DENVER – The Colorado Mammoth dropped a 16-12 decision to the Philadelphia Wings Friday night on LOUD HOUSE Appreciation Night as 10,570 of the LOUDEST fans in lacrosse still showed up and supported the burgundy boys.
Colorado will now close out the back-to-back weekend Saturday night as they take on the Las Vegas Desert Dogs inside Michelob ULTRA Arena.
On a night where Eli McLaughlin notched a new single-season point record, he also led the team with six points (2g, 4a), while Connor Kelly (3g, 1a), Jalen Chaster (1g, 3a), Thomas Vela (1g, 2a) and Zed Williams rounded out scoring efforts. Tyler Carlson stopped 30-of-42 after coming in for an injured Ward.
Drawing an illegal cross-checking call three minutes into the game, the Philadelphia Wings took advantage of the early man-up opportunity, as forward Joe Resetarits stepped into a fierce overhand bid and slammed a bounced between Mammoth goaltender Dillon Ward’s leg to establish his team a 1-0 lead.
Completing an impressive 2-man-game effort four minutes later, Wings’ forward Ben McIntosh spun crease-side inside of his defender after setting a quick pick, accepted the well-placed lob pass and instantly found twine. Following up the effort just 25 seconds later, McIntosh doubled down, notching his 28th tally on the season, now three straight for Philadelphia.
Cashing in on another power-play opportunity, two minutes later, Mitch Jones earned the away team a four-goal lead as the run continued. Rolling high off a screen to his left, Holden Cattoni got in on the action, placing a long-ranged bid in the back of the net, now 5-0 with three and a half minutes remaining in the opening period.
Carlson entered the game at that point in relief of Ward, who didn’t return to the contest for the rest of the night. At the end of the first 15, the Wings were ahead by five.
Getting the good guys on the board midway through the second, Mammoth forward Zed Williams made it look easy. Accepting a quick pass from teammate Eli McLaughlin, the talented scorer flicked his stick and suddenly Colorado was on the board!
Making it two in a row for the Mammoth, the transition game came alive, as Tim Edwards and Tyler Garrison began sprinting as soon as Colorado had collected the loose ball. With Edwards screening a bit when the duo got to the net, it was Garrison who finished off the odd-man rush and restored the roar inside the LOUD HOUSE.
Momentum was flowing, as Williams did his best impression of … well, himself from a few minutes prior, as he patiently waited outside the crease, nearly wide open, before seeing Dylan Kinnear send him a nice little pass. Eventually beating Wings’ goaltender Zach Higgins up high, the home team was down just two with six minutes to play in the first half. After taking nearly 22 minutes to get on the board, Colorado produced three tallies in two minutes and fifteen seconds as they battled back.
Ending a scoreless 18-miunte drought, Philadelphia extended their lead back to three with 55 seconds remaining in the first half, as Resetarits took advantage of a series of offensive rebounds his team provided as they grinded out the final two minutes of play. Able to add a back-door finish with less than nine seconds remaining in the opening half, Jones secured his second of the game.
Seeing the Wings take a 7-3 advantage into the break, Colorado’s playoff hopes hung in the balance of these final two periods.
Just 14 seconds into the second half, the boy didn’t waste any time getting their affairs in order, as Zed Williams let one rip to complete his hat trick on the night en route to sparking some noise inside Ball Arena.
Following up the effort 67 seconds later, Mammoth forward Thomas Vela scored his first with the franchise, a pretty little thang, as Colorado was now just down two with plenty of time to play.
But after seeing former Mammoth scorer Sam LeClair (2:26) get one back from the away team and both Resetarits (2:57) and Jones (3:42) complete their respective hat tricks, the Wings suddenly had ripped of three-straight, now back ahead by five.
Once three minutes of scoreless play went by, the LOUD HOUSE erupted once again, as Jalen Chaster finished off a sick transition play to record his first goal of the season and climb Colorado back within four midway through the third.
A bit quiet in the first 45 minutes after putting four on the board last weekend, CK40 (Connor Kelly) navigated his way around his man while staying outside of the crease before laying it all out, beating Higgins with an epic effort to get Ball Arena rowdy once again! That goal represents his 30th of the season. And yes, Baby Shark WAS playing!
Answering back in devastating fashion, LeClair collected an awkward rebound and quickly peeled back around the crease, slamming home a horizontal bid past Carlson to restore Philadelphia’s four-goal lead with 51 seconds left in the third.
Converting a man-up look literally right after they were awarded the opportunity, Kelly doubled down with some top ched as defenseman Chad Tutton was FIERY about being called for the infraction moments before. Philadelphia may have taken an 11-8 lead into the final 15, but the burgundy boys were heating up again.
And just like that, Kelly went from QUIET to a LOUD HOUSE LEADER himself, completing the hat trick in two minutes and 40 seconds with a similar approach: Turning on the burners and taking the rock to the rack.
Once again able to come up with a quick response, it was McIntosh who finished a hat-trick effort of his own on the night of three-pieces. Coming up with a rare shorthanded tally, defenseman Ryan Wagner made it a 13-9 game by finishing a breakaway transition play with 12 to go.
His fourth of the night, McIntosh picked a corner and connected with it a minute later, as Philadelphia was up five late. Jones skipped a far-side bid around Carlson with 8:39 remaining, now 15-9 as the away team began running away with it.
Collecting a fierce rebound from his teammate Tim Edwards’ transition shot, Mammoth back-ender Jordan Gilles secured his fourth marker of the campaign by slamming the effort right back on net, thus getting LOUD HOUSE supporters back on their feet midway through the fourth!
Every rose has its thorns, no doubt, but the Wings just couldn’t fail when it came to quick retaliations, as Tutton scooped up a loose ball from the faceoff and darted towards the net, eventually beating Carlson.
Setting a new career-high for the most points in one season throughout the superstar’s career, Eli McLaughlin finished off a sick play with his fellow assistant captain Joey Cupido en route to securing his 84th point of the season (39g, 45a). Coming alive late, Liger logged his second of the night with a discreet finish, crashing the crease at an odd angle but scoring nonetheless.
That score would be the final tally of the night, however, as the Wings captured the 16-12 final.
Colorado will now travel to Las Vegas early Saturday morning as the team prepares to knock out its first and only back-to-back venture of the season. A late one, nonetheless, the Mammoth will be back in action Saturday, April 13 as they travel to Michelob ULTRA Arena to face off with the Las Vegas Desert Dogs!
