The Colorado Mammoth dropped an 11-8 final during the team’s regular season finale inside Pechanga Arena. Now slated to face San Diego again next weekend as the No. 4 seed, everything will be on the line as the familiar foes will meet again next weekend during the NLL Quarterfinals.
Seeing San Diego forward Austin Staats opened the contest’s scoring just 88 seconds into the first quarter, Colorado quickly found itself down 1 early in the matchup. That wouldn’t stop Mammoth scorer Zed Williams from recording his 100th career goal, as the big=bodied forward backed his defenseman down before firing a fierce bid on net, beating Seals’ goaltender Frank Scigliano. Staats picked up his second of the night less than a minute later with a diving effort to reinstate the purple and yellow contingency’s early lead.
Dane Dobbie extended the home team’s lead to two with a shorthanded goal with just over five minutes to play in the opening quarter. O’Keefe made it three in a row for San Diego as he sent a low far-side bid past Mammoth goaltender Dillon Ward.
Bringing a 4-1 lead into the second quarter, the Seals made it four straight when Curtis Dickson found twine just 10 seconds into the period.
Snapping the run and getting the burgundy boys back on the board, Connor Robinson came around a set of picks top side and sent an insane shot toward net, beating Scigliano to bring Colorado back within two.
But just a minute and a half later, on the power play, Staats finished his first half hat trick with a dunk effort from behind the back of the cage to make it a 6-2 game.
After recording a sock trick two weeks ago when the teams last met, Wes Berg converted with an intense overhanded bid to extend San Diego’s lead to five midway through the second.
With just over a minute remaining in the first half, Mammoth forward Brett McIntyre sent a twister past Scigliano to bring a four-goal deficit into the second half at 7-3.
In just his third game of the season, Seals’ forward Jacob Dunbar got his team on the board again two minute into the third. His fourth of the night, Staats pulled up and logged another tally a minute later to give San Diego a 9-3 advantage.
Capitalizing on a man-up opportunity shortly after, Williams logged his second of the night to being Colorado back within five, five minutes into quarter three.
Continuing to showcase his ability to be one of the toughest matchups in the league, Williams finished a diving effort to complete his hat trick effort Saturday night midway through the third.
With two minutes left in the third, Eli McLaughlin made it three in a row for the defending champs, converting with a dunk attempt from behind the net.
Seconds after seeing Staats check captain Robert Hope in the groin on one end of rb floor, without drawing a call, the ball didn’t lie as forward Brett McIntyre fired a saucy bid past Scigliano to reduce San Diego’s lead to two just before the third quarter came to a close.
Pulling a rabbit out of his hat, the magician Connor Robinson put another one past Scigliano with 10 to play in the final quarter. But with a minute to play in the closing quarter, defenseman Patrick Shoemay was able to grow the lead to two before adding an empty net goal to solidify an 11-8 final.
Unfortunately for the Seals, San Diego will have to deal with the Mammoth during the NLL Quarterfinals, which are slated to begin this upcoming weekend, with San Diego and Calgary hosting home games in the opening round.
Finishing the season 9-9, Colorado will travel back to Pechanga Arena Friday, May 5 for the first round showdown.
