Sting Lose 16-11 in Colorado
Published on April 2, 2006 under National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Arizona Sting News Release
DENVER, COLORADO --- The Arizona Sting fell to below .500 for the first time since February of 2005 on Sunday night after dropping their third game of the season to the Colorado Mammoth. The Sting out shot the Mammoth 64-50 but were outpaced on the score sheet in a raucous and up-tempo affair that saw a multitude of penalties and countless big hits being thrown. After a back-and-forth opening three quarters, the Sting entered the fourth period down by a single goal, but were outplayed badly in frame, surrendering 6 goals while mustering only 2 of their own. Curt Malawsky and Dan Dawson each scored 3 goals for the Sting in the loss. Despite registering a hat trick for a second consecutive game against Colorado, Dawson was disappointed in both his and his teammates' performance on Sunday.
"I'd rather not score a goal the rest of the season than lose that game tonight," said Dawson. "We really needed this win and we didn't get it done, that's the bottom line. We'll have to figure out what's wrong in a hurry and put together a solid effort next week in Calgary."
The Mammoth took an early 1-0 lead as All-Star Jay Jalbert scored 35 seconds into the first quarter. The Sting responded with three unanswered goals by Matt Brown, Dan Dawson, and Curt Malawsky. Colorado pulled even with a pair of power play goals by Gavin Prout and Dan Carey; they pulled ahead on tallies by Josh Sims and Ben Prepchuk and ended the first period with a 5-3 lead. A total of seven penalties were called in the opening quarter, as both teams were anxious to establish an overtly physical tone that would resonate throughout the match.
The second quarter opened with Arizona applying a substantial amount of offensive pressure in Colorado's zone. Curt Malawsky and Dan Dawson both scored in the opening six minutes of the frame to tie the game at five. Craig Conn then gave the Sting a 6-5 lead with his 8th power play goal of the season at the 8:22 mark of the second quarter. The game was tied once again shortly after Conn's goal, with Chris Gill netting his 19th tally of the season. With 3:11 remaining in the first half, Gavin Prout gave the Mammoth a one-goal lead after diving through the crease and tapping home a loose ball through goaltender Rob Blasdell's legs. The Sting fired a bevy of shots late in the half on Mammoth net minder Chris Levis, who replaced an injured Gee Nash in the final minute of the second period, but were unable to find the back of the net on any of them and the first half ended with the score 7-6 in Colorado's favor. Rookie forward Matt Brown, who played his university lacrosse in Colorado for the University of Denver Pioneers, was disappointed with the result in his return to the state in which he experience a great deal of success during his collegiate career.
"It's tough to come back here and not play well enough to win," said Brown. "We battled hard for most of the game, but seemed to run out of steam late in the game and that really cost us. The Mammoth are a great transition team and we let them exploit that tonight and it ended up costing us the game."
Colorado extended their lead to two goals 0:07 into the third quarter as Jay Jalbert beat Rob Blasdell on a quick shot to earn his second goal of the night. Matt Brown pulled the Sting back to within one 1:05 later on an impressive individual effort. Arizona struck again 38 seconds later as Dan Dawson fired a shot past Chris Levis to tie the game at eight. Colorado regained the lead 5:57 into the third quarter as Tom Ethington beat Rob Blasdell with a low shot to earn his second goal of the season. Gavin Prout netted the 10th Mammoth goal of the night 0:46 later on a semi-breakaway set up by a pass from Ben Prepchuk. Lindsay Plunkett then unleashed a rocket of a shot that beat Chris Levis high and pulled the Sting back to within one with just under five minutes remaining in the third quarter. The two teams exchanged scoring chances late in the period, but both goaltenders stood their ground and the score remained 10-9 in Colorado's favor entering the fourth quarter.
The Mammoth came out strong in the fourth period, scoring three quick goals to establish a 13-9 lead and force Arizona to change goaltenders, with Mike Miron entering the game and Rob Blasdell exiting. Miron surrendered a goal to Josh Sims at the 6:26 mark of the fourth period as Colorado extended their lead to five. The Sting then reeled off a pair of goals off the sticks of Craig Conn and Curt Malawsky to pull back within three goals of the Mammoth, but Jay Jalbert and Tom Ethington added a pair of insurance goals for Colorado, who clinched a playoff spot with the win. The Portland Lumberjax also clinched a post-season birth on Sunday by virtue of their victory over the Edmonton Rush and Arizona's loss to Colorado. Assistant Coach Rick Wilson feels his team is capable of turning their momentum around and winning their three remaining games.
"There's still a lot of talent on this team and we're extremely capable of winning our last three games," said Wilson. "They got the best of us out there tonight, but tomorrow's another day and we've got to get focused on beating the Roughnecks next week."
The Sting will travel to Alberta next Saturday, April 8, for a pivotal game against the Calgary Roughnecks at the Pengrowth Saddledome. Arizona is 1-1 versus Calgary thus far in 2006.
National Lacrosse League Stories from April 2, 2006
- Mammoth beats Sting, earns playoff spot - Colorado Mammoth
- Sting Lose 16-11 in Colorado - Arizona Sting
- Portland LumberJax Win - Can Clinch Payoff Berth Tonight - Portland Lumberjax
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