Mammoth Capture Season Series Over Panther City with Electric 14-12 Win

The Colorado Mammoth secured a 14-12 victory over Panther City Lacrosse Club on Military Appreciation Night inside Ball Arena Friday night. On a night where nearly 40 future military servicemen and women were sworn in at halftime, the team dedicated its efforts to those who have and continue to protect the stars and stripes.

Just thirty seconds into the rematch, Dylan Kinnear, Noah Lebar and Panther City defenseman Josh Medeiros found themselves in the box after things got personal and Medeiros refused to drop the gloves, but Panther City wasn’t able to cash in on the 5-on-4 opportunity.

As the penalty was expiring, another scrap ensued, as the West Conference opponents continued to develop their rivalry in their second year of cordialities. With four men in the box after the physical disagreement, the away team was awarded a penalty shot. Recent trade acquisition Callum Crawford beat Ward down low, granting his squad an early 1-0 lead.

Despite not allowing Panther City to score while being outnumbered 5-to-3, forward Jonathan Donville was able to extend the visiting team’s lead to two, dodging his opponent and directly darting for the crease, where he converted.

Frustrations continuing to boil over, it was Colorado’s turn to see a 5-on-3 look after Patrick Dodds and Liam Patten were each called for fouls midway through the first quarter.

Zed Williams quickly turned that opportunity into the Mammoth’s first goal of the night, collecting a loose ball in goaltender Nick Damude’s crease and immediately slamming it past him.

Making his 2022-23 debut, forward Ryan Lee got right back to work, sending a patented Leezer Lazer from the KeyBank logo to even the contest at two three minutes later. The goal represented the RIT product’s 250th career point, after breaking the single-season franchise record last year with 119 points in 18 games.

Mammoth forward Ty Thompson made it three in a row for Colorado on a transition opportunity courtesy of a nice outlet pass from Ward. Accepting a quick pass from floor-runner Jordan Gilles, Thompson sprinted toward twine, weighing his options before ultimately firing a side-armed bid to beat Damude, creating a 3-2 game.

Following a scoreless opening seven and a half minutes of second quarter action, Brett McIntyre doubled the lead for Colorado with an elite crease-side effort as the Mammoth continued riding the momentum of the home crowd.

Just over a minute later, former Mammoth Entry Draft selection Will Malcom earned his first of the night with a diving tally, bringing Panther City back within one with five minutes remaining in the first half.

Flyin’ Ryan Lee assumed his regular form in his first game back, and after being cleared for takeoff, went soaring across the crease and beat Damude over his left shoulder with a SportsCenter Top 10-type play as the Loud House erupted in approval. To say he was welcomed back would be an understatement.

Ward recorded one of his bast halves of play all year, limiting Panther City to three goals after making a handful of stellar plays amongst his 28 saves made in the opening 30 minutes of play.

Ty Thompson got the scoring started in the third quarter for Colorado, taking advantage of an early penalty called on Dylan Hutchinson with a nasty strike from the right side less than two minutes into the third. But the undisciplined play continued for Panther City, and after getting called for a two minute minor, Callum Crawford picked up another two-minute call for a disgruntled chat with the referee.

The Mammoth capitalized on the advantage, as Connor Robinson accepted a pick from the recently-returned Lee and quickly fired one on net, picking up his 19th of the year.

Head Coach Pat Coyle had to use his challenge midway through the third quarter, but for good use, as Colorado was credited with a Dylan Kinnear goal after the play was initially called off due to a crease violation. After review, it was confirmed good, and Colorado assumed an 8-3 lead.

Kinnear was called for elbowing les than a minute later, which quickly led to a Panther City power-play goal, courtesy of Patrick Dodds.

But on Colorado’s next possession, which was sparked by a high outlet pass by Ward, Jalen Chaster picked up his first goal of the season with a speedy transition finish. First falling down, with two defenders on him, he rose back to his feet and spun toward the net, beating Damude. Ward recorded his second assist of the night on the play, as Colorado regained a five-goal advantage.

After making a save on a Ryan Lee shot, netminder Nick Damude sent a full-length shot down the turf into an empty net as Colorado was looking to get a jump offensively to create a 9-6 game with three minutes to play.

With an insane backdoor feed from number 16, Thompson finished an amazing alley-oop opportunity to regain a four-goal lead for Colorado with less than a minute remaining in the third. It’s these types of athletic plays that the team missed during Lee’s absence, while Thompson’s efforts have been noticed in his limited play time this year as well.

Seeing Joaquim get called for an illegal cross-checking penalty, Panther City rookie Mathieu Gautier converted a quick strike to make a 7-10 ballgame. Immediately following the goal, Joaquim was hit with an another two-minute penalty for some remarks made exiting the penalty box.

Thirty seconds into the fourth quarter, Williams sent a rocket top ched, beating Damude up high and creating a four-goal cushion via the shorthanded tally for the home team.

But a mid-floor turnover five minutes into the final session resulted in a Tony Malcom transition tally, bringing Panther City within three. Dodds picked up another quick goal just less than a minute later, reducing its deficit to two with nine minutes remaining.

But it was time for a magic show, as Robinson spun his defender off him and buried a near side bid, creating a 12-9 game as the Loud House was restored with life. Literally five seconds later, defenseman Evan Downey ran a 3-on-2 off the draw with faceoff specialist Tim Edwards, who sent him the rock, and slammed home his third goal of the year. Ball Arena was rocking.

Dodds answered back by completing his hat trick with a tic-tac-toe effort, bringing his squad back within three with just over five minutes to play. Robinson picked up a five-minute penalty for cross-checking, causing the Mammoth to be down a man.

Dodds cashed in again as the forward called heat check and wasn’t denied, closing the gap to two. With a transition effort less than a minute later, Panther City defenseman Josh Medeiros beat Ward low, forcing a 13-12 contest with less than four to go.

Putting an end to the dramatic final 15, Zed Williams iced the game with a saucy strike as the Mammoth were burning clock, solidifying a 14-12 final. Similar to the ending of last weekend’s game, tempers flared, with a scrum coming together with 9 seconds to play.

Colorado exited the matchup victorious though, securing its first regular season series advantage of the year over Panther City, 2-1, after picking up a 12-9 win against the squad in Fort Worth earlier this season.

In his first game back from injury, Ryan Lee paced Mammoth scorers with 10 points (2g, 8a), the most a player has recorded in a single appearance this season in the team’s first 10 games. It was also the identical output he recorded the last time he was on the turf, in Calgary, during last year’s quarterfinal round. Zed Williams (3g, 1a) and Ty Thompson (3g, 1a) each recorded hat tricks in the tight win, while Connor Robinson chipped in five points (2g, 3a) on a night Colorado needed every single one of its goals.

Dylan Kinnear logged three points (1g, 2a), while Evan Downey, Brett McIntyre and Jalen Chaster each found the scoresheet in the dramatic win. Goaltender Dillon Ward stopped 46-of-57 shots on goal en route to earning his fifth victory of the year.