Get a glimpse of the 2008 team

DENVER—May 6, 2008— INVESCO Field at Mile High will host the WDIA Championship on Saturday, May 10th at noon. The US Lacrosse Intercollegiate Associates National Championship showcases the nation’s top 16 Women’s Intercollegiate Associates lacrosse teams. Tickets are $5 and can be purchased at the INVESCO Field at Mile High box office.

Immediately following, the Denver Outlaws will host a scrimmage against the Los Angeles Riptide at 2 pm. The Outlaws scrimmage will be free to the public. Among the many returning players will be Josh Sims, Brian Langtry, Jeff Sonke, Matt Brown, and Lee Zink. All-stars Ryan Powell and Nate Watkins will join the Outlaws both as a result of a trade with the San Francisco Dragons. Outlaws players will participate in an on-field autograph session after the game for all in attendance.

The Outlaws will open their season on May 17th against the Los Angeles Riptide at INVESCO Field at 7 pm. The CHSAA Boys lacrosse championship game will be held at 4:30 pm on May 17 immediately preceding the Outlaws game. Tickets for the CHSAA game are included in the Outlaws home opener ticket. Outlaws single game tickets start at $8. For ticket information, call 303-OUTLAWS, check out DenverOutlaws.com or go to any Ticketmaster outlet.

– www.DenverOutlaws.com –

The premier West Division rivalry is renewed in the playoffs for the third time on Saturday when the Colorado Mammoth hosts the Calgary Roughnecks at 7 p.m.

The teams have met twice before in the National Lacrosse League postseason – both games were at Pepsi Center – and each time the victor continued on to win the league championship.

The Mammoth won two of three games against the Roughnecks this season, including a 10-9 victory on Opening Night.

“It’s been a real good rivalry over the last four years,” Mammoth coach Bob McMahon said. “We had three close, hard-fought games against (Calgary) this season and we’re anticipating a fourth.”

Roughnecks rallying
After a midseason slump had Calgary moving out of the playoff picture at 4-9, the team came together to win its last three games and grab third place in the division.

“We’ve started to play better of late,” Roughnecks general manager Kurt Silcott said. “We have a lot of leaders on this team and a lot of guys with character.”

One leader that has made a late-season impact is Josh Sanderson, acquired from Toronto at the trading deadline. Sanderson has tallied six goals and eight assists in four games since joining the Roughnecks, including four points on the power play.

He’s a quarterback, a feeder, and he sees the floor well,” Silcott said. “He’s a very knowledgeable lacrosse player. Our power plays have been better with Josh out there.”

2008 NLL Playoffs – West Division Semifinal
Calgary Roughnecks (7-9) at Colorado Mammoth (9-7)
When: Saturday, May 3 – 7 p.m.
Where: Pepsi Center – Denver
Tickets: Ticketmaster.com
TV: Altitude Sports & Entertainment
Radio: KKFN-FM 104.3
Webcast: B2 Networks

SAN JOSE, Calif. – The Colorado Mammoth fell behind early in Saturday’s game, allowing five goals on the San Jose Stealth’s first six shots, and then battled back to within one, only to be shut out in the fourth quarter and lose.

Despite putting 15 more shots on goal than the Stealth, the Mammoth was stifled offensively in an 11-6 loss at the HP Pavilion. Both teams finished the National Lacrosse League regular season with 9-7 records, but the Stealth claimed the West Division title with the victory, by virtue of its 2-1 mark against the Mammoth this year.

As the second-place team, the Mammoth will host the third-place Calgary Roughnecks (7-9) in a West Division Semifinal playoff game at 7 p.m. on Saturday, May 3 at Pepsi Center. San Jose will host the fourth-place Portland LumberJax (6-10) in the other semifinal.

After allowing five Stealth goals on six shots, Mammoth goaltender Gee Nash was replaced in favor of Chris Levis, who came on to stop 27-of-33 shots.

The Mammoth, trailing 5-2 after the first quarter, cut San Jose’s leads to 6-4 at halftime and 7-6 after three quarters. But the Stealth got goals from Colin Doyle, Cam Sedgwick, Gary Rosyski and Jeff Zywicki, and goaltender Anthony Cosmo stopped all eight shots he faced in the fourth quarter. Cosmo, who stopped 16-of-18 in the third quarter, finished with 48 saves on 54 shots.

Brian Langtry and Jamie Shewchuk both tallied two goals and two assists, leading the Mammoth with four points each. Captain Gavin Prout had two assists to finish the season with 67, tops in the NLL and just four shy of the league record.

Zywicki led the Stealth with three goals and Colin Doyle led all scorers with nine points on two goals and a game-high seven assists.

The Colorado Mammoth, which had won all five previous meetings with the Edmonton Rush, took the dominance of its division foe to a higher level on Friday night.

A relentless power play and record-setting defensive performance gave the Mammoth a 15-4 victory in front of a season-high crowd of 18,301 at Pepsi Center.

The victory, by the largest margin of the season, ensures the Mammoth (8-6) will finish no lower than second place in the National Lacrosse League’s West Division. The team will host a West Division Semifinal playoff game, likely to be played on Saturday, May 3.

“It was a total team effort tonight,” Mammoth coach Bob McMahon said. “We weren’t happy with our play last weekend and I was happy to see us respond.”

The Mammoth and Rush (4-10) meet again on Saturday at Rexall Place in Edmonton at 7:30 p.m.

Colorado, which entered the game ranked fourth in the league with a 44.4 percent success rate on the power play, converted on 8-of-12 extra man chances.

Meanwhile, goaltender Gee Nash and the Mammoth defense allowed the fewest goals in team history, breaking the previous record of six. Nash finished with 31 saves on 35 shots.

Mammoth captain Gavin Prout had a game-high seven assists, bringing his league-leading total up to 63. He needs eight assists in the last two regular-season games to tie Josh Sanderson’s NLL record of 71, set in 2005 with the Toronto Rock.

Jamie Shewchuk led the Mammoth with four goals and Nick Carlson added three. Brian Langtry scored twice, tying Gary Gait’s Mammoth team record of 149 goals.

Jed Prossner, who also had two goals, scored with a hard shot from a bad angle early in the second quarter to give the Mammoth a 7-1 lead. The shorthanded tally prompted the Rush to replace starting goaltender Curtis Palidwor with backup Matt King. Palidwor stopped 12-of-19 shots and King came in to make 25 saves on 33 shots.

The Mammoth reeled of three power-play goals in a 2:21 span of the second quarter to extend the dominance to 10-1. Carlson then scored his second goal of the night to give Colorado an 11-1 halftime lead, marking the first time in team history the Mammoth has allowed only one goal in a half.

The Mammoth went 3-for-3 on the power play in the first quarter, helping to build a 6-1 lead early in the game.

Injuries piling up
Already missing Dan Carey (concussion) and Jim Moss (shoulder), the Mammoth took another blow Friday when Josh Sims left the game with a sprained ankle. He will not play Saturday night in Edmonton.

Colorado Mammoth players Josh Sims, Nenad Gajic and Dylan Llord will join NBC’s “Today” show at Eldora Ski Area Tuesday morning as part of host Al Roker’s annual “Lend A Hand” series.

“Lend A Hand” continues its mission to help small charities across the country that work towardw improving conditions in their communities. Roker’s goodwill road trip kicked off Monday, April 14 in Boise, ID and continues throughout the week in Boulder, Albuquerque, Oklahoma City and Atlanta.

Roker will announce the charities served in Boulder with the help of the Colorado Mammoth and Denver Broncos quarterback Jay Cutler.