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NLL Colorado Mammoth

Another OT thriller, 14-13, keeps Mammoth on top

January 25, 2004 - National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Colorado Mammoth News Release


Denver, Colo. – There may have been a blizzard raging outside, but Gary Gait was on fire Sunday night, scoring five goals – including the overtime game-winner – as the Colorado Mammoth beat the Arizona Sting 14-13 at Pepsi Center.

Sunday night's win was the Mammoth's fourth one-goal win in as many games and second overtime win in a row. The win gives the Mammoth the best record in the National Lacrosse League and widens the Mammoth's lead at the top of the Western Division as the team improves to 4-1. Arizona (2-2) falls to third place behind San Jose (3-1).

"I say this every week, but Colorado's fans make the difference and to have this crowd turn out on a night like this is incredible," said Colorado Mammoth general manager Steve Govett. 14,857 fans turned out in spite of a blizzard that dumped three inches of snow in 20 minutes just before game time.

The Mammoth stormed back in the fourth quarter, erasing a three-goal deficit, tied the game with less than two minutes remaining, then won on Gait's goal.

After Jamie Hanford won the faceoff to begin overtime, Gait drove down the right wing and fired a shot just inside the far post and over the shoulder of Arizona goaltender Mike Miron to propel Colorado to the win.

Gavin Prout tied the game with 1:21 remaining in the fourth quarter, driving past two Arizona defenders before cutting across the crease where he slipped his second goal of the night past Miron. Prout ended the night with two goals and two assists.

The Mammoth drew within one when Ben Prepchuk (1g, 3a, 4p) fired a rocket into the upper right-hand corner of the net after taking a pass from Prout, who had driven down the left wing, drawing the Arizona defense, before finding Prepchuk in the high slot.

Mammoth goaltender Gee Nash, who entered the game in the third quarter, found his groove in the fourth quarter with several key saves, none bigger than his stop on an Arizona breakaway that kept it a one-goal game. Miron would answer, though, making four consecutive saves to keep the Mammoth from tying the score. Gewas Schindler, who along with Dan Dawson led the Sting with three goals, then put the Sting back up by two, at 13-11, with a hard shot from the high slot. Nash finished with 25 saves and only four goals against for his third win of the season.

Late in the third quarter, after a goalless drought that saw the Mammoth's four-goal lead evolve into a three-goal deficit, Gait finally broke the Arizona momentum with his fourth goal of the game. Gait, who led all scorers in the game with five goals (5g, 2a, 7p), beat Miron after taking a long feed from John Wilson (1g, 2a, 3p) to make the score 12-10. Nick Carlson made it a one-goal game moments later, taking an underhand feed from Shawn Cable in the low slot and firing his chance past Miron.

Cory Bomberry's shorthanded goal with 5:18 remaining in the third quarter capped Arizona's seven-goal run and pushed the Sting into a 12-9 lead. Kasey Beirnes scored his only goal of the night two minutes earlier to make it 11-9.

Arizona took its first lead of the game on a behind-the-back goal by Dawson. The goal, Arizona's fourth in a row, came after Schindler tied the game at nine and prompted Mammoth coach Jamie Batley to make the goaltending change, inserting Nash into the game to replace starter Erik Miller.

Dawson got the second half scoring started early in the third quarter by barreling through the slot and beating Miller with a low shot that pulled the Sting back within two for the first time since the first quarter. Culp got the Sting even closer by slicing through the Mammoth defense and scoring to make it 9-8.

In the second quarter Pat Maddalena's second goal made it 8-5 but Brian Langtry's rocket from the high slot on a Mammoth power play pushed the Colorado lead back out to four. Schindler scored his second of the night with 34 seconds in the half left to make it 9-6, pulling Arizona back within three at halftime.

It took until midway through the second quarter for Prout to score his first of the night, but he did so in stylish fashion, ripping a shot from the left wing into the upper corner of the net. Gait got his third goal less than a minute later when his shot deflected off of Miron then caromed into the goal to put Colorado up 8-4.

Culp and Dawson scored back-to-back goals to open the second quarter to draw Arizona within two at 6-4.

Hanford finished off a breakaway with a shot through the legs of Miron that extended the Mammoth's lead to three goals. Maddalena scored his first goal of the night to bring the Sting back within two, but Wilson converted a perfect cross-crease feed from Halladay to put Colorado 5-2. Gait capped the first-quarter scoring, putting the Mammoth up 6-2 with less than one second left.

Langtry (2g, 2p) opened the scoring with a shot from the high slot with 10:29 remaining in the first quarter. Schindler tied it a minute later but the Mammoth would break the tie shortly thereafter. Jalbert put the Mammoth back on top at 8:39 then Gait made it 3-1 with his first goal of the night.

The Colorado Mammoth take on the Calgary Roughnecks at Pepsi Center Friday (1/30) at 7 p.m.

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