Mammoth Embarks on Twin Bill in Alberta
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The Edmonton Rush and Calgary Roughnecks are no strangers to the Colorado Mammoth. In a 15-day stretch in the final month of the regular season in 2011, the Mammoth played the Rush three times and the Roughnecks twice. Colorado’s 3-2 mark in those games, including must-wins at Rexall Place on April 9 and at Pepsi Center six days later, propelled the Mammoth to its eighth postseason appearance in its nine-year history in Denver.
While the teams themselves have had a plethora of memorable head-to-head match-ups, many of the faces, at least for the Mammoth and Rush, have changed. Colorado, which won on Opening Night at Pepsi Center last Saturday, returned only eight players from last year’s roster. Friday’s game is the first of the 2012 season for the new-look Rush.
“I like the group we have, but…you never really, truly know until you get into the season and evaluate things moving forward from there,” said Rush Head Coach and General Manager Derek Keenan.
The Mammoth tied a franchise-record in goals scored (20) a week ago. Head Coach Bob Hamley was happy with the outcome, but is understandably looking ahead to this weekend.
“Here we are again, back in the fire this week with a big trip up to Alberta.”
On Saturday, Colorado returns to the Scotiabank Saddledome for the first time since the Mammoth was eliminated by the NLL regular-season-champion Calgary Roughnecks in the West Division Semifinals on April 30, 2011.
This weekend marks the third time in franchise history that the Mammoth has played on back-to-back nights in Alberta. Both times, Colorado won the first game in Edmonton and lost the second in Calgary.
The Roughnecks (2-0) lead the West Division and have already defeated the defending-NLL-champion Toronto Rock and the defending-West-Division-champion Washington Stealth on the road. Saturday is Calgary’s home-opener.
Following this weekend’s twin-bill, the Mammoth returns to HealthONE Field at Pepsi Center on Saturday, January 28 at 7pm to take on the Rochester Knighthawks. At halftime, the team will honor the Mammoth All-Decade Team in a special, on-field presentation. Tickets to Mammoth regular-season home games are on sale now at the Pepsi Center box office, all Colorado Dick’s Sporting Goods retail kiosks, online at TicketHorse.com, or by calling 303.53.HORSE.
