DENVER – The Colorado Mammoth dropped an 11-5 decision to the Calgary Roughnecks Saturday night inside Scotiabank Saddledome.
The loss officially ended Colorado’s March to May playoff push, completing the season with an 8-10 record as the team was excluded from the postseason in consecutive seasons for the first time in franchise history.
Goaltender Dillon Ward ended the evening by shattering a pair of single-season franchise records, now sitting atop the organization’s all-time rankings in minutes played (1016:09) and saves (722) after stopping 40-of-51 in during Saturday night’s affair.
Defensemen Brett Craig and Owen Down drew back into the lineup from the team’s Injured Reserve List. But on a night where the Mammoth only logged five conversions, losing Connor Kelly to IR couldn’t have come at a more decimating time.
Courtesy of some early 4-on-4 action due to unrelated penalties, Calgary’s Haiden Dickson got the action started five minutes in as the home crowd got involved early.
But it was a wave of Mammoth momentum which ensued, as forward Thomas Vela notched his 11th of the season a mere 45 seconds later to notch the game at ones.
Ryan Lee was afforded some space outside the crease and slammed home some top shelf action to make it two-straight for the Burgundy Boys.
Following the opening 15, Colorado held a 2-1 lead as Ward surrendered just one conversion throughout the first quarter.
Getting the scoring started for the second-straight period, Vela found twine low working with Will Malcom as the Mammoth were ahead two goals just 100 seconds into quarter two.
Calgary’s Curtis Dickson fired near side and low, albeit from distance, as the man known as “Superman” beat Ward midway through the second while bringing his team back within one in long-range fashion.
Two in a row for the home team, forward Tyler Pace made his way to the scoresheet working left to right across the crease before crashing to the ground as he lit the lamp.
With the Georgia Swarm clinching its win over the Buffalo Bandits, Calgary now understood this was a “must win” game and donned a respective response after quite the snoozy start.
Three in a row and a second for Curtis Dickson, the veteran accepted a turf-length pass from goaltender Nick Rose and completed the transition effort exactly 61 seconds later.
A mere seven seconds later, faceoff specialist Justin Inacio won the draw and darted toward an awaiting Ward. Crashing into the crease while launching a shot on net, Inacio’s shot found its way past Ward’s line as the home team managed four consecutive tallies while recapturing some momentum of their own ahead of halftime.
Ryan Lee reminded fans on both sides that he came to ball, notching his first of the night in high-flying fashion as the Mammoth battled back to within one.
Cook went low on Ward with just under three minutes to play in the first half to reinstate a two-goal advantage for Calgary as another scoring storm was brewing.
Activated earlier in the day, defenseman Reece Callies finished a 3-on-2 transition look as the Roughnecks had the Scotiabank Saddledome audience rocking.
Just 24 seconds later, Curtis Dickson completed his first-half trick by weaving his way through a trio of Mammoth defensemen. Despite taking some shots and jabs, the veteran beat Ward while spotting his team an 8-4 lead late in the half.
Which would serve as the score following the inaugural 30 minutes of action, with the home team bringing some swag into the break.
Colorado, however, has been known to be one of the league’s most resilient teams the past few years and were far from counted out with two quarters to play.
Following a fury of back-and-forth passes 90 seconds into the fresh slate, Cook sent a quick-stick look to an awaiting Haiden Dickson, who completed the play on the backdoor as the Roughnecks cruised to their first five-goal lead of the night, 9-4.
Extinguishing a 10-minute scoreless stretch, Curtis Dickson notched his fourth of the night while setting a new personal career-best point total as the Roughnecks made it five in a row with three to play in the penultimate period.
When the final 15 minutes of play arrived, Calgary owned a 10-4 advantage and the drama was cranked to 11.
Killing a 23-minute scoring drought, Lee finished off his hat-trick feat from distance with just under 11 minutes to play.
That, however, would serve as the game’s last goal until Cook cemented an 11-5 final courtesy of an empty-net conversion with less than a minute to play.
Ryan Lee paced Mammoth contributors with four points (3g, 1a), while Thomas Vela (2g, 0a) served as the team’s only other scorer.
Mammoth fans can stay tuned to coloradomammoth.com and Colorado Mammoth social media channels throughout the offseason and 2025 NLL Cup Playoffs for league updates, team transactions and beyond.
Colorado salutes its dedicated fanbase for another tremendous season of support and hopes everyone enjoys their summer getting sticks in hands and enjoying the game we all love.
