fbpx

BUF at SD - Sat. 10pm ET on ESPNews Schedule

×
WK
1
Fri, Dec 2
FINAL
Philadelphia
8
Halifax
18
Sat, Dec 3
FINAL
Vancouver
8
Toronto
19
Sat, Dec 3
FINAL
San Diego
15
New York
14
Sat, Dec 3
FINAL
Albany
11
Buffalo
10
Sat, Dec 3
FINAL
Rochester
16
Georgia
11
Sat, Dec 3
FINAL
Colorado
6
Saskatchewan
18
WK
2
Fri, Dec 9
FINAL
Las Vegas
11
Panther City
13
Fri, Dec 9
FINAL/OT
Saskatchewan
12
San Diego
13
Sat, Dec 10
FINAL
Toronto
7
Rochester
11
Sat, Dec 10
FINAL
Vancouver
9
Calgary
11
WK
3
Fri, Dec 16
FINAL
Calgary
14
Vancouver
5
Fri, Dec 16
FINAL
Panther City
9
Las Vegas
3
Sat, Dec 17
FINAL
Buffalo
11
Toronto
8
Sat, Dec 17
FINAL
Rochester
14
Albany
13
Sat, Dec 17
FINAL
Philadelphia
13
Georgia
12
Sat, Dec 17
FINAL
Halifax
20
New York
11
Sat, Dec 17
FINAL
Colorado
12
Panther City
9
WK
5
Fri, Dec 30
FINAL
Halifax
13
Buffalo
18
Fri, Dec 30
FINAL
San Diego
17
Calgary
14
Sat, Dec 31
FINAL
Panther City
9
Saskatchewan
11
WK
6
Fri, Jan 6
FINAL
Philadelphia
14
Las Vegas
9
Sat, Jan 7
FINAL
Panther City
9
Rochester
17
Sat, Jan 7
FINAL
Halifax
14
Albany
11
Sat, Jan 7
FINAL
Buffalo
18
Georgia
9
Sat, Jan 7
FINAL
Toronto
15
New York
7
Sat, Jan 7
FINAL
Calgary
8
Colorado
9
Sat, Jan 7
FINAL
Vancouver
11
San Diego
16
WK
7
Fri, Jan 13
FINAL/OT
Albany
11
Halifax
10
Fri, Jan 13
FINAL/OT
Saskatchewan
10
Colorado
11
Sat, Jan 14
FINAL
Halifax
8
Toronto
17
Sat, Jan 14
FINAL
Panther City
12
Philadelphia
10
Sat, Jan 14
FINAL
Georgia
9
Buffalo
11
Sat, Jan 14
FINAL
San Diego
10
Calgary
14
Sat, Jan 14
FINAL
Las Vegas
16
Vancouver
19
Sun, Jan 15
FINAL
Rochester
11
New York
8
WK
8
Fri, Jan 20
FINAL
Buffalo
12
Rochester
15
Fri, Jan 20
FINAL
Vancouver
14
Las Vegas
15
Sat, Jan 21
FINAL
Toronto
14
Philadelphia
5
Sat, Jan 21
FINAL
New York
16
Albany
10
WK
9
Fri, Jan 27
FINAL
Rochester
7
Halifax
17
Fri, Jan 27
FINAL
Buffalo
13
Philadelphia
9
Sat, Jan 28
FINAL
Buffalo
16
New York
10
Sat, Jan 28
FINAL
Las Vegas
10
Saskatchewan
15
Sat, Jan 28
FINAL/OT
Toronto
11
Calgary
10
Sat, Jan 28
FINAL
San Diego
13
Colorado
9
Sat, Jan 28
FINAL
Panther City
20
Vancouver
7
WK
10
Fri, Feb 3
FINAL
Georgia
10
Colorado
13
Sat, Feb 4
FINAL/OT
Calgary
12
Halifax
11
Sat, Feb 4
FINAL
New York
14
Toronto
22
Sat, Feb 4
FINAL
Albany
5
Philadelphia
13
Sat, Feb 4
FINAL
Rochester
10
Buffalo
13
Sat, Feb 4
FINAL
Panther City
10
San Diego
12
Sat, Feb 4
FINAL
Saskatchewan
14
Vancouver
8
Sat, Feb 4
FINAL
Colorado
8
Las Vegas
13
WK
11
Fri, Feb 10
FINAL
Toronto
11
Georgia
10
Fri, Feb 10
FINAL
Saskatchewan
6
Calgary
13
Sat, Feb 11
FINAL
Halifax
14
Rochester
16
Sat, Feb 11
FINAL
Albany
12
New York
14
Sat, Feb 11
FINAL
Vancouver
13
Panther City
14
Sat, Feb 11
FINAL
Colorado
9
Calgary
13
WK
12
Fri, Feb 17
FINAL
Calgary
14
Vancouver
9
Fri, Feb 17
FINAL
Saskatchewan
16
San Diego
11
Sat, Feb 18
FINAL
Georgia
7
Toronto
16
Sat, Feb 18
FINAL
Las Vegas
12
Albany
10
Sat, Feb 18
FINAL/OT
Philadelphia
12
Buffalo
13
Sat, Feb 18
FINAL
Colorado
7
Panther City
13
Sun, Feb 19
FINAL
New York
12
Halifax
13
WK
13
Fri, Feb 24
FINAL
Panther City
12
Colorado
14
Fri, Feb 24
FINAL
Calgary
9
Las Vegas
11
Sat, Feb 25
FINAL/OT
New York
10
Rochester
11
Sat, Feb 25
FINAL
Albany
4
Georgia
20
Sat, Feb 25
FINAL
Vancouver
16
Saskatchewan
12
WK
14
Fri, Mar 3
FINAL
Buffalo
10
Halifax
9
Sat, Mar 4
FINAL
New York
12
Philadelphia
19
Sat, Mar 4
FINAL
Las Vegas
12
San Diego
15
Sat, Mar 4
FINAL
Rochester
8
Toronto
9
Sat, Mar 4
FINAL/OT
Georgia
9
Albany
8
Sat, Mar 4
FINAL
Saskatchewan
10
Panther City
16
Mon, Mar 6
FINAL
Toronto
10
Philadelphia
11
WK
15
Fri, Mar 10
FINAL/OT
Halifax
9
Buffalo
10
Fri, Mar 10
FINAL
Calgary
16
Colorado
10
Sat, Mar 11
FINAL
Albany
6
Toronto
12
Sat, Mar 11
FINAL
Philadelphia
10
New York
13
Sat, Mar 11
FINAL
San Diego
12
Saskatchewan
11
Sat, Mar 11
FINAL
Vancouver
14
Las Vegas
5
Sun, Mar 12
FINAL
Rochester
19
Georgia
18
WK
16
Fri, Mar 17
FINAL
Saskatchewan
6
Calgary
11
Fri, Mar 17
FINAL
San Diego
16
Vancouver
9
Sat, Mar 18
FINAL
Georgia
13
Philadelphia
12
Sat, Mar 18
FINAL
Toronto
12
Halifax
14
Sat, Mar 18
FINAL
Albany
10
New York
13
Sat, Mar 18
FINAL
Colorado
13
Buffalo
8
Sat, Mar 18
FINAL
Las Vegas
8
Panther City
11
Sun, Mar 19
FINAL/OT
Philadelphia
9
Rochester
8
WK
17
Fri, Mar 24
20:30:00
San Diego
Panther City
Sat, Mar 25
19:00:00
Toronto
Albany
Sat, Mar 25
19:00:00
Halifax
Philadelphia
Sat, Mar 25
19:30:00
Georgia
New York
Sat, Mar 25
21:30:00
Calgary
Saskatchewan
Sat, Mar 25
22:00:00
Buffalo
San Diego
Sat, Mar 25
22:00:00
Colorado
Vancouver
Sat, Mar 25
22:30:00
Rochester
Las Vegas
WK
18
Fri, Mar 31
19:00:00
New York
Georgia
Fri, Mar 31
21:00:00
Las Vegas
Colorado
Fri, Mar 31
22:00:00
Calgary
San Diego
Sat, Apr 1
19:00:00
Buffalo
Toronto
Sat, Apr 1
20:00:00
Albany
Panther City
Sat, Apr 1
21:30:00
Vancouver
Saskatchewan
Sun, Apr 2
13:00:00
Georgia
Halifax
Sun, Apr 2
18:00:00
Rochester
Philadelphia
WK
19
Sat, Apr 8
19:00:00
Albany
Rochester
Sat, Apr 8
19:00:00
Saskatchewan
Georgia
Sat, Apr 8
21:00:00
Panther City
Calgary
Sat, Apr 8
21:00:00
Vancouver
Colorado
Sat, Apr 8
22:30:00
San Diego
Las Vegas
WK
20
Fri, Apr 14
21:00:00
Las Vegas
Calgary
Fri, Apr 14
21:00:00
San Diego
Colorado
Sat, Apr 15
19:00:00
Philadelphia
Toronto
Sat, Apr 15
19:00:00
Georgia
Albany
Sat, Apr 15
19:30:00
New York
Buffalo
Sat, Apr 15
21:30:00
Halifax
Saskatchewan
Sat, Apr 15
22:00:00
Panther City
Vancouver
WK
21
Fri, Apr 21
20:30:00
Calgary
Panther City
Sat, Apr 22
18:00:00
New York
Halifax
Sat, Apr 22
19:00:00
Georgia
Rochester
Sat, Apr 22
20:00:00
Toronto
Buffalo
Sat, Apr 22
21:30:00
Colorado
Saskatchewan
Sat, Apr 22
22:00:00
Las Vegas
San Diego
Sun, Apr 23
15:00:00
Philadelphia
Albany
WK
22
Sat, Apr 29
19:00:00
Philadelphia
Rochester
Sat, Apr 29
19:00:00
Buffalo
Albany
Sat, Apr 29
19:00:00
Halifax
Georgia
Sat, Apr 29
22:00:00
Colorado
San Diego
Sat, Apr 29
22:00:00
New York
Vancouver
Sat, Apr 29
22:30:00
Saskatchewan
Las Vegas
Powered By
MGM Logo
Scores / Schedule
PlayoffsStories/Op-Ed

The Colorado Mammoth’s Journey to the NLL Finals

Heading into the 2021-22 season, there were many tough predictions about where teams would finish based off offseason acquisitions and the time off due to the pandemic. The Mammoth were no exception.

In the shortened 2019-20 season, the Mammoth finished 7-6 and second in the West Division. They finished on a three-game win streak and made a big trade to acquire Tyler Digby from the New York Riptide to bolster their offense towards a championship run. Ryan Lee was enjoying a breakout year with a career high 60 points through 13 games and the backend with Dillon Ward in net seemed to be poised for a deep playoff run, allowing less than 10 goals per game.

Compared to the last full season in 2018-19 where the Mammoth squeezed into the playoffs with a 6-12 record and upset the Rush in the first round, the team was on an upward trajectory.

Looking into the elongated offseason coming into this season, a lot of new faces made appearances in training camp and some longtime Mammoth players were no longer with the team. Jacob Ruest was traded to Albany, Kyle Killen to Vancouver, Jeff Wittig to Rochester, and the biggest being team captain Dan Coates to Georgia. Promising rookie, Will Malcom, was eventually the player lost to Panther City in the expansion draft.

The new faces in included Zed Williams, Connor Robinson, Brett McIntyre, Ron John, Jalen Chaster, among others looking to crack the Mammoth roster or make an immediate impact.

The belief in the locker room was there but with so much change around the league, no one outside that room knew exactly what to expect of this team heading into this season, especially in the new six-team West Conference.

The Roughnecks were still the defending champions, the Rush had owned the West for almost a decade, the Seals added Dane Dobbie and first round draft picks to impact their team, Vancouver made moves to improve their roster and Panther City as an expansion team had unknown expectations. Only three spots were guaranteed to go to the playoffs from the West. While the Mammoth have made the playoffs almost every year, they have never seemed to be the favorite.

Many preseason power rankings had the Mammoth where they have been for years, middle of the pack. Good, but not great.

Game one comes around in December and the Mammoth look dominant, winning 16-11. Game two comes and they lose to the Seals only scoring four goals. The following week they squeak out a win against the expansion Panther City 8-7. It was hard to get a grasp of the identity behind the Mammoth. Were they able to become more of an offensive focused team or would they still be the defensive minded team of years past?

That answer would come in game four of the season. Playing the Warriors, the Mammoth would find themselves down 7-0 after just five minutes of play. They would find themselves down 9-2 at the end of the first quarter.

The Mammoth would chip away at the lead and only down by two at the half and took a single goal lead into the fourth quarter before eventually winning 18-15. The offense picked up the defense and once the offense got going, the defense picked up their game.

The answer for this team? The Mammoth would just find ways to win, especially in clutch moments.

Colorado would be close to the top of the standings at 5-1 a third of the way through the season. After a 1-3 stretch, it was a similar game against the Warriors that got the team back on track as well as two big trades at the deadline.

The Mammoth were one of the few busy teams at the trade deadline and bolstered their roster to try and fill gaps on their roster. The big trade was sending Tyler Digby and Ron John to New York in exchange for former number one overall pick and Rookie of the Year, Tyson Gibson to join the righties on offense. On the backend, the Mammoth acquired veteran defenseman, Anthony Joaquim from the Wings in exchange for rookie Sam LeClair who showed promise in the few games he suited up for the Mammoth.

On March 18, finding themselves down seven, again, but this time late in the third quarter, the Mammoth would come back to win in overtime by a score of 17-16 against the Warriors. While never intending to get off to slow starts, the Mammoth were the only team in the NLL to have a non-losing record when trailing at the half (5-5 record). They keep games tight and jump on you in the latter stages of the game and we have seen that in the postseason as well.

Dillon Ward remained the kingpin on the backend in net and would keep the team in almost every game. He finished second in the league with a .804 save percentage, made even more impressive by the fact the Mammoth defense gave up the third most shots per game.

If the NLL had a breakout player award, the Mammoth may have been able to have a few nominees. If it wasn’t for Dhane Smith’s record season, Ryan Lee would have led the league in points (119) and would have set the NLL record for assists in a season at 85, probably as the story of the season.

On the other side of the offense, Connor Robinson made himself a fan favorite in the Loud House, scoring 42 goals this season including an unforgettable sock trick in Colorado with a bloodied nose during the post-game interview. He had previously scored five goals in 11 career games with the Rush.

The three headed beast of Lee, Robinson, and Eli McLaughlin would combine for 114 goals and 159 assists for 273 points, the most goals scored of any trio in the NLL.

On the other end of the floor, Warren Jeffrey continues to develop into a dominant defender and usually going under the radar on most stat sheets. Erik Turner who was previously on the practice roster, finally got a chance to play and proved his worth on the floor. Jalen Chaster would also be a key cog in moving the ball in transition with his speed. Tim Edwards would go out with an injury midway through the season and his importance to the team was immediately felt when we returned.

After dropping their final two games of the regular season, the Mammoth would finish with a respectable 10-8 record but with the tiebreakers against the Roughnecks and Seals, would be third place in the West.

In the Quarterfinals, the Mammoth would get the 16-year monkey off their back and defeat the Roughnecks by a score of 16-12, only their second win against Calgary in the playoffs since 2003 (2-10 record). The only other win came in 2006 when the Mammoth won the championship.

Going into the West Conference Finals against the Seals, a best two out of three series, the Mammoth got off to the series lead with a win in San Diego. Trying to close out the series and prevent having to go back to San Diego for a decisive Game 3, the Seals would come back late in the fourth, force the game into overtime, before Dane Dobbie would eventually win the game.

In Game 3, the Mammoth would face a 9-5 deficit at the half. In each game of the postseason, the Mammoth would find themselves trailing at some point in the third quarter. The Mammoth defense locked in and held the Seals scoreless while scoring three of their own to make it a one goal game going into the fourth.

In the fourth, Joey Cupido would score an amazing, transition, blind, and flying goal to give the Mammoth the lead and they would not turn back, eventually winning 15-13 to make it to the NLL Finals for the first time since 2006. Not to mention, the Mammoth were missing their leading scorer, Ryan Lee, for the whole series against the Seals.

Without Lee, multiple players have stepped up their game to get them to the Finals. Eli McLaughlin has been on a historic pace in the first four games of the postseason, recording 33 points on 17 goals. After averaging about three points per game in the regular season, Zed Williams has 24 points in the first five games (including Game 1 of the NLL Finals). The Mammoth offense has scored more goals per game in the postseason than they did in the regular season.

While only a few players on the roster have championship experience, the bulk of Colorado’s roster is new enough or young enough, not to know the history of the Mammoth and the lack of championships. This new generation is looking to be the core for the Mammoth for years to come and hopefully bring a title (or more) back to the Loud House.

The veterans of this team including Cupido, Ward, McLaughlin, Robert Hope, among others, all know the long journey it has been to get to this moment and they will not take the opportunity lightly.

While down in the NLL Finals one game to none, expect the Mammoth come out and do what they have done all season, get wins while everyone counts them out.

NLL