Sports stats



Mammoth dominate 4th quarter en route to victory

February 7, 2009 - National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Minnesota Swarm News Release


Saint paul, MN - The Minnesota Swarm (2-3) fell to the Colorado Mammoth (3-2) 13-8 Saturday night in front of 11,174 at the Xcel Energy Center. F Ryan Ward (2-3=5) led the Swarm with five points while F Brian Langtry (2-4=6) and F Gavin Prout (3-3=6) led Colorado with six points. G Andrew Leyshon made 38 saves in the victory and G Nick Patterson made 17 saves in the loss.

Colorado jumped out to the early lead with a goal from Gavin Prout just 41 seconds into the game. Minnesota responded with back-to-back goals, an early indication of the see saw battle throughout the game. Ryan Ward scored first at 1:29, his team leading ninth of the season, assisted by forwards Andrew Watt and Kevin Ross. At 6:59 Watt gave Minnesota the lead with a behind the head shot that beat Andrew Leyshon, forwards Kevin Buchanan and Dan Marohl received the assists. The Mammoth would respond with a goal by Gary Rosyski at 8:35 and the first quarter ended in a 2-2 tie.

Colorado controlled most of the second quarter and was able to open up a two-goal halftime lead. Forwards Jamie Shewchuk (1:58) and Jed Prossner (3:45) scored early, before Marohl cut the lead back to one at 6:23. Two quick goals by Colorado led to Head Coach Duane Jacobs replacing starter Kevin Croswell in net with Nick Patterson; Croswell allowed six goals on 27 shots. Minnesota finished the half with a goal from Ross at 14:16, cutting the deficit to 7-5.

The see saw battle continued in the third quarter with Minnesota jumping back at the Mammoth; Buchanan's first career goal early in the third followed by Marohl's sixth of the season tied the game at seven late in the quarter. Colorado had yet another response for the Swarm though when D Matt Leveque scored 10 seconds after Marohl to take an 8-7 lead into the fourth quarter.

Entering Saturday, Minnesota out-scored its opponents 8-5 in the fourth quarter, but Saturday would be a different tale for the Swarm. Ward tied the game at eight 1:58 into the final quarter, but that seemed to be the final push for a team that played the second game in as many nights. Colorado responded with five un-answered goals to end the game and any hope for a weekend split for Minnesota.

Marohl had two goals and two assists behind Ward's five points and Buchanan finished with a goal and two assists, his first three career points. Patterson made 17 saves on 24 shots after replacing Croswell 7:08 into the second quarter. F Gary Rosyski (1-2=3) and F Matt Danowski (0-3=3) each had three points behind the six point efforts of Langtry and Prout. Colorado out-shot Minnesota 51-49, the Mammoth went 1-2 on the power-play while the Swarm went just 1-5.

"The big thing is we have to regroup and get out of the slump with the guys we have or find somebody that can put the ball in the net," Swarm GM Marty O'Neill said. "We have to answer that question before we're going to compete for a playoff spot."

Minnesota is off next weekend before it will play its second set of back-to-back games; Friday February 20th vs. the Boston Blazers, 7:00 p.m. at the Xcel Energy Center and Saturday February 21st at the Philadelphia Wings, 8:30 p.m. Eastern Time at the Wachovia Center.

Swarm single game tickets are on sale now at the Xcel Energy Center Box Office and all Ticketmaster locations, by calling 888-MN-SWARM or by visiting www.mnswarm.com. Swarm Single game tickets are available in all price categories and range from $13.00 to $65.00.



National Lacrosse League Stories from February 7, 2009


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central