DENVER – The Colorado Mammoth of the National Lacrosse League (NLL) recorded a 20-9 victory over the Buffalo Bandits Saturday night at Ball Arena in front of 9,114 LOUD and ROWDY fans.
Advancing to 6-2 on the season, the Mammoth have now captured five-consecutive victories and remain one of the hottest teams in the league.
Mammoth forward Andrew Kew recorded a sock trick amongst his 11 points (7g, 4a) while netminders Dillon Ward (30-for-37) and Nathan Whittom (10-for-12) shared duties between the posts.
Fresh off a spicy ten-point game during his LOUD HOUSE debut last weekend, forward Andrew Kew wasted no time getting the scoring stated Saturday night. Operating the set, he peeled high around a set of screens options but decided to fire, which trickled its way past Bandits’ netminder Matt Vinc to grant the home team an early lead during Colorado’s opening possession.
Two in a row for the good guys, No. 42 stepped into a nasty overhand shot, which ALSO made its way past Vinc as Kew had the Burgundy Boys up 2-0 barely two minutes into the contest.
“The Tiger” Jack Hannah was prowling around shortly after. Putting his athletic ability on display, he navigated around his side of the floor before turning on the burners and notching his first of the night and seventh of the season as Colorado was feeling it early.
Making it four-straight to open the night, the Colorado offense put on one hell of a tic-tac-toe set with four seconds remaining to gain a four-goal lead heading into the second. Thomas Vela accepted the final pass of the sequence on the back door and slammed one past Vinc as it was all Colorado throughout the first.
Able to hold the three-time defending NLL Champions to zero conversions in the opening quarter, Ward and company looked sharp early.
About as ferocious as they come, Hannah went airborne for his second score of the night. Making some heavy contact in the process was no problem for No. 33, as the youngster finished the play in stunning fashion while making it five consecutive goals for the Mammoth less than 90 seconds into the second quarter.
And the LOUD HOUSE was BUZZING!
Rookie defenseman Connor Nock was getting under the skin of Buffalo personnel left and right, which led to a 5-on-4 opportunity early in the second … which led to an Andrew Kew hat trick moments later. Finishing the odd-man look in transition fashion, the flow-forward scorer forced Ball Arena to explode once again as the Mammoth were ROLLING.
Waiting until just over 20 minutes into the competition to get on the board, Buffalo’s Tehoka Nanticoke finally lit the lamp for the visitors. Needing a delayed penalty, 6-on-5 look to get the job done, the Bandits were back within five six minutes into the second.
Now two-straight for Buffalo, Dylan Robinson took off sprinting and finished the breakaway transition effort all by himself, beating Ward to create a 6-2 game midway through the period.
Instantly retaliating, literally just 14 seconds later, Jalen Chaster went top shelf and absolutely STUNG the corner as Vinc had no shot at reacting whatsoever. The Mammoth were back in front by five and the fans were engaged once more.
Again, striking via man-up circumstances, Buffalo’s Nanticoke scored his second power-play goal of the night, this time coming in the form of a dunk as the Bandits climbed back to within four.
Top ched once again, Dylan McIntosh got in on the action with an impressive snipe, his eighth of the campaign. He didn’t need a fancy move or any shot fakes to do his job. He simply pulled up and hit the spot he wanted – And the crowd responded appropriately!
McIntosh’s first goal merely paved the way for a flashier finish moments later, as he stepped around his defender and flung a high to low saucer past Vinc’s lower left side to grant the Mammoth a six-goal advantage with less than five minutes remaining in the half.
Yet, Buffalo drummed up an answer of their own just 21 seconds later during the team’s next possession, as MacKay let one rip from an odd angle to beat Ward.
As the quarter raged on, so did Andrew Kew, who notched his fourth of the night. Only to be followed up by McIntosh completing his hat trick 23 seconds later …
Only to be followed up with a conversion from rookie forward Braedon Saris shortly after as the end of the half brought out another wave of scoring from the home team. Representing his fifth marker of the year, the No. 5 overall selection in the 2025 NLL Entry Draft was fitting in just fine.
When the opening 30 minute of play were in the books, Colorado brought a 12-4 lead and a whole lot of momentum into the break.
Just 32 seconds into the third quarter, Kew kept Colorado’s hot night going, beating backup goaltender Evan Constantopoulos to grant the Mammoth a nine-goal lead.
And wouldn’t you know it, the team’s other first-round selection in last fall’s draft, Connor Nock, went horizontal to earn his second goal of the season and cause Ball Arena to erupt again. Colorado was absolutely handing it to Buffalo early in the second half, now up 10.
Scoring in now a third-straight game, the man nicknamed “Timmy Secrets” has been anything other than quiet lately, as No. 3 finished the transition look midway through the third to reignite the LOUD HOUSE once more.
Buffalo’s Josh Byrne found the scoresheet less than a minute later to bring the Bandits back to within 10 as the road team was visibly struggling to shake off its slow start.
Socks quickly went flying over the boards late in the third as Andrew Kew completed the sock trick feat, aka six goals scored, as Mammoth fans were feeling just fine about exiting Ball Arena without said layer of clothing. A party was being thrown at the LOUD HOUSE!
Tough guy Dylan Robinson picked a fight with the smallest cat on the floor moments later … and quickly found himself knocked to the ground following a set of landed punches, as Thomas Vela ruthlessly pounded the defenseman. Talk about embarrassing …
Drawing a 5-on-4 man-up scenario following the tussle, Colorado’s Saris cashed in his second of the night as this one was allllllllllll Mammoth late in the third, now up 17-5.
Picking up the slack a bit with less than 15 seconds to play in the period, Dhane Smith brought the Bandits back to within 11 as Buffalo was down bad heading to the final 15.
Goaltender Nathan Whittom entered the game early in the fourth quarter, as Ward did his job and did it well throughout the first 45 minutes of action.
Smith ended up solving the goaltender two-and-a-half minutes into the fourth, but the Mammoth were still up 10 with just over 12 to play.
Veteran forward Ryan Benesch logged a power-play tally two minutes later to reduce Colorado’s lead to nine as the Bandits attempted a late comeback.
However, Kew wanted a seventh – and got exactly that midway through the fourth as the veteran scorer was putting his skillset on FULL display.
Finishing a two-on-two look on the opposite end of the floor less than a minute later, MacKay recorded his second of the night.
But a fourth on the night from McIntosh reinstated a ten-goal lead for the Mammoth.
Tying the most goals scored in franchise history at 20, the first time the feat had been accomplished since 2015, Braedon Saris became a part of Mammoth history with his career-first hat trick while notching Colorado’s 20th marker of the matchup.
Which solidified the 20-9 final as the Mammoth secured its fifth-consecutive victory.
Andrew Kew paced Mammoth scorers with 11 points (7g, 4a), while Jack Hannah (2g, 7a), Braedon Saris (3g, 4a) and Dylan McIntosh did the heaviest lifting in the dominant win.
Limited tickets remain for Colorado’s Valentine’s Day showdown against the Toronto Rock, so be sure to lock in your tickets and get ready to TUSK UP!
Mammoth fans can stay tuned to coloradomammoth.com and Colorado Mammoth social media channels throughout the season for the latest league updates, team transactions and beyond.
