When discussing the western division of the National Lacrosse League, the favorites are obvious. The Edmonton Rush, coming off of a two loss season, have a historical defense and an improved offense. The Calgary Roughnecks improved their defense in the off season and have the deepest offense in the league.
Yet, it was the Colorado Mammoth who looked the most impressive this weekend.
While Calgary fell to Vancouver and Edmonton lost in Buffalo, the Mammoth stormed into Minnesota and scored 20 goals. There hasn’t been much talk about the Mammoth going into the season, but their offense might even be the league’s best.
With a glance at their depth chart, it’s easy to see why the Mammoth could score 20 goals in a game. Led by John Grant Jr, they have a healthy Adam Jones, Athan Iannucci, Drew Westervelt, and Sean Pollock, along with rookie Eli McLaughlin, the third overall pick in this past year’s draft.
In this week’s contest against the Swarm, the Colorado offense did not see a goal until the second quarter when Adam Jones buried one with assists from Grant and Westervelt. They scored five times in that second quarter but it was the second half that their offense really got going.
Colorado kept things tight in the third with each team scoring four times, but they began to abuse the Swarm in the fourth with an eleven goal output. Grant’s nine points led the way once again but they also saw seven from Jones and six from Pollock and Iannucci.
The Mammoth as a team have been overlooked going into 2015, and it’s true that their opponent, Minnesota, is projected by some to finish last in the east. Still, maybe it’s time for their offense to get some credit for being one of the best in the league.
