After spending the month of December on the road the Colorado Mammoth returned to the Loud House and the loudest fans in the NLL. The team was coming off back-to-back road wins and extended their streak to three total games with a 13-9 win over the Vancouver Warriors.
Keegan Bal would get the first goal of the game for the Warriors scoring at 11:42 of the first quarter. Vancouver scored three more goals in 48 seconds giving them a four-goal lead halfway into the first. Rookie forward Will Malcom got the Mammoth on the board with 1:16 left on the clock. In his first game back from the IR, Eli McLaughlin would add a goal with 1:02 left but Warriors’ captain Matt Beers scored with 30 seconds left for a 4-2 lead after the first.
The Warriors started the scoring for the second as well. The Mammoth were looking for a spark in their offense and it came from their captain Dan Coates. Since the offense was having difficulties finding the back of the net for the Mammoth their defense stepped up, scoring the next three goals. After Coates, Joey Cupido would add a shorthanded goal, finishing Dillon Ward’s long pass. Jordan Gillies also scored. The uphill battle was now only one goal heading into halftime.
The Mammoth fans were loud for their boys as they started the second half but were quickly quieted by Bal once again. The Warriors were playing quick, getting many shots on goal but the Mammoth’s offense got into the game with Malcom’s second goal after some ankle breaking moves on Ian Hawksbee to tie the game. Cupido would be score a second shorthanded goal and gave the Mammoth a lead with five minutes left in the quarter. The Warriors got a power play goal before the quarter ended, and the teams headed to the fourth with the score tied at eight.
For the Mammoth it was a brand new game. Ryan Lee opened the quarter, scoring his fifth goal of the season. McLaughlin would get his second of the night giving his team a two-goal lead. Dan Coates would head to the box for holding and the Warriors capitalized, but it would be their last goal of the game as the Mammoth would end the game on a three-goal run. Jacob Ruest kept his scoring streak alive in the final minute notching an empty netter
Cupido was named the first star of the game scoring two shorthanded goals and getting two assists. The Mammoth head to Halifax and face the Thunderbirds next Saturday (1/11) at 6 p.m. ET, while the Warriors head to Philadelphia to take on the Wings on Friday (1/10) at 7 p.m. ET.
