Nash leads Mammoth to playoff-clinching win
National Lacrosse League All-Star Gee Nash turned in his best performance of the season and the Colorado Mammoth punched its ticket to the postseason with an 11-8 victory over the Rochester Knighthawks on Thursday night.
A Pepsi Center crowd of 16,860 grew louder and more appreciative with each of Nash's 46 saves, as the former NLL goaltender of the year held the high-powered Knighthawks to their lowest goal output of 2008.
"What can you say? Gee was on his game tonight," Mammoth coach Bob McMahon said. "He was seeing the ball well and feeling confident."
Colorado improved to 7-4 overall and 5-2 at home, securing one of four West Division playoff spots on the strength of a remarkably balanced offensive attack. Brian Langtry, Gavin Prout, Jamie Shewchuk and Jason Wulder registered two goals and two assists apiece and Nenad Gajic matched the four-point effort with a goal and three assists.
Rochester's John Grant was typically productive, notching four goals, while Ken Millin added two goals and two assists.
The Mammoth dominated the early stages of the third quarter, as Shewchuk scored twice and Langtry added one in a span of less than two minutes. The Knighthawks got one back late in the quarter to cut the Mammoth advantage to 9-5.
Nash took over in the fourth quarter, making 17 saves to improve to 6-3 on the season. Rochester's Pat O'Toole took the loss in goal, stopping 32-of-43 shots.
After each team scored just once in the first quarter, the offense opened up at both ends of the floor in the second. Wulder scored twice on one-touch shots and Langtry, Prout and Catton each added one. Rochester managed three goals in the quarter and trailed 6-4 at halftime.
Catton's tally was his first of the season. He picked up a loose ball that was jarred away from O'Toole by Prout, dashed down the left side and buried his chance to give the Mammoth a 4-2 lead.
The Mammoth travels to Buffalo for a Saturday showdown against the Bandits on Saturday at 5:30 p.m. Mountain time at the HSBC Arena.
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