The late game of the week one slate was set to be an interesting matchup. On one side, you had the Vancouver Warriors, who made a ton of moves in the offseason and were primed to make a run at the NLL Cup this year. Two of the bigger additions they made were acquiring Jesse King and Curtis Dickson in free agency. On the other side, you had the Colorado Mammoth, who had a bit of a new look to their team, specifically their offense. Connor Robinson and Connor Kelly were gone, and Eli McLaughlin was still on the holdout list. However, they did acquire Andrew Kew from Georgia in the Kelly trade.
Colorado, historically, has done very well against Vancouver, and that pattern continued Saturday night as they downed the Warriors, 10-7. To Rogers Arena we go.
The first quarter was quite slow when it came to scoring, as it took 14:56 for the first goal to be scored. Kew set up shop on offense, and he found himself right in the middle, which tends to be a happy spot of his. He fired a laser that beat Christian Del Bianco. 1-0 Mammoth after one. If you’re a fan of defense and stingy goaltending, it is highly recommended that you go back and rewatch that first quarter because both were on full display from both clubs.
The scoring picked up a bit in the second quarter, as four total goals were scored, two per side. Will Malcom scored his first of what felt like a hundred in this game (stay tuned) but was answered by Ryan Sheridan on the power play. The next goal, courtesy of Ryan Lee, was a doozy. Lee was getting ready for takeoff, as he does, and jumped across the crease while receiving a pass at the same time. In one fluid motion, he caught the pass and shot and scored. They don’t call him “Flyin’ Ryan” for nothing. The final goal was a power play marker, and it was a first, coming from King as he fired a low burner past Dillon Ward. 3-2 Mammoth at the break.
“Good first half from us”, said Kew. “I think we can tighten some things up, but it’s a good start. I think we’ve got four guys that it’s their first NLL game. The energy is really high, we’re young, we’re fast, it’s great.”
Both goaltenders had a stellar first half, each making 19 saves. Ward faced 21 shots, while Del Bianco faced 22.
Vancouver wasted little time coming out red hot to begin the third quarter. Two-straight goals finally gave them a lead, and the momentum was temporarily in their favor. Those goals were scored by Curtis Dickson, his first as a Warrior, and the other was by Adam Charalambides. Both were power play goals. The reason the word “temporarily” was used to describe the momentum, was because Colorado answered back with a five-goal run to completely flip it. Four of those goals were scored by Malcom, giving him five so far on the night, and the other was from Kew. Goals three and four from Malcom were also on the power play. Charalambides buried his second to close out the frame. 8-5 Mammoth after three.
Vancouver did everything in their power in the fourth quarter to mount a comeback, but Colorado did a perfect job of keeping them at bay. The Warriors got within one, as they registered the first two goals, one from Dickson and the other from Keegan Bal. Unfortunately, that would be it for their scoring the rest of the way. Malcom got his sixth (sheesh), and Dylan McIntosh got his first to close It out. A bit of a stunned silence came over Rogers Arena, as the clock struck zero and the Mammoth came out on top.
Players of the game for Colorado were Malcom (6+2), Kew (2+6), and Lee (1+6). Ward was downright stingy in the second half, making 39 saves on 46 shots in total. For Vancouver, Charalambides (2+1), Dickson (2+1), and Bal (1+6) led the way. Del Bianco had his shining moments, if only it weren’t for that Mammoth run in the third quarter. Delbs made 36 saves on 46 shots.
“It feels great”, said Malcom. “First game of the year, a lot of new faces, a lot of youth, it feels good to start off 1-0. The energy some of the young guys bring to the room, all around, is making us a better team. The ball was just dropping tonight.”
Colorado looks to build off a big road win to open the campaign. Their next game is another road one, as they travel to Philadelphia. That game is on Saturday December 13th at 1pm. Vancouver looks to have a short memory and get into the win column. Their next game is also on their home floor as they welcome in Las Vegas. That one is also December 13th at 10pm.
