Swarm vs Mammoth Preview

“If you can’t get pumped up to play the Colorado Mammoth, you need to think of a new line of work.”  Swarm assistant coach Derek Moffat is pretty clear about this weekend’s opponent… they are the defending National Lacrosse League champions, they are tied with Rochester for the best record in the league, and they bring one of the most complete teams in the NLL to the Xcel Energy Center this Saturday.  They have offense (2nd in the league in goals per game with 13.9), defense (tied for 1st in the league with 11 goals allowed per game), and coaching (they’re led by one of the all-time greats in Gary Gait - more on him later).  Moffat sums it up best… “They are what we and every other team in the league strives to be.”  “However”, Moffat adds, “they do have one glaring weakness and that’s at the Assistant Coach/Offensive Coordinator position with Russ Heard.”  (That’s an inside joke intended to get Heard’s dander up… the two played club lacrosse in Canada together in the early 90’s).

Although the Mammoth boast a league-best five players from this year’s West Division All Star Team (forwards #44 Dan Carey and #9 Gavin Prout, transition player #4 Josh Sims, defenseman #11 John Gallant, and goalie #38 Gee Nash) the Mammoth aren’t invincible… at least not on the road.  Their only two losses this season came on January 20th at Calgary (17-13) and last weekend at Buffalo (19-15).  Moffatt underscores the importance of that… “The Mammoth want to have home turf throughout the playoffs and right now they’re tied with Rochester.  This is not a team that is coasting until the end of the season and the playoffs.  They want to win and we will need to play a complete game to take this match.”

The Swarm is also coming off a tough weekend.  Beset by injuries to top players including #39 Mark Miyashita who’s out for the season with a blown out left knee, the Swarm lost to the Toronto Rock 13-6.  But, according to Moffat, the lopsided score is not an indication of how well the Swarm played.  “I thought we were dominant for long stretches of the game.  We hit so many posts, especially in the first quarter.  We were all over them but in the end we lost.  There is always room for improvement and I know our guys will come in focused for this game.”

Now to Mammoth Head Coach Gary Gait.  It’s not hyperbole to say he is the biggest name in all of lacrosse.  Whether it’s the field or indoor game, in the United States or Canada, during the game or in the boardroom, Gary Gait is lacrosse royalty.  Check out this resume:

College (Syracuse)
· Three-time 1st team All American
· Two-time national player of the year
· Led the Orangemen to national championships in 1988, 1989 and 1990
· All-time leading goal scorer with 192 goals, a record that stands today
· Creator of the “Air Gait” where he leaps in the air from behind the goal, scoring while in mid air and then landing on the other side of the crease… a brilliant and perfectly legal play

Indoor Lacrosse: National Lacrosse League (NLL)
· 15-year professional indoor lacrosse player… All-Pro every season
· 1991 rookie of the year with the league champion Detroit Turbos
· Won league championships with the Philadelphia Wings in 1994 and 1995
· League MVP a record six times
· Broke his own single-season scoring record in 1993 with 61 goals, a mark that still stands
· The first player in league history to score 500 career goals
· NLL’s Sportsmanship Award winner in 2004 and 2005
· Retired in 2005 as the NLL’s all-time leader in goals (596) and points (1,091)
· League’s most prolific playoff scorer with 66 goals in 22 career postseason games
· In first season as head coach, led Colorado to Champion’s Cup (2006)

Outdoor Lacrosse: Major League Lacrosse (MLL)
· Played five seasons since the league’s inception (2001-2005)
· Baltimore Bayhawks player-coach (2002-2005)
· Won the Steinfeld Cup as a player-coach (2003)
· Scored six goals in 2003 Championship Game (game and season MVP)

International Lacrosse
· Member of Team Canada (1990, 1994, 1998, 2002, 2004, 2006)
· Winners of the Heritage Cup (2004)
· 2006 Winners of the World Lacrosse Championship (teammate of the Swarm’s Ryan Ward)

Halls of Fame
· Inducted into the U.S. Lacrosse Hall of Fame (2005)
· NLL Hall of Fame as one of five charter members including his twin brother Paul (2006)

Industry
· President of NDP Lacrosse, a national lacrosse development and education program

As if welcoming Gait and the 2006 NLL champions isn’t enough, Saturday’s game is an historic one for the National Lacrosse League.  This will be the 1000th regular season game in the history of the league.  Established in 1987, the league has undergone some name changes but thanks to the timing of the game, this one will go down in history regardless of the outcome.

-Howard Green