Minnesota Swarm vs. Colorado Mammoth
Firday, April 1, 2005

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 - Game Highlights 1st | 2nd
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 - Performance Team 1st | 2nd

Boxscore >>

St. Paul, MN - The Colorado Mammoth defeated the Minnesota Swarm 15-9 in National Lacrosse League action Friday night at Xcel Energy Center in front of 10,054 fans. Kelly Hall (three goals, four assists) and Ryan Ward (one goal, six assists) led the Swarm in scoring with seven points each. D'Arcy Berthiaume added two goals and three assists. Matt Disher suffered the loss allowing 15 goals on 47 shots.

Colorado was led in scoring by Josh Sims who collected seven points (three goals, four assists). Del Halladay added three goals and an assist while Paul Gait tallied two goals and an assist in his first NLL action since 2002. Gee Nash stopped 35 of 44 shots faced to earn his eighth win of the season.

Minnesota took an early 1-0 lead on a goal from Hall just 22 seconds into the contest. Chad Culp upped Minnesota's lead to 2-0 as the Swarm took advantage of a slow start from the Mammoth. It didn't take long for Paul Gait to make an impact in his first game back in nearly three years as he scored a power play goal at the 4:11 mark to cut the Swarm's lead in half. Gary Gait picked up the first assist on the goal. Power play goals from Hall and Ryder Bateman put Minnesota ahead 4-1. Hall has now collected a power play goal in 10 consecutive games and has tallied a league-leading 17 power play goals this season. Colorado cut the lead to 4-3 by the end of the first quarter on goals from Brad Self and Halladay. Halladay's goal came with just two seconds remaining in the quarter and seemed to give the visitor's a much-needed lift.

The Mammoth collected the first three goals of the second quarter to take a 6-4 lead with just 2:08 off the clock as Halladay, Nick Carlson and Gary Gait scored for Colorado. A Berthiaume power play goal with 5:46 remaining in the half helped end the Colorado rush and got Minnesota within one goal at 6-5. The first half ended with the Swarm trailing, 8-6, as Halladay and Gavin Prout scored for the Mammoth and Bateman notched his second power play goal of the night for Minnesota.

A shorthanded goal by John Gallant and a breakaway tally from Sims opened up a 10-6 lead for Colorado. Ryan Ward notched his first goal of the game to cut into the deficit as the Swarm tried to make a comeback, but Paul Gait answered with his second goal of the game to make the score 11-7 with 6:53 remaining in the quarter. A shorthanded goal by Sims by gave the Mammoth its biggest lead of the night at 12-7. Power play goals by Hall and Berthiaume sandwiched around a Colorado goal by Brian Langtry made the score 13-9 after three quarters.

The Mammoth registered the only two goals scored in the fourth quarter as Dan Stroup and Sims tallied goals. The loss drops Minnesota to 3-11 overall and 1-6 at Xcel Energy Center. Colorado improves its record to 8-5. The Swarm finished 5-for-10 on the power play. The Mammoth went 2-for-4.

Minnesota plays at Anaheim next Saturday at 9:30 PM and concludes the regular season at home against the Philadelphia Wings on April 15.

- Swarm Game Notes >>
- Mammoth Game Notes >>

Mike Simpson talks about Friday's game against Colorado

The Swarm looks for its second straight home win Friday when it hosts the Colorado Mammoth.

Minnesota split a home-and-home series with Rochester last weekend with both teams picking up a win on its home turf. Kelly Hall led the Swarm in scoring over the weekend with nine points (4-5=9), while Ryder Bateman (5-3=8) and Chad Culp (2-6=8) recorded eight points each. Culp scored the game-winning goal in the team's 12-11 win over the Knighthawks on Friday night at Xcel Energy Center.

Colorado had the weekend off and currently trails Calgary by one game in the West Division standings. Friday's game will feature the debut of legendary lacrosse brothers Paul and Gary Gait together as members of the Colorado Mammoth. Gary is the NLL's all-time leader in goals and points, and has announced his retirement effective at the end of this season. Paul Gait announced his return to the NLL on March 24 and is the League's third all-time leading scorer with 404 career goals. He retired from professional lacrosse after being named the NLL's most valuable player in 2002.

The Swarm is 2-5 on the road and 1-5 at home. The club averages 11.71 goals/game on the road and 11.83 goals/game at Xcel Energy Center. Minnesota allows 15.0 goals/game at home and 14.71 goals/game on the road as shown below. Overall the Swarm averages 11.76 goals/game and allows 14.84 goals/game.

SPECIAL TEAMS - Minnesota has scored 50 power play goals this season, the most in the NLL. The club converted 11-of-18 power play chances over the weekend to up its power play percentage to 47.1%, which ranks third in the league.

Chad Culp leads the team in scoring with 38 points (17-21=38) and is tied for the League lead in shorthanded goals with three.

Kelly Hall ranks first in the League with 16 power play goals. He has recorded at least one power play goal in nine consecutive games, scoring all 16 during the streak. Hall notched four power play goals last weekend, including a team-leading six points on two power play goals and four assists Friday night against Rochester. He leads the Swarm with 22 goals and is second on the team in scoring with 35 points.

Rookie Riley Kemp ranks fifth in the NLL in scoring amongst defensemen with 17 points (7-10=17). He collected a goal and an assist in back-to-back games over the weekend. Kemp leads the Swarm with 78 loose balls. He and teammate Brock Boyle rank tied for sixth in the League in goals with seven.

Kemp also ranks third in the league in shooting percentage at .538 (seven goals on 13 shots). Ryan Cousins ranks tied for first in shooting percentage with Toronto's Brian Beisel as both players have scored five goals on nine shots (.556).

Friday's game marks the first game against a West Division opponent since February 18 when Minnesota dropped a 17-16 (OT) decision at Arizona. The game marks the fourth of five matches against West Division opponents for the Swarm. Minnesota defeated the Stealth, 9-8, in San Jose on January 22 and dropped an 8-7 decision to Anaheim at Xcel Energy Center on January 28. The club will play at Anaheim on April 9.

MINNESOTA VS. COLORADO CONNECTIONS - Minnesota acquired a second round pick in the 2005 NLL Entry Draft from the Colorado Mammoth in exchange for G John McLellan on February 2, 2005...McLellan was 0-1 in two games with the Swarm.

Ticket Deals & Special Promotions

• "Fool For Love" Singles Party WMGT 1220 Radio - Meet your match while cheering on the Swarm from a suite at Xcel Energy Center? Anything's possible. The first 100 buyers will get a suite ticket for $25. Activities will be scheduled and prize giveaways will be held for suite guests. After suite tickets are sold out, WMGT 1220 listeners can purchase lower level seats for $12.20. For more information call 888-MN-SWARM.
• Saint Paul Saints Day - The Swarm and St. Paul Saints are joining forces! In honor of April Fools Day, Saints fans are invited to celebrate "Saints Day" at the Swarm with an unbelievable April Fools Day price of just $10 for any seat on the exclusive club level of Xcel Energy Center. Learn about Saint Paul Saints Day >>
• Youth Hockey Recognition Night - The Minnesota Swarm would like to invite all youth hockey associations to the Swarm game on April 1st.  This will be an action packed evening with the aggressive and high-energy sport of Professional Indoor Lacrosse!  Associations will be recognized during the game and you will also receive a Swarm baseball hat with your ticket. Learn more about Youth Hockey Recognition Night >>
• Saint Paul Reads Night - For each ticket purchased through this promotion, the Minnesota Swarm will donate $5 to the Saint Paul Reads Program (SaintPaulReads.org). In addition, fans that bring a new book for donation will be eligible to win prizes. Purchase tickets through this promotion >>
• Channel 45 Fan Pack -  Fans that purchase the Channel 45 Fan Pack will receive four sodas, four hot dogs and four game tickets for just $45. Learn about Channel 45 Fan Pack >> 
• College Rush - The college rush program offers students the best available seat on game night for just $10 when a college ID is presented at the Xcel Energy Center Box Office.
• Post-Game Concert - Rock out at The Legendary Roy Wilkins Auditorium with the local band Epic Hero after the game. All fans with a ticket stub will get free admission to the concert that will take place immediately following the game. For more information call 888-MN-SWARM.