The Colorado Mammoth opened their season on the road Saturday night, traveling to Rogers Arena to face the Vancouver Warriors. Missing the playoffs last year after an 8-10 finish, Colorado’s offseason moves included trading Connor Kelly to Georgia for Andrew Kew and trading Connor Robinson to San Diego for future draft picks. The Mammoth also selected Braedon Saris and Connor Nock fifth and tenth overall (respectively) in the Entry Draft.
Vancouver made perhaps the biggest splash in the offseason, bringing in a plethora of big-name players, including Curtis Dickson, Jesse King, Shane Simpson and Reece Callies. After an 11-7 campaign last year, falling in the semifinals to eventual champion Buffalo, the Warriors are on the short list of candidates to stop the Bandits from completing the first four-peat in NLL Cup history. However, it wasn’t enough to start the season on the right foot, as Will Malcom recorded a sock trick in a 10-7 win for Colorado.
Mammoth lead after tight first half
The first quarter was a tight defensive struggle between the teams. Andrew Kew scored his first goal as a member of the Mammoth with just four seconds remaining in the quarter for a 1-0 Colorado lead. Will Malcom (3:45 second quarter) put the Mammoth up 2-0 to start his big night. Vancouver cut the lead in half when Ryan Sheridan (4:23 power play) put his defender in a spin cycle and beat Mammoth goaltender Dillon Ward high on the far side. Ryan Lee scored a minute and a half later to push the lead back to two before Jesse King scored his first goal as a member of the Warriors (13:58 power play). Colorado carried a 3-2 lead into halftime.
Five-goal run in third quarter the difference for Mammoth
Vancouver would take a 4-3 lead early in the second half as Curtis Dickson scored his first goal in a Warriors uniform (1:22 power play), and Adam Charalmbides followed with another power play goal at 3:24. But the Mammoth would rally, scoring five unanswered goals in the third quarter. Malcom netted three straight (3:48; 5:50 power play; 8:40 power play), Kew scored his second (9:41), then Malcom tallied his fifth goal of the night (10:04) for an 8-4 lead. A second goal from Charalambides (12:30) broke the run and cut the Vancouver deficit to 8-5 going into the fourth quarter.
The Warriors pulled within 8-7 in the fourth quarter as Dickson scored his second (4:07), followed by Keegan Bal (7:15). Malcom scored his sock trick goal 22 seconds later, and Dylan McIntosh, acquired from the Warriors in the offseason, pushed the Mammoth lead to 10-7 (10:57). Vancouver could not get any closer, and Colorado escaped with a big road win to start the season. Both teams are off in Week 2 before returning to action in Week 3 – Colorado travels to Philadelphia, while Vancouver hosts the new-look Las Vegas Desert Dogs.
Other Stats Of Note
Mammoth: Malcom (6g, 2a); Kew (2g, 5a); Lee (1g, 6a); McIntosh (1g, 1a); Tim Edwards (2a); Matthew Paolatto (1a)
Warriors: Dickson (1g, 1a); Charalambides (2g, 1a); Bal (1g, 6a); King (1g, 3a); Sheridan (1g, 1a); Marcus Klarich (2a)
Faceoffs: COL 16 of 20; VAN 4 of 20
Dillon Ward (COL): 37 saves; Christian Del Bianco (VAN): 36 saves
Power Play: COL 2 of 7; VAN 4 of 8
