The Colorado Mammoth dropped a 16-10 decision to the Calgary Roughneck Friday night at Ball Arena as the third Rumble at the Loud House provided some additional postgame entertainment.
Calgary got the scoring started four minutes into the contest, courtesy of the club’s ever-active transition unit. Receiving a long pass from goaltender Christian Del Bianco near midfield, defenseman Shane Simpson slammed a bouncer home past Mammoth netminder Dillon Ward, establishing an early lead for the Roughnecks. Transition specialist Zach currier added another three minutes later, via a shorthanded opportunity.
But just seven seconds later, fresh off a Tim Edwards’ faceoff win, defenseman Evan Downey picked up his fourth of the year by sprinting the net and beating Del Bianco down low to chop Calgary’s lead in half.
In his first game back from injury, veteran forward Rhys Duch followed it up with a goal of his own just over a minute later, tying the game early at two a side.
Calgary went on to log a pair of goals as the opening quarter surged on, receiving a pair of conversions from forward Jesse King with 4:30 and four minutes remaining. The run continued three minutes later, when a Josh Currier shot made contact with Ward, but eventually trickled over the goal line, creating an early three-goal lead for the Roughnecks.
The Roughnecks kept it going in the second quarter, creating a 6-2 game three minutes into the session as Tanner Cook slammed a back-door bid past Ward. The away contingency struck again two minutes later, in transition, as defenseman Mitch Wilde finished the sprinting play with a goal, his second of the campaign.
Following a scoreless X minutes of play, the Roughnecks extended their lead to six when X accepted a pass at the top of the key and immediately sent one to the net, beating Ward.
After Edwards secured another win in the faceoff circle, Downey and Mammoth forward Zed Williams executed a rare 2-on-0 opportunity, as Downey bounced a shot off Del Bianco before Williams grabbed it out of mid-air and found twine, creating an 8-3 contest.
Answering back shortly after, Calgary forward Dan Taylor came around a set of screens and managed to score, forcing backup goaltender Tyler Carlson to enter the game in relief.
Zach Currier, with his second of the night, kept the streak alive for Calgary with three minutes to play in the half. With four seconds to play in the half, Haiden Dickson fired a laser past Carlson, granting the Roughnecks an 11-3 advantage at the break.
The away team got right back to it in the second half as Josh Currier gained position on his man and beat him crease-side less than a minute into the third quarter. After drawing a penalty on Downey during the team’s next possession, Calgary cashed in on the extra-man advantage with another back-door conversion, granting them a 10-goal lead.
Ball Arena played Baby Shark on Colorado’s next possession, which naturally resulted in a quick strike from Mammoth forward Dylan Kinnear. Walking the rock up from midfield himself, he took off toward the net with three defenders draped on him and sent a sick side-armed bid past Del Bianco to bring Colorado back within nine.
After drawing a five-minute boarding penalty, Williams sent a nasty over-hand shot from the top of the formation past Del Bianco, but Calgary erased the marker 30 seconds later via another Wilde goal, now 14-5 in favor of the Roughnecks.
Defenseman Jalen Chaster picked up his second tally of the year five minutes later though, in transition fashion. Mammoth forward Brett McIntyre turned it into two-straight a minute later, bringing the Mammoth back within seven. The score would stay 14-7 to end the fourth.
Stopping the potential momentum shift, Calgary defenseman Reece Callies buried one four minutes into the final quarter, but Colorado wouldn’t go down without a fight. Completing his hat trick on the evening, Williams found some space and took advantage, beating Del Bianco to establish a 15-8 contest.
Three minutes later, Duch kept the streak going with a goal of his own, further fueling the potential comeback. After coming around a pick a ways away from the net, Kinnear fired an absolute rocket from distance, finding twine and bringing the Mammoth within five with five minutes to play. But the comeback effort stopped there, as Calgary cemented a 16-10 final with a late empty-net goal.
Zed Williams (3g, 1a) and Dylan Kinnear (2g, 2a) paced Mammoth scorers with points each, while Rhys Duch (2g, 1a), Evan Downey (1g, 2a), Eli McLaughlin (0g, 3a) and Evan Downey (1g, 2a) each recorded three points in the loss. Jalen Chaster (1g, 0a) and Brett McIntyre (1g, 0a) each got on the board as well.
Colorado will prepare to head east for its next matchup with the Buffalo Bandits on March 18 as the opponents meet for the first time since clashing in the NLL Finals last year. The Mammoth will next place in the Loud House on March 31 as the team hosts the league’s most recent expansion team, the Las Vegas Desert Dogs, for a Western Conference showdown inside Ball Arena.
Fans can stay tuned to coloradomammoth.com and Colorado Mammoth social media channels for the latest news, transactions and all things #tuskup
