The Colorado Mammoth dashed the Saskatchewan Rush’s hopes for First Place after a 13-11 win at the SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon on Saturday night.
The win moves the Mammoth into a tie for First Place with the Vancouver Warriors at 12-5. It was a crucial loss for the Rush, as they drop to 11-6 and are tied with the Buffalo Bandits and Toronto Rock for fourth place.
This was Saskatchewan’s third loss in a row, and they have now lost five of their last six.
Saturday night was a tale of two halves. The Mammoth were dominant in the first half, jumping out to an 8-1 lead. However, Saskatchewan outscored them 10-5 in the second half as they attempted a comeback.
Dillon Ward stopped 38 of 49 shots and was outstanding in the win, while Frank Scigliano stopped 28 of 41 in the loss.
Jake Naso went 19 of 28 at the faceoff dot. However, Colorado’s faceoff man Matthew Paolatto went down with an injury in the second quarter.
Special teams were a huge factor. The Rush were uncharacteristically undisciplined, as the Mammoth went five-for-six on the man advantage, while Saskatchewan went one-for-two.
First Quarter
It was all Mammoth in the first quarter, as Dillon Ward turned aside all shots he faced.
Will Malcom opened the scoring at the 3:58 mark on the power play with an outside shot. Malcom struck again 35 seconds later, using his speed to get to the net to make it 2-0.
Dylan McIntosh scored at the 8:07 mark, diving through the crease to extend Colorado’s lead.
The Mammoth rounded out the first-quarter scoring as Braedon Saris found Owen Rahn crashing the net with 1:50 left on the clock to make it 4-0.
Second Quarter
Life didn’t get any better for the Rush in the second quarter.
Jameson Bucktooth scored from behind the net on the power play at the 6:43 mark, followed by Saris in close on the power play at 7:16 to make it 6-0.
Saris then sent a cross-floor pass to Malcom 17 seconds later, also on the power play, to make it a seven-goal game.
Saskatchewan ended its 19:07 scoreless drought when Austin Shanks found the top corner.
However, with 40.9 seconds on the clock, Tim Edwards picked up a loose ball and scored on a breakaway. Ward stopped 17 of 18 shots in the first half as the Mammoth led 8-1.
Third Quarter
Saskatchewan came out swinging in the second half, scoring four goals in 33 seconds.
Brock Haley opened the scoring with an outside shot that got by Ward at 2:05. Sixteen seconds later, Ryan Keenan found Robert Church to make it 8-3.
Off the ensuing faceoff, Jake Naso won the draw and played pitch-and-catch with Mike Messenger before scoring to cut the lead in half.
Naso then won the next draw and took it down the floor to score six seconds later, making it 8-5.
Colorado got back on the board at 3:25, with Jack Hannah hopping over the crease for the Mammoth’s ninth goal.
Saskatchewan kept chipping away. Church scored from inside on the power play at 5:14 to make it a three-goal game. Manns scored on a low shot at 7:40 to make it 9-7.
The Mammoth scored two quick goals at the end of the third. Malcom found Jalen Chaster diving through the crease with 1:10 left on the clock. Hannah then added a high-to-low shot on the power play with 20.6 seconds remaining to make it 11-7 heading into the fourth quarter.
Fourth Quarter
The Rush would not go away. Messenger found Zach Manns on a breakaway in transition at 1:45 to get Saskatchewan back within three.
Hannah replied at 5:22 with a highlight-reel, behind-the-back goal.
Haley responded 23 seconds later, hitting the post and finding the back of the net to make it 12-9.
Haley then completed his hat trick with a rifle of a shot from the outside at 6:48, cutting the deficit to two.
The Rush made it interesting as Messenger found Keenan open shorthanded with 3:27 left on the clock to make it a 12-11 game.
Hannah rounded out the scoring with 2:28 left as the Mammoth dashed the Rush’s hopes for First Place with a 13-11 win.
Rush co-head coach Derek Keenan and faceoff specialist Jake Naso spoke after the game:
Top Scorers
Colorado Mammoth
- Jack Hannah, 4g 5a
- Will Malcom, 3g 5a
- Braedon Saris, 1g 3a
Saskatchewan Rush
- Ryan Keenan, 1g 5a
- Zach Manns, 2g 3a
- Mike Messenger, 4a
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