The Colorado Mammoth are an American professional box lacrosse team based in Denver, Colorado, that competes in the National Lacrosse League (NLL). The team has played its home games at Ball Arena since the 2003 season. They are owned by Stan Kroenke, who is also the owner of the Colorado Avalanche, Denver Nuggets, and the Colorado Rapids.
The Mammoth franchise previously played as the Baltimore Thunder from 1987 to 1999, the Pittsburgh CrosseFire in 2000, and the Washington Power from 2001 to 2002. Up until the joining of the expansion team San Diego Seals, Colorado was the only non-Canadian team in the Western Division from 2014 to 2018. They have only missed the playoffs twice since moving to Colorado.
In 2004 and from 2006 to 2008, the Mammoth lead the league in attendance. 2006 was the first year in the 20-year history of the NLL that the league had an attendance of more than one million fans in one season. The Mammoth had the honor of hosting fan number one million.
2006 champions
In the 2006 season, the Mammoth went to the playoffs in the #2 seed in the Western Division. Round one was hosted in Colorado against rivals Calgary. The Mammoth won 18–17 in overtime. Brian Langtry scored the overtime goal. Round two (Western Division finals) was also hosted at Pepsi Center against the Arizona Sting. Rookie Dan Carey scored the winning goal as the Mammoth defeated the Sting 13–12. The championship game was held at HSBC Arena in Buffalo against the
Buffalo Bandits who held the league's best record and the incumbent league MVP, goaltender
Steve Dietrich . The Mammoth won the Champion's Cup by a score of 16–9, with Gavin Prout being named Game MVP.
2022 champions
The Mammoth won the National Lacrosse League Cup beating the
Buffalo Bandits 2 games to 1, with
Dillon Ward being named the Finals MVP.
Notable players
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Gary Gait, who retired after the 2005 NLL season as the NLL's all-time scoring leader with 596 goals and 495 assists in 174 games (a record since surpassed by John Tavares). Gait also won the 2003 NLL MVP Award while with the Mammoth. On November 12, 2005, Gait was inducted into the NLL Hall of Fame, and on December 30, 2005, his number 22 jersey banner was hung from Pepsi Center rafters — the first NLL number ever to be retired and hung from any arena. Gait was the Mammoth head coach for the 2006 and 2007 seasons before stepping down in August 2007 to pursue other interests.
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Brian Langtry, who won the NLL Rookie of the Year Award in 2003, is well known for his all-out goal scoring attempts. Langtry retired after the 2011 season.
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Gord Nash, who was the 2004 Goaltender of the Year.
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Gavin Prout, a crowd favorite who consistently puts up high numbers. Prout won the 2006 championship as team captain and the won Championship Game MVP.
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Chris Gill, played a key offensive role in winning the 2006 championships. With 186 games, scored 589 points, and scored 1.9 goals a game in the NLL.
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Pat Coyle signed with the Mammoths in 2005 and won the 2006 championship. Retired in 2008. Capturing the league’s first-ever Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2002, he was later named to the Mammoth’s All-Decade Team in 2012 and eventually became the first defenseman in NLL history to be inducted into the NLL Hall of Fame in 2014.
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Rich Catton played a key defensive role in helping the Mammoth earn its first NLL Championship in 2006.
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John Grant Jr., who was the 2012 NLL MVP. Retired in 2017.
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Joey Cupido, three time fan favorite award winner who was the 2015 and 2018 Transition Player of the Year.
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Dillon Ward, winner of the 2017 Goaltender of the Year Award . He played an essential role during the team's 2022 championship run and he was awarded the 2022 Finals MVP award.
Awards and honors
|
| Most Valuable Player |
| Rookie of the Year |
| Executive of the Year |
| Goaltender of the Year |
| Sportsmanship Award (tie with Peter Lough) |
| Sportsmanship Award |
| Champion's Cup MVP |
| Rookie of the Year |
| Most Valuable Player |
| Transition Player of the Year |
| Goaltender of the Year |
| Transition Player of the Year |
| Champion's Cup MVP |
NLL Hall of Fame members
'Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame members'
Current roster
All-time record
|
|
| Lost Division Final |
| Lost Division Final |
| Lost Division Semi-Final |
| Won Championship |
| Lost Division Semi-Final |
| Lost Division Semi-Final |
| Lost Division Semi-Final |
| Did Not Qualify |
| Lost Division Semi-Final |
| Lost Division Semi-Final |
| Lost Division Semi-Final |
| Lost Division Semi-Final |
| Lost Division Semi-Final |
| Lost Division Semi-Final |
| Lost Division Final |
| Lost Division Semi-Final |
| Lost Division Final |
| 2020 | Western | 7–6 | 2nd | 4–2 | 3–4 | 128 | 125 | Pat Coyle | No playoffs held |
| 2021 | Western | Season cancelled due to COVID-19 pandemic |
| 2022 | Western | 10–8 | 3rd | 7–2 | 3–6 | 196 | 198 | Pat Coyle | Won Championship |
| 2023 | Western | 9–9 | 4th | 7–2 | 2–7 | 190 | 208 | Pat Coyle | Lost Championship |
| 2024 | Unified | 5–13 | 15th | 4-5 | 1-8 | 193 | 226 | Pat Coyle | Did Not Qualify |
| 2025 | Unified | 8–10 | 10th | 4–5 | 4–5 | 195 | 212 | Pat Coyle | Did Not Qualify |
|
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Playoff results
|
| Colorado 15 |
| Toronto 15 |
| Colorado 11 |
| Arizona 16 |
| Colorado 18 |
| Colorado 13 |
| Buffalo 9 |
| Colorado 14 (OT) |
| Colorado 13 |
| Calgary 15 |
| Calgary 10 |
| Colorado 10 |
| Calgary 15 |
| Calgary 16 (OT) |
| Colorado 6 |
| Colorado 10 (OT) |
| Vancouver 12 |
| Colorado 9 |
| Saskatchewan 11 |
| Colorado 12 |
| Saskatchewan 10 (OT) |
| Calgary 8 |
| 2022 | Western Conference Semifinals | Colorado 16 | Calgary 12 |
| Western Conference Finals Game 1 | Colorado 14 | San Diego 12 |
| Western Conference Finals Game 2 | San Diego 11 | Colorado 10 |
| Western Conference Finals Game 3 | Colorado 15 | San Diego 13 |
| NLL Finals Game 1 | Colorado 14 | Buffalo 15 |
| NLL Finals Game 2 | Buffalo 8 | Colorado 11 |
| NLL Finals Game 3 | Colorado 10 | Buffalo 8 |
| 2023 | Western Conference Semifinals | Colorado 13 | San Diego 12 |
| Western Conference Finals Game 1 | Calgary 7 | Colorado 8 |
| Western Conference Finals Game 2 | Colorado 12 | Calgary 13 |
| Western Conference Finals Game 3 | Colorado 9 | Calgary 7 |
| NLL Finals Game 1 | Colorado 12 | Buffalo 13 |
| NLL Finals Game 2 | Buffalo 10 | Colorado 16 |
| NLL Finals Game 3 | Colorado 4 | Buffalo 13 |
Head coaching history
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|
| – |
| .250 |
| .750 |
| .000 |
| – |
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| .200 |
| .588 |
Source: |
See also
Notes
External links
