Colorado dropped a 13-4 decision against the San Diego Seals Saturday and will look to rebound against another Western Conference opponent next weekend against Panther City.
The Loud House was rocking early Saturday after Mammoth forward Chris Wardle operated on the left side, surveyed his options and connected with a cutting Eli McLaughlin, who converted past Seals’ Netminder Frank Scilgiano to open the contest’s scoring.
Rookie forward Tre Leclaire tied the game with three minutes remaining in the first by sending a shot from the top of the point. Wes Berg gave San Diego its first lead of the evening 13 seconds later.
Leclaire continued the Seals’ hot streak at the end of the first by sneaking a shot past Mammoth Goaltender Dillon Ward’s right side to solidify a 3-1 lead with less than a minute remaining in the opening session. Dane Dobbie added a lucky bouncer nearly four minutes into the second to extend San Diego’s lead to three.
In his second game with the organization, Mammoth forward Connor Robinson got Colorado back on the board nearly a minute later. After taking advantage of a great pick from teammate Zed Williams and receiving a pass from Ryan Lee just outside the crease, Robinson quickly rolled to Scigliano’s right side and converted his first of the evening.
Former Mammoth favorite Jeremy Noble added another San Diego tally 30 seconds later to establish a 6-2 score. Leclaire completed his first half hat-trick with just over five minutes remaining in the half.
Cam Holding notched another for San Diego five minutes into the second half to open up a five-goal lead for the Seals. Dobbie logged his second of the night with just under six minutes to play to make it an 8-2 contest.
Robinson recorded his second of the game with less than a second remaining in the third period, his fourth of the season. With the final possession of the quarter, Zed Williams located a wide-open Robinson just outside the crease, who logged his second of the night with one-fifth of a second remaining.
Former Penn State attackman Mac O’ Keefe added another for the Seals cementing a 9-3 game before Noble capitalized on a holding penalty two minutes seconds later to record his second of the game. Wes Berg recorded his second of the night with roughly 10 minutes to play in the contest.
Mammoth goal-scoring extraordinaire Ryan Lee added to his team-best goal total by burying one past Scigliano with eight minutes remaining.
Dobbie completed his hat-trick with less than six minutes to play. Drew Belgrave’s tally at the 13:29 mark finalized a 13-4 score.
Through two games, forward Ryan Lee leads the Mammoth in points (10) and goals (6), while Eli McLaughlin and Chris Wardle remained tied with a team-best five assists. Robert Hope’s 24 loose balls and three caused turnovers currently pace the defensive unit.
Tickets to Colorado’s Dec.31 New Year’s Eve Party against the New York Riptide, and all Mammoth home games, can be purchased at Ticketmaster.com. Mammoth road games can be streamed live via ESPN+.
