DENVER – The Colorado Mammoth dropped a 12-7 final to the Toronto Rock Saturday afternoon, falling to 1-6 on the road and 4-9 overall on the season.
Wasting little time in getting the home crowd involved, it was Toronto which struck first. Dan Lintner, with his back to the crease, accepted a pass before peeling around his defender and beating Mammoth goaltender Dillon Ward to get the Rock an early lead.
Following a solid session of quality goaltending play on both sides of the floor, Lintner doubled down with a long-range bouncer 10 minutes later to give the Rock a 2-0 lead.
Making it three straight for Toronto, forward Tom Schreiber took advantage of some space between he and captain Robert Hope, eventually pulling up while making his way to the inside of the floor and sending a nasty side-armed bid on net. Ward was able to get a piece of it, but not enough, as the ball trickled past the Ontario native and over the goal line.
Son of the team’s owner and general manager Jamie Dawick, forward Josh Dawick quickly followed up the effort less than two minutes later, now four in a row for Toronto, as he beat Ward from a distance with less than 90 seconds remaining in the opening quarter.
Finally getting the good guys on the board 19 minutes in, Eli McLaughlin watched on as his teammates executed some passing, but noticing some space in the middle of the 5-on-4 formation, sprinted toward the net before accepting a pass and beating Rock goaltender Nick Rose.
Now two consecutive for Colorado, defenseman Tyler Garrison got on the board for the first time this season in transition fashion, as Jalen Chaster sent a high-flying, turf-length pass to the veteran before the curly-haired back-ender found twine, now 4-2 on the night.
Keeping the transition energy flowing, Gilles took the rock the entire way and beat Rose top shelf to make it three in a row for Colorado as FirstOntario Centre watched on as away squad continued its run.
The pride of Hamilton himself, Joey Cupido finished off yet another transition play for the Mammoth, as Ward sent a lob pass directly into Cupido’s stick, which was quickly transferred to the back of the net as the hometown kid celebrated. 4-4!
Restoring some momentum for the red, white and blue squad, veteran scorer Chris Boushy converted a power-play bid to earn the advantage for Toronto with five minutes left into the second. That goal would serve as the final marker of the first 30, as the Rock took a one-goal, 5-4, lead into the break.
Just three minutes into the second half, Liger earned his second on the night. Left alone on the doorstep, he fielded the pass and instantly slammed one past Rose to knot the game at five per side.
Capitalizing on a man-up opportunity a minute and 45 seconds later, Colorado forward Tyson Gibson cashed in for the 17th time this season, as the formation worked the ball low before seeing the righty get his first of the contest.
Suffering a bit of an unfortunate bounce, Mammoth defenseman Josh Sullivan attempted to keep the ball from going over the goal line, but was un unsuccessful, as the veteran actually pushed it into the net en route to seeing the score become tied once again midway through the third. Dan Craig was credited with the goal, as it was his initial shot that created the situation to begin with.
Staying hungry, this time for some top ched, Gibson corralled a high pass from Zed Williams before instantly sending it Rose’s way. Connecting over the netminder’s left shoulder, Gibson logged his second of the night to regain another one-goal lead, this time 7-6.
Completing his hat trick after collecting an offensive rebound, Lintner went flying across the crease, faked far side before coming back and placing a twister over Ward’s left shoulder to once again tie the game, now at 7s. Mammoth head coach Pat Coyle attempted to challenge the play, but was deemed too late in throwing the flag as the game continued.
Collecting a rebound in similar fashion to his team’s previous goal, rookie Zack Kearney took advantage of a second chance, instantly beating Ward to earn his team its first lead in a while.
Just 18 seconds later, Rock defenseman Mitch de Snoo put on quite the show courtesy of a flashy finish. Creating a turnover at mid-turf, the veteran took the ball the distance of the floor before firing one past Ward to complete the impressive individual effort.
Schreiber was allotted some space to work at the top of the set, and made Colorado regret that fact, as the skilled scorer simply flicked his stick and lit the lamp. While Ward made contact with the shot, it snuck past his padding and into the net as Toronto established its first three-goal lead since the first quarter, 10-7.
Attempting to make a comeback late, the Mammoth pulled Ward for an extra attacker, but after the 6-on-5 set was unable to convert, Toronto iced the matchup with an empty-net goal. Following it up just 23 seconds later, Mark Matthews got in on the scoring action to solidify a 12-7 final.
Colorado will now endure a late-season bye week next weekend before returning to the LOUD HOUSE March 23 to host the Rochester Knighthawks. Limited tickets remain to the Mammoth’s next matchup inside Ball Arena, as the Knighthawks are primed to visit the LOUD HOUSE March 23 on Colorado Lacrosse Night, so lock yours in and get ready to TUSK UP!!!
