West Final Game 3: Colorado Mammoth 9 – Calgary Roughnecks 7

In the epitome of “They don’t ask how; they just ask how many”, the Colorado Mammoth led for 5:47 of the first two games of the West Finals. In the first half of Game 3, they led for the final 5:20, and in the second half, that lead was relinquished 1:11 in and not taken back until the final 6:28.

A total of 18:46 in the lead for the Mammoth for the entire series, but since the scoreboard read 9-7 Colorado when the final horn sounded at the Saddledome on Saturday Night, they will be the ones representing the West in the finals for the second straight season.

A 4-2 first quarter from Calgary was countered by a 4-1 second quarter from Colorado, but then once again the defenses showed off why they are regarded as two of the best units in the league, backed by two of the best goaltenders in the league. Goals from Tanner Cook and Shane Simpson in the first 4 minutes of the third quarter gave the Roughnecks their lead back.

After nearly 25 scoreless minutes for the Mammoth offense, Zed Williams caught the Roughnecks by surprise and beat Christian Del Bianco with a shot from outside the restraining line to tie the game back up. About a minute and a half later, it was Warren Jeffrey, one of Colorado’s traditionally stay-at-home defensemen, who gave the Mammoth the lead back.

Balance carried the Mammoth offense, led by Zed Williams leading the way with 2 goals and 2 assists. Eli McLaughlin and Warren Jeffrey each had a goal and 2 assists, and four members of the Mammoth offense (Lee, Gibson, Wardle, Robinson) had a goal and an assist. For Calgary, Haiden Dickson had a goal and 2 assists while 6 others (King, Cook, Z. Currier, Simpson, Cornwall, Waters) had a goal and an assist.

While the save numbers weren’t too high because of the low-event game, 33 saves from Dillon Ward and 28 from Christian Del Bianco served as another exceptional matchup between two of the best goalies on the planet keeping their teams in the game with a chance to move on, albeit Ward being the one to get there.

NLL Finals: Buffalo Bandits (E1) vs Colorado Mammoth (W4)

The Matchup

“We Might Be Better”

When the Mammoth celebrated their championship win 11 months ago, Ryan Lee and Eli McLaughlin were both in street clothes and banged up with injuries, with Lee’s keeping him out of the entire series. Their returns and the further development of Warren Jeffrey as a shutdown defender in his third season has Colorado feeling even more confident than they would’ve been last year that they can repeat this season. They are, however, without Joey Cupido, who has missed most of the season with a lower-body injury and was a critical piece of the 2022 team.

Are The Bandits Better Situated?

Being battle-tested in something the Bandits will definitely consider a win on their side compared to how they entered the finals last season with minimal resistance atop the league, and if that’s something that is giving them confidence against the team that has only allowed them to score 8 goals in each of their three meetings in the last 365 days, then you do have to take those feelings into consideration for the outlook of the series. Their handful of second-half comebacks this season showed that they can adjust on the fly, and their 7-6 win against San Diego was a checkpoint towards their ability to win a potential slog like Colorado and Calgary played twice in their series.

Regardless of whether or not they’re battle-tested enough to overcome the hurdles the Mammoth provides, the East Finals cannot be ignored. The dominating 9 goal wins that the Bandits put out on back-to-back nights against a Rock team that made a case to have been better than them in their 18-game samples might be unprecedented in the NLL. Building on their 20-8 win over Rochester in the first round with two just as if not more convincing victories is enough to show that the Bandits are indeed playing their best lacrosse of the year right now, which is something that wasn’t as clear last year or in 2019. The offense is clicking better than they have all season, and the defense is showing to be the wall that has been overlooked throughout the last couple of regular seasons because of teams like Toronto having that defensive reputation. Having the bye week while the Mammoth had to go to a third game also helps ensure they’re healthier than they were last year too, especially for Matt Vinc who was banged up throughout last year’s run.

But there’s still one giant thing standing in their way on all of these factors making the Bandits sure favorites in the series, as opposed to the “truly anything, can happen” expectations that are emerging in the leadoff to the opening faceoff Saturday Night.

The High Arc

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Figuring out the Mammoth’s pack-it-in defense is one thing – many teams have packed it in and been countered by a good offense before. It’s the combination of packing it in with Dillon Ward’s high arc style against outside shots that has caused the Bandits to fit in those last three performances.

Playing with a high arc is as simple as stepping out from the traditional goal-line goaltending position. The benefits of this are to cut off shooting angles and give shooters less clarity into where the holes are on the net. Think of it similarly to any shot being contested by a defender directly in the face of a couple of steps in front of you.

In other instances, getting a lane to the net can keep Ward in place, and that’ll make it easier to shoot around him with a closer idea of where the openings are on the net.

Similarly, this goes for any transition opportunity and broken plays in a set offense where the defense is unable to commit to having everyone in a shooting lane or available to provide help defense.

With the Mammoth being a team that focuses on limiting transition, the “settling in period” as the offense settles and both teams’ units are still getting on the floor. Another Byrne goal from their 2020 matchup shows this. The Bandits’ offense has just finished getting on the floor, with the Mammoth defense still being outside to match up. Ward sets up high, but Byrne fakes his shot and drives with an open lane to go right to the net and attack Ward back low in the crease with an open look at point blank.

Side-to-Side passing becomes a bigger point of emphasis against a high arc. If Ward is going out to contest a shot and the ball is flipped to another shooter, it keeps him from being able to return to the post to regain that sense of position that can allow for better options for the Bandits shooters.

Of course, quick sticks are the best way to move any goalie no matter their positioning. Below is an extreme example since Buchanan was able to get and stay open during the breakdown from adjusting to the incoming 6-on-5, but it shows that the opening can look like having to get over that quickly.

If it’s the high-arc itself you’re looking to eliminate, utilizing behind-the-net will get that done every time. It’s not always a high-frequency shot attempt, but working with the goalie’s back turned makes things more difficult for both the goalies and the spacing of the defense.

Even with all of this, outside shots aren’t completely ruled out against a high arch: accuracy just needs to be tightened. The most reliable way to get more scoring chances is to control the rebound game, which is a key that becomes a lot more important for an offense that may be expecting a lower goal total heading into a three-game series.

One Thing Left To Do

With 5 matchups in the last 14 months, these teams know each other very well. Colorado has a game plan that has proven to work multiple times. The Bandits now have the bodies of film to know how to counter it. Both teams will be confident and, more importantly, very hungry to walk away with a championship.

And it all gets started in Banditland on Saturday Night.

Photo Credit: Jack Dempsey for the Colorado Mammoth