived, as Colorado proceeded to go on a three-goal run. Scorers in that span were Connor Robinson, Lee, and Malcom. Albany wasted no time getting two of those three back, as Dyson Williams and Carson Moyer responded. 8-7 Mammoth after three.
Walker buried his second to begin the fourth, and more importantly, tie it back up. Once again, here came the Mammoth. This time is was only one goal, courtesy of Connor Kelly, to give Colorado the lead right back. What we saw previously, was stout defense from Colorado to ensure the lead stayed the way it was for as long as possible. This stretch in the fourth quarter was a bit different. Albany proceeded to score five of the game’s last six goals, obviously en route to victory. Three of those five were scored consecutively after Kelly’s goal. They were scored by Simmons and John Piatelli twice. Malcom got the final goal for Colorado, that being his fourth. Albany held off any sort of pressure from the Mammoth, and notched the final two goals of the game, one from Simmons and the other from Nicholas Volkov. Your final from Albany, 13-10 FireWolves.
Players of the game for Albany were Simmons (4+3), Walker (2+6), and Piatelli (2+1). Jamieson had an outstanding game but was really good in the late stages. He made 42 saves on 52 shots. For Colorado, Malcom (4+2), Lee (3+4), and McLaughin (1+2) led the way. Ward had a solid game but faltered a bit down the stretch. He made 44 saves on 56 shots.
“We needed this one, so it’s great”, said Simmons after the game. “We knew we had to step up. When Dougie is having a game like that, the big guys need to step up in the big moments and they did.”
Albany (2-5) finally got one in their home building. Their next crack at it is on the road this Saturday at 8pm as they travel to take on Saskatchewan (4-2). Colorado (4-3) still is in good shape and will look to get back into the win column. Their next game is also this Saturday, as they hit the road to take on Rochester (3-5) at 7pm.
