The Colorado Mammoth dropped a 13-9 contest to the San Diego Seals at Ball Arena and fall to 3-2 on the year. On a night which saw more than 10,000 fans inside the Loud House, Mammoth goaltender Dillon Ward was a last minute scratch after being moved to the Injured Reserve List Saturday evening.
Seemingly juiced for each of his Denver visits since transitioning to the yellow and purple contingency, Seals’ forward Dane Dobbie got the scoring started early Saturday. Receiving a feed while speeding past midfield, Dobbie dove across the crease and beat Mammoth goaltender Tyler Carlson up high to give his team an early advantage.
In his first season with his new team, forward Kevin Crowley doubled down on an early lead for San Diego, accepting a lob pass and firing a quick shot past Carlson three minutes into the first.
The two goals would serve as the opening quarter’s only tallies, as youngster Christopher Origlieri pitched a shutout and Carlson looked sharp.
Continuing to cheat time itself, defenseman Brodie Merrill made a smart play nearly two minutes into the half, halting a transition opportunity of his own with a quick shovel pass to teammate Wes Berg, who slammed one home to extend the lead to three.
San Diego made it four in a row when Austin Staats accepted a pass after a defensive switch, curled crease-side and went top ched to make it a 4-0 ball game.
The Seals finished a tic-tac-toe play five minutes later, getting Carlson to move side to side before Crowley eventually beat him far side to make it five in a row, his second of the night.
With just less than five minutes in the first half, Brett McIntyre got Colorado on the board via an elite diving effort, soaring from Origlieri’s left across the goaltender and tucking it far side to bring the Mammoth back within four.
Dobbie answered back before the half was over though, and fellow former Calgary Roughneck Curtis Dickson complemented the effort with his own three minutes later, but Eli McLaughlin was able to send Colorado to the half with a little momentum after cashing in on a rare penalty shot opportunity. McLaughlin beat his opposition low, crafting a 7-2 score at the end of the opening 30.
Courtesy of a roughing penalty called on Brett Craig less than four minutes into the third quarter, Dickson converted on the extra-man opportunity, but McLaughlin fired back on Colorado’s next possession. Working around a quick pick high side, he sent a sly bouncer past Origlieri’s right side to cut the deficit to five. Veteran Rhys Duch picked up his 600th career assist on the play.
Superman Curtis Dickson earned the first hat trick of the evening with a diving bid, restoring San Diego’s lead to six with 10 to play in the third. Dobbie went on to mimic the effort, earning his third of the night at the 9:15 mark.
Berg got in on the fun four minutes later, but not without awakening a moose, as Warren Jeffrey converted on a rare scoring opportunity immediately following the ensuing faceoff.
The Magician Connor Robinson picked up his first of the night from the top of the point, a team-high 11th for the forward, as Colorado climbed back within six late in the third.
But as previously mentioned, Dobbie gets up for the Loud House, reminding fans by logging his fourth of the night. Tre Leclair cleaned up a sloppy exchange at mid-floor and took it the distance, creating a 13-5 game.
Defenseman Joey Cupido went flying down the turf after a Dobbie goal was waved off, and the veteran found a surging Zed Williams outside the crease, who beat Origlieri for his first of the night. As the defenseman continued to spark Colorado’s snoozy O-unit, defenseman Jordan Gilles logged his second of the campaign on a strike with just over five minutes to play.
After seeing the aging San Diego captain get himself ejected from the game, McLaughlin picked up a hat trick with his third of the evening, only to be followed quickly by a second contribution from Robinson on the team’s next possession.
Eli McLaughlin paced Mammoth scorers with four points (3g, 1a), while Connor Robinson recorded three (2g, 1a). Mammoth goaltender Tyler Carlson recorded 45 saves in his first start of the season.
Colorado will now prepare for its only back-to-back of the season, first hosting the Georgia Swarm for Lacrosse Out Cancer Night at the Loud House before travelling to face the NLL’s newest franchise in the Las Vegas Desert Dogs for the first time. Limited tickets for the Mammoth’s Feb. 3 Lacrosse Out Cancer Night remain available for purchase.
Be sure to stay tuned to coloradomammoth.com and Colorado Mammoth social media channels for the latest team updates, transactions, fan events and beyond as the 2022-23 NLL campaign rages on!
