The best team in the NLL in the fourth quarter did it again, as the Ottawa Black Bears picked up a 10-5 win over the Colorado Mammoth on Saturday night.
Tied 5-5 heading into the fourth quarter, the Black Bears outscored the Mammoth 5-0, including three straight goals from Jeff Teat.
The loss drops the Mammoth to 9-4. They now sit tied with Vancouver for second place and a full game back of Saskatchewan for first.
Meanwhile, Ottawa continues to climb the standings with an 8-5 record.
Teat led the Ottawa offence with four goals and three assists for seven points, while Rob Hellyer was a playmaker with five assists. Colorado’s offence struggled as Zach Higgins faced just 38 shots and stopped 33.
Andrew Kew led the Mammoth with four goals and an assist for five points. Dillon Ward did his best to keep Colorado in the game, stopping 41 of 51 shots.
First Quarter
The game went scoreless for the first 5:53 before Larson Sundown scored on the power play, diving from behind the net for Ottawa.
Colorado tied it right back up as Kew rifled one past Higgins at the 7:05 mark.
The Mammoth then took the lead at 8:14 as Dylan McIntosh picked up a rebound off a shot from Jack Hannah and scored, making it 2-1 after one quarter of play.
Second Quarter
Ottawa came charging back early in the second quarter. Hellyer found Connor Kearnan streaking through the middle just 37 seconds into the frame to tie the game.
Jake Stevens then gave Ottawa a 3-2 lead at the 2:22 mark. On transition, he took the ball himself on a three-on-one and scored.
Colorado retook the lead with a pair of power-play goals from Kew. At the 7:17 mark, he scored on a high-to-low shot to tie the game 3-3.
Then, on a five-on-three power play, Kew danced through the defence to give Colorado a 4-3 lead at halftime.
Third Quarter
The Mammoth opened the scoring on the power play at 3:45 as Kew’s sidearm shot went five-hole to give Colorado a two-goal advantage.
Colorado’s offence would go silent after that.
Kearnan found Sundown at the side of the net for a quick-stick goal on the power play at 6:53 to make it 5-4.
Hellyer then found Teat up the middle at 7:03 to tie the game 5-5 heading into the fourth quarter.
Fourth Quarter
The best fourth-quarter team in the NLL flexed its muscles once again in the final 20 minutes, outscoring the Mammoth 5-0.
Reilly O’Connor put one over Ward’s shoulder on the power play at 3:13 to give the Black Bears the lead.
Teat then took over with three straight goals. At the 8:56 mark, he spun and dodged defenders to buy time before scoring.
He struck again 1:02 later, taking a pass from Hellyer and diving through the crease to make it 8-5.
Teat scored his fourth of the game at 10:46 with a shot between two defenders.
Matt Marinier added an empty-net goal to cap a dominant fourth quarter for Ottawa as the Black Bears went on to win 10-5.
Top Scorers
Ottawa Black Bears
Jeff Teat — 4g, 3a
Rob Hellyer — 5a
Sam Firth — 3a
Colorado Mammoth
Andrew Kew — 4g, 1a
Braedon Saris — 3a
Jack Hannah — 3a
Don’t forget to check us out every Sunday night at 8pm (ET)
