Don’t look now, but the Colorado Mammoth may have found their mojo. After one of their worst starts to the season in recent history, the Mammoth came back with a vengeance Friday night at the Loud House. They played host to a streaking New York Riptide team, and quelled their momentum convincingly. Using a 10-goal run between the third and fourth quarters, Colorado quickly put this game to bed, cruising to an 18-10 win.
Let’s give credit where credit is due; New York is playing some quality lacrosse. The Riptide very much controlled the first half of this game. But, as we said, the wheels quickly fell off in the second half.
Larson Sundown and Reilly O’Connor rattled off the first two goals of the game. Brett Craig tallied Colorado’s first goal of the game with a beauty in transition for the second game in a row, and was followed up by Connor Robinson. The two-in-a-row continued as Austin Madronic and John LaFontaine each got their first for New York, and that’s how the first ended. 4-2 ‘Tide after one.
New York kept up the furious pace in the second quarter. Zed Williams did get the first of the frame for New York, but was quickly answered by Connor Kearnan and Jeff Teat. Eli McLaughlin and Teat traded goals, maintaining the three-goal lead for the Riptide. Robinson got his second and Tyson Gibson got his first to narrow the deficit to one, but Kearnan’s second gave New York the 8-6 lead going into the break.
Let’s show some love to the goaltenders, as both were extremely stout considering the offensive firepower on the opposition. Dillon Ward made 20 saves on 28 shots, while Cameron Dunkerley stopped 19 of 25.
“I think we’re just playing with good pace right now, playing unselfish and taking our shots when we have them,” said Teat at halftime. “We just have to be adaptable.”
Cue Colorado’s offensive onslaught. Gibson got his second and third, both on the power play, and you could tell the momentum was drastically swinging. Kevin Brownell got his first in transition, but that’d be the last goal New York would score for quite some time. Colorado completely shut down New York for the remainder of the third, all the while scoring four goals of that 10-goal run. Scorers were Gibson, his fourth and another power play marker, Williams, his second, Dylan Kinnear, and Robinson, his third. Just like that, it was 12-9 Colorado after three.
Six more for Colorado in an 11-minute span was the story in the fourth. Scoring was furious and Ward was as stingy as a goalie could be. Dunkerley was removed after Robinson’s goal to end the third, and Will Johnston didn’t fare much better. Scorers for Colorado were Chris Wardle, Williams’ third on the power play, Connor Kelly, and McLaughlin three times in a row, giving him four. Eli was just showing off as his fourth goal was a beauty as he received a pass and fired a behind-the-back shot that beat Johnston. Yuck. O’Connor finally broke the Riptide scoreless streak with a power play marker, but it was way too late to even think about a comeback. Your final from the Loud House, 18-10 Mammoth.
Players of the game for Colorado were McLaughlin (4+5), Gibson (4+2), and Robinson (3+4). Ward was downright filthy in the second half, stopping 33 of 43 in total. For New York, Teat (2+3), Kearnan (2+3), and O’Connor (2+1) led the way. Dunkerley had a phenomenal first half, but not so much in the second. He made 28 saves on 40 shots in 43:19 of game play. Johnston had a rough go as well, making nine saves on 15 shots the rest of the way.
“The Loud House kept us going, and we were able to turn it around in the second half,” said Gibson after the game. “Lacrosse is a game of hot stick and I was fortunate tonight.”
Colorado (4-7) looks to build off this win and start climbing the standings. They stay home and welcome Saskatchewan (3-5) next Saturday at 10 p.m. New York (5-6) is still very much in the playoff conversation. They look to start fresh as they travel to Albany (8-2) next Saturday at 7 p.m.
