Mammoth Surrender 12-3 Home Opener to Georgia Swarm
NLL Colorado Mammoth

Mammoth Surrender 12-3 Home Opener to Georgia Swarm

Published on December 27, 2025 under National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Colorado Mammoth News Release


DENVER - The Colorado Mammoth of the National Lacrosse League dropped a 12-3 decision to the Georgia Swarm before 9,913 rowdy fans inside Ball Arena Saturday night.

Mammoth goaltender Dillon Ward stopped 35-of-45 on the night while netminder Nathan Whittom stopped 10-of-12 in relief duty as Colorado fell to 1-2 on the season.

Courtesy of a little tic-tac-toe approach, forward Dylan McIntosh got the LOUD HOUSE rocking early via his fourth conversion of the season just 55 seconds into the opening frame as Ball Arena was LOUD and PROUD their team was back inside Ball Arena.

Making it two in a row for the good guys, defenseman Connor Nock recorded his career-first tally after collecting a rebound on the glass and slamming one home on an empty net, as Dobson initiated contact with forward Ryan Lee and went FLYING backwards, thus abandoning his post.

The conversion doubled as Nock's first NLL point and goal, quite the encouraging sign from the tenth overall selection in the 2025 NLL Entry Draft.

Colorado was up 2-0 and it was rather apparent nearly 10,000 fans inside Ball Arena were grateful that Mammoth Lacrosse had returned.

In transition fashion, Jordan MacIntosh cut Colorado's lead down to one with five minutes to play in the first, beating Mammoth goaltender Ward for the first time 10 minutes into the contest.

Evening the game at two a side just 90 seconds later, Richie Connell recorded his third marker of the season as momentum shifted in favor of the Swarm.

With just under 11 seconds remaining in the first 15, Georgia swung a power-play look all the way over to the backside to create an angle for Kaleb Benedict, who slammed a quick one home past Ward to grant the Swarm a 3-2 advantage to close out the first.

Georgia's run continued with 5:23 to play in the half, as former league MVP Shayne Jackson sent a shot on net from afar, which was initially stopped by Ward but later kicked into the net by the netminder on accident, thus creating a 4-2 game.

Wasting little time during the team's first man-up scenario of the night, forward Owen Rahn notched his first goal of the year during his season debut. Establishing a bit of inside positioning at the top of the set, No. 7 fired away and found twine, bringing the Mammoth within one less than a minute later.

When the buzzer sounded to conclude the first half, the Swarm owned a 4-3 lead.

Following the break, Benedict doubled down for Georgia less than 90 seconds into the third quarter as No. 86 notched his fifth of the year en route to re-establishing a two-goal lead for the visiting Swarm. Finishing off another odd-man transition look, Mike Manley sent a side-armed bid barreling at the net a minute and a half later to create a 6-3 game.

It became rather apparent the third session belonged to the Swarm, as Connell made it three straight for Georgia midway through the period to grant his team its first four-goal advantage of the night.

Now four in a row for the bad guys, Nolan Byrne accepted the rock behind Ward and went airborne, eventually tucking a far side bid all the way around Ward as the Swarm cruised to an 8-3 advantage.

Gracing the scoresheet via Georgia's fifth-straight, Michael Grace added onto the Swarm run as the one-sided affair continued to lean in the away contingent's favor.

The run continued late into the third, as Benedict completed his hat trick feat with less than a minute to play, thus extending the Swarm's lead to seven heading into the final 15.

Netminder Nathan Whittom entered the game shortly into the fourth, which quickly led to a Lyle Thompson conversion, the veteran's second of the season as the scoreboard read 11-3.

Bryan Cole added a bit of insult to injury courtesy of an eighth-straight goal midway through the final frame as it just wasn't the Burgundy Boys' night.

When all was said and done, Georgia was on top, 12-3, as the Mammoth went scoreless for the final 34-plus minutes of play.

Ryan Lee paced Mammoth scorers with three points (0g, 3a), with Dylan McIntosh (1g, 1a), Will Malcom (0g, 2a), Owen Rahn (1g, 0a) and Connor Nock (1g, 0a) rounded out the scoresheet.

Shayne Jackson (1g, 4a), Kaleb Benedict (3g, 0a), Lyle Thompson (1g, 3a), Bryan Cole (1g, 2a) and Richie Connell (2g, 0a) did the heavy lifting for Georgia.

Mammoth forward Jameson Bucktooth made his professional debut Saturday night, recording five loose balls and one caused turnover.

Colorado now prepares for another contest at the LOUD HOUSE next weekend. Limited tickets remain for the organization's Jan. 3 showdown against the Rochester Knighthawks.

Mammoth fans can stay tuned to coloradomammoth.com and Colorado Mammoth social media channels throughout the season for the latest league updates, team transactions and beyond.

Check out the Colorado Mammoth Statistics

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National Lacrosse League Stories from December 27, 2025


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