NLL Colorado Mammoth

Mammoth comeback falls short against Portland

March 12, 2006 - National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Colorado Mammoth News Release


DENVER - With the snow and temperature falling outside, the Colorado Mammoth ran into a hot goaltender at Pepsi Center on Sunday night.

Matt King made 54 saves and held off a second-half rally by the Mammoth to lead the visiting Portland LumberJax to a 12-11 victory before 15,247 fans undeterred by the sloppy weather. The win vaulted Portland (5-4) into a first-place tie with Calgary and Arizona in the National Lacrosse League's West Division. The loss dropped the Mammoth (5-5) to fifth place.

Peter Morgan's goal with 4 minutes, 14 seconds left in the game gave Portland a 12-10 lead and proved to be the game-winner. Dan Stroup's power-play goal with 2:57 remaining brought the Mammoth within one, but they couldn't convert another power-play chance and didn't get a quality shot on the game's last possession.

Stroup scored a game-high four goals while Mammoth captain Gavin Prout led the team with six points on one goal and five assists. Brian Langtry added two goals and three assists for the Mammoth and Dan Carey, Nick Carlson, Mike Law and Scott Stapleford each scored once.

Trailing 11-7, the Mammoth fought its way back into the game late in the third quarter, cutting the deficit in half on highlight reel-quality goals by Carey and Stapleford. First, Carey finished a precision passing play, taking a cross-crease feed from Langtry and scoring into a gaping net. Stapleford then scored his first goal of the season by beating King with a high shot after taking a behind-the-back pass from Gill.

Both defenses tightened in the fourth quarter and neither team could score for more than 9 minutes. Langtry finally broke through with a goal to draw the Mammoth within one at 11-10.

Gee Nash replaced Chris Levis in the Mammoth goal late in the first quarter after Levis gave up five goals on 14 shots. Nash was solid, making 29 saves on 36 shots.

Peter Morgan led the LumberJax with six points on two goals and four assists. Del Halladay, Ryder Bateman and Mike Hominuck also scored two goals apiece for Portland, while Ryan Marshall, Richard Morgan and Bruce Alexander each scored once.

Langtry scored the game's first goal, but the LumberJax scored the next four and never relinquished the lead. The Mammoth trailed 6-2 after the first quarter and 8-5 at halftime.

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National Lacrosse League Stories from March 12, 2006


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