Colorado Closes out Regular Season in Calgary with Chance to Claim No. 1 Seed
NLL Colorado Mammoth

Colorado Closes out Regular Season in Calgary with Chance to Claim No. 1 Seed

Published on April 15, 2026 under National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Colorado Mammoth News Release


When the 2025-26 National Lacrosse League (NLL) schedule was released over the offseason, there was one specific late-season matchup that was circled in the minds of many: An April 11 road showdown against the (11-6) Saskatchewan Rush, who were one year removed from an NLL Finals appearance. Of course, Colorado was coming off a down campaign, but Head Coach Pat Coyle and company knew the effort and grind associated with this year's squad was going to be very different from years past.

And wouldn't you know it, by the time the squads' dramatic Week 20 showdown arrived, the Mammoth and Rush would be fighting for the rights to own the No. 1 overall seed inside SaskTel Centre. With each squad bringing matching 11-5 records into the epic meeting, the table was set for greatness. However, only one team exited with a twelfth win, as Colorado went on to record a 13-11 victory.

The Mammoth began the game by racking up an insane 7-0 run as Colorado was in control for the entire first half, which included a scoreless 27 minutes of play between the pipes by Mammoth netminder Dillon Ward, who ended the night by stopping 39-of-50 shots faced en route to passing Anthony Cosmo with the third-most saves made in NLL history.

Sure, the Rush eventually got things flowing. But Colorado's defense, alongside Ward, bended and didn't break, which was the ultimate difference-maker in the close contest. With forward Andrew Kew moved to the squad's Injured Reserve List earlier in the day, guys like Jack Hannah, Will Malcom and beyond understood they'd be looked to throughout the 60-minute clash - and answered the call.

Hannah finished the night with an impressive nine points (4g, 5a), which included four second-half goals as he powered the Mammoth to victory. Will Malcom earned yet another hat trick in the same superstar caliber, ending the game with seven points (3g, 4a). Rookie forwards Braedon Saris (1g, 3a) and Jameson Bucktooth (1g, 1a) lit the lamp just the same, while several other Mammoth contributors made their way to the scoresheet in a transition-fueled contest.

Rookie defenseman Connor Nock racked up two penalty minutes, four loose balls and three caused turnovers while taking another step in developing his first-year skillset. Hell, Tim Edwards added three points (1g, 2a) and three loose balls while stepping in at the dot after seeing faceoff specialist Matthew Paolatto leave the game due to injury.

Overall, it was quite the team win inside a building that hasn't been very favorable to the Mammoth over the years. And while it was nice to pick up a win against an old rival, the team's 12th win of the season officially clinched Colorado a Top 4 seed, meaning playoff lacrosse is returning home to the LOUD HOUSE on Saturday, April 25 during the NLL Quarterfinals!

RELATED: Mammoth Announce NLL Quarterfinals Date as LOUD HOUSE Prepares to Host Postseason Showdown

With just one week of regular season action remaining, Colorado sits atop the league standings at 12-5, but technically remains tied with the (12-5) Vancouver Warriors. Thankfully, the Mammoth earned a season-opening win over Vancouver in their own barn to earn the head-to-head tiebreaker, meaning Colorado would secure the outright No. 1 seed this weekend with a win against the (5-12) Calgary Roughnecks.

Where the Mammoth would fall to on the big board if the Burgundy Boys aren't able to take care of business within the regular season finale is up for debate and largely would depend on the result of several other games, including showdowns between the Warriors and (5-12) Philadelphia Wings, (11-6) Buffalo Bandits vs. (5-12) Oshawa FireWolves and a set of home-and-home contests between the (10-6) Georgia Swarm and (6-10) Rochester Knighthawks.

At the end of the weekend, Colorado can only fall as far as the No. 4 overall seed, meaning the team will 100% be hosting an opening round contest at the LOUD HOUSE. Who Colorado will be matched up with is still up in the air, but the Mammoth would officially secure both the No. 1 seed and a showdown against the No. 8 seed with a win Saturday, which is the only scenario on the minds of the 20-some men ready to give it a go while donning the revered crest.

Across the entire playoff picture, six of eight spots have been claimed, with four squads in the (8-9) Ottawa Black Bears, (7-9) San Diego Seals, (7-9) Las Vegas Desert Dogs and (7-10) Halifax Thunderbirds battling it out for a chance at postseason contention. Ottawa and Halifax are set to duke it out Saturday night at 4 p.m., with the winner of said battle primed to earn one of the two available spots. Which leaves one spot up for grabs to be claimed by San Diego or Las Vegas, who also have a set of home-and-home games to take care of in Week 21.

Four teams enter the final weekend of regular season play already eliminated from the playoff picture, which includes Colorado's opponent in the Calgary Roughnecks. Calgary is technically coming off a 14-7 win, albeit against the Oshawa FireWolves. That said, the Roughnecks dropped a tight 10-9 final to the same FireWolves' squad the weekend prior, which came just one week after losing a 10-9 decision to the Las Vegas Desert Dogs. They haven't thrown the white flag in on the season officially, but the team also doesn't have much to fight for, other than a little bit of pride and a finale on their own turf.

Sporting just a 5-12 record on the season, the year has pretty much always been viewed as a "rebuild in progress" for a Calgary team which saw several of its veterans depart over the offseason. They've seen some quality production from guys like Tyler Pace and Tanner Cook, who both enter the weekend ranked as Top 10 scorers despite Calgary's down season. Operating at 97 and 95 points, respectively, both forwards continue to blaze new career-high point totals while approaching the triple-digit point mark, but their combined efforts haven't been enough to dig the storied franchise out of the deep end this time around.

Andrew Kew has had quite the standout season, up to 45 goals in 12 games played. The only man above Kew on the goal-scoring charts? Tanner Cook, who's got 47 goals and a chance to eclipse the epic 50-tally mark this weekend should he be able to net a hat trick. He's got 48 helpers to his name just the same as one of the most involved players in the sport right now. "Pacer" has operated a bit more as the assist man this season and has amassed 68 assists in his 17 appearances, which are the seventh-most amongst all NLL talent. They'll both be on the scoresheet come Saturday.

Only four teams have two forwards with 95+ points on their rosters ahead of Week 21, including the Buffalo Bandits (Dhane Smith/Josh Byrne), Ottawa Black Bears (Jeff Teat/Rob Hellyer), Rochester Knighthawks (Connor Fields/Ryan Lanchbury) and this weekend's opponent in the Roughnecks, with Cook and Pace ready to star in the limelight once again.

Knowing Colorado secured a 14-12 win when the teams opened the two-game regular season series back at Ball Arena last month, combined with several other factors, suggests Colorado will be the favorite on paper for this one. However, seeing the Roughnecks give the Mammoth a run for its money in the back-and-forth affair tells a tale that Calgary is going to be up to the late-season challenge when the Burgundy Boys invade Scotiabank Saddledome Saturday night.

Brayden Mayea (28g, 35a: 63 points) and Haiden Dickson (28g, 34a: 62 points) represent the team's only other personnel above the 35-point mark, as it's truly been the Pacer-Cook show this season. Faceoff specialist Justin Inacio owns the fourth-most loose ball scoops in the NLL (154), albeit just five more than Mammoth captain Robert Hope, who sits at 149. Yet, Inacio will have his name circled within scouting reports, as it's unknown whether Matthew Paolatto or Tim Edwards will operate at the dot for Colorado this weekend, not to mention his league-best 293-for-434 record at the dot. Paolatto will get the green light if he's cleared, but after suffering what appeared to be a shoulder injury in Saskatchewan, the veteran in Edwards may be pulling double duty at the circle and within defensive rotations.

When it comes to goaltending, Aden Walsh is likely to get the start. Wielding 631 saves alongside his 11.54 goals-against average and .779 save percentage, he's been decent for Calgary during his fifth professional campaign but will need to bring a top-tier effort to Scotiabank Saddledome if he hopes to earn his fifth win of the year.

Even if Walsh shows up in stunning fashion, he'll have to face a blazing-hot Mammoth offense, which has produced 13+ goals in the team's last three games. Officially 11-1 this season when scoring 10+ tallies, Colorado has evolved as the year's progressed, with plenty of depth scoring options and transition contributions entering the feed as needed.

Colorado might not have two players above the 95-plus-point this season like Calgary, but the Mammoth are one of just two teams who bring three different forwards with 80-plus points into Week 21 (alongside the Rush, who have Ryan Keenan, Robert Church and Zach Manns above the 80-point mark), with each of Andrew Kew (45g, 39a), Will Malcom (35g, 48a) and Jack Hannah (24g, 56a) above 80 points. The major difference between Colorado's and Saskatchewan's scorers involves Kew playing in just 12 games and Hannah drawing into just 14 appearances, whereas each of the Rush's three forwards have participated in all 17 contests. The same can be said for Pace and Cook, who will appear in their 18th games played Saturday evening.

If the Mammoth are able to activate Andrew Kew from the Injured Reserve List this weekend, Colorado would welcome back one of the league's hottest shooters, as Kew trails only Tanner Cook, 45 to 47, when it comes to finding twine. Should Kew jump back in the ring on the same weekend WrestleMania is set to invade Las Vegas, he'll have a chance to give Cook a run for the goal-scoring title while helping Colorado secure what would be a franchise-record-tying 13th victory.

Colorado Mammoth League Leaders

Goals: 45 - Andrew Kew (2nd)

Assists: 56 - Jack Hannah (12th)

Points: 84 - Andrew Kew (T15th)

Power-Play Goals: 10 - Andrew Kew/Will Malcom (T4th)

Power-Play Assists: 18 - Jack Hannah (6th)

Shorthanded Goals: 3 - Dylan McIntosh (T2nd)

Loose Balls: 149 - Robert Hope (5th)

Blocked Shots: 26 - Robert Hope (4th)

Penalty Minutes: 32 - Ari Stevens (10th)

Faceoff Wins: 238 - Matthew Paolatto (5th)

Faceoff Win Percentage: 58 - Matthew Paolatto (5th)

Saves: 648 - Dillon Ward (4th)

Save Percentage: .810 - Dillon Ward (4th)

Goals-Against Average: 10.11 - Dillon Ward (7th)

Goaltender Wins: 11 - Dillon Ward (T2nd)

Continuing to rank amongst the league's leaders in both blocked shots and loose balls, "Hopey" put on quite the show last weekend once again, recording one point (0g, 1a), 16 loose balls and three caused turnovers. The Mammoth captain is now seven loose balls away from setting what would be a new career-high total while doubling as the sixth-most scoops recorded in a single season in Colorado Mammoth history. He continues to lead with his voice and play and remains an instrumental pillar of the Mammoth defense. Alongside Dillon Ward, of course, who's also revered amongst the top talents between the pipes this season.

Ward brings a 10.11 goals-against average, .810 save percentage and 648 saves into Saturday's showdown. Wielding the fourth-most saves isn't an easy feat to manage, especially knowing fellow netminder Nathan Whittom has soaked up just over 118 minutes in net. More importantly, he's looked confident, if not aggressive in both defending his crease while setting up breakaway opportunities, as the team's transition game has flourished recently thanks to a few turf-long heaves and quick looks to spark some offense.

Matthew Paolatto's availability will have an impact on the game at the dot, but as Mammoth fans are well aware, Tim Edwards is waiting in the wings and will assume the start if needed - All while sitting just one faceoff win away from his 1,500th successful draw. Should Edwards win at least one faceoff this weekend, he'd become just the 12th player in NLL history to reach said territory, and the first in Colorado Mammoth history.

At the end of the day/game/season, Colorado should have enough firepower to tame the Roughnecks once again but would be wise to get out to another quick start in similar fashion to last weekend's 7-0 game-opening run. The Mammoth ultimately controls its own destiny, and would officially secure the No. 1 seed with a win at Scotiabank Saddledome Saturday night. So, the Roughnecks and their fans should expect a sincere effort when Saturday rolls around!

Get in the Game

Mammoth games can be viewed on Altitude Sports and streamed live via ESPN+ and NLL+. Saturday's April 18 showdown against the Calgary Roughnecks can be viewed locally on Altitude TV and streamed live on ESPN+ and NLL+ beginning at 7 pm. MT.

Mammoth fans can keep an eye on coloradomammoth.com and Colorado Mammoth social media channels for the latest news, transactions and organizational updates throughout the 2025-26 NLL season.

Limited tickets remain available for Colorado's April 25 Quarterfinals showdown at the LOUD HOUSE, so be sure to lock yours in and get ready to TUSK UP, playoff style!

Check out the Colorado Mammoth Statistics

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National Lacrosse League Stories from April 15, 2026


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