It seems like goaltending has been a problem for the Colorado Mammoth for the past five years. Starting with the struggles of Andrew Leyshon, they ended up later relying on Chris Levis and Matt Roik, and this season went into it with minimal net experience.
Their two goaltenders were set to be Tye Belanger, who missed most of last season with injury, and rookie Dillon Ward. Ward was the third overall pick in the NLL draft and had professional experience with the Hamilton Nationals in Major League Lacrosse, along with tons of Canadian boxla experience, but it is still hard to predict in the NLL.
Ward started for the Mammoth against the Vancouver Stealth on Saturday night and made 22 saves on 23 shots in the first half alone. The Mammoth, now 4-5, have won three straight and are starting to get on a roll since Ward took over full time in the crease.
“The guys have bought into what we’re doing, team morale is high and we’re just trying to keep our good momentum rolling,” said Ward, about the recent winning streak of the Mammoth.
He ended up with 41 saves on 50 shots from the Stealth and played the entire game. It was the second straight week where he played every minute after Ward’s Mammoth defeated Minnesota 14-12 last week. He also started and won their game against Calgary two weeks ago allowing 13 goals in their 14-13 victory.
The last time the Mammoth lost he played 42 minutes in a loss to Buffalo. Ward, despite splitting so much time early in the season, is fourth in the league with 263 saves, just 17 off from Evan Kirk in Philadelphia. He is also tied for third in wins with four, tied with Matt Vinc.
The Mammoth have been searching for that goaltender to put them over the edge. Have they finally found their future with Ward manning the net?
