Sting vs. Mammoth Game Preview
February 1, 2006 - National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Arizona Sting News Release
GAME PREVIEW - MAMMOTH (2-3) @ STING (3-0)
The Arizona Sting will be looking to start a season with four straight victories for the first time in franchise history this Friday, February 3, when they take on the visiting Colorado Mammoth at the Glendale Arena. This game is a rematch of last spring's opening round playoff game that was won by the Sting by a score of 16-13.
The Sting are coming off of a dramatic 11-10 overtime victory over the Calgary Roughnecks, a win that propelled Arizona into first place in the NLL's West Division. Craig Conn had 5 goals, including the game-winner, in the Calgary game and will be looking to carry his torrid scoring pace into this week's contest against Colorado.
Head Coach/General Manager Bob Hamley recognizes that the talent level on the Mammoth is very high, and is not taking the sub-.500 team lightly.
"The Mammoth are a very athletic team," said Hamley. "They've got an outstanding goaltender in Gee Nash and a big scoring threat in Gavin Prout, so we've got to be well prepared to face them on Friday. We've got our work cut out for us for sure."
This will be Gary Gait's first trip to the Valley of the Sun as the Mammoth's head coach. He recognizes the importance of this game to Colorado in terms of playoff positioning.
"Coming off of a bye week, this game is huge for us," said Gait. "We're sitting at two and three so far, so this game will be big in terms of getting back into the playoff race in the West Division."
Jonas Derks currently leads the Sting in scoring with 19 points (8 goals and 11 assists). Peter Lough leads the team in loose balls with 32. Gavin Prout is the Mammoth's leading scorer with 8G-14A-22P in 5 games. Jay Jalbert is their leading defender, currently ranked second in the NLL with 51 loose balls.
In the all-time match-up between these two teams, the Sting/Landsharks have the edge over the Mammoth/Power with a record of 5-4. Since moving to Arizona, the Sting are 3-3 against the Mammoth in the regular season, including a 2-1 mark on home turf.
Pre-Game Quotes for Sting/Mammoth Game - Friday February 3 @ Glendale Arena
Sting Head Coach Bob Hamley:
"We're very happy with our start this year. We've been in a couple of close overtime games, so those probably could have gone either way, but we're very pleased to be undefeated."
"It was definitely a playoff atmosphere against Calgary last week. We have a good rivalry with them and it was an exciting game to be a part of."
"The bigger the game, the bigger Craig Conn plays. Against the Roughnecks, he was huge for us and stepped up when we needed him to."
"Matt Brown is progressing very well. He's not getting any power play time yet, so he's paying his dues by doing the grunt work right now - setting picks and things like that. He made some great plays last week, setting Pat Maddelena up with some great scoring chances."
Mammoth Head Coach Gary Gait:
"Dan Carey has really stepped up this season for us. He's really played well on the left side of our attack and has put up some solid numbers for a rookie (20 pts. in 5 games)."
"We're excited to add Gewas Schindler to our team (signed last week); he's a proven goal scorer who will really strengthen our offense and add depth to our left side."
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National Lacrosse League Stories from February 1, 2006
- Knighthawks Grant and O'Toole win NLL weekly awards - Rochester Knighthawks
- Rock vs. Roughnecks coaches comments - Calgary Roughnecks
- Rush battle for first win - Edmonton Rush
- Grant, O'Toole and Merrill Honored - NLL
- Rock hope to turn season around - OSC Original by Todd Devlin
- Sting vs. Mammoth Game Preview - Arizona Sting
- Knighthawk John Grant to make two stops Saturday - Rochester Knighthawks
- Rush Presents Swollen Members At Urban Rush - Edmonton Rush
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