The Colorado Mammoth are an American professional
box lacrosse
Box lacrosse, also known as boxla, box, or indoor lacrosse, is an indoor version of lacrosse played mostly in North America. The game originated in the 1930s in Canada, where it is more popular than field lacrosse. Lacrosse is Canada's officia ...
team based in
Denver
Denver ( ) is a List of municipalities in Colorado#Consolidated city and county, consolidated city and county, the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Colorado, most populous city of the U.S. state of ...
, Colorado, that competes in the
National Lacrosse League
The National Lacrosse League (NLL) is a professional box lacrosse league in North America. The league comprises 14 teams8 in the United States and 6 in Canada. The NLL is headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
...
(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
The Colorado Avalanche (colloquially known as the Avs) are a professional ice hockey team based in Denver. The Avalanche compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Central Division (NHL), Central Division in the Western Con ...
,
Denver Nuggets
The Denver Nuggets are an American professional basketball team based in Denver. The Nuggets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Northwest Division (NBA), Northwest Division of the Western Conference (NBA), W ...
, and the
Colorado Rapids
The Colorado Rapids are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in the Denver metropolitan area. The Rapids compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. Founded in ...
.
The Mammoth franchise previously played as the
Baltimore Thunder from
1987
Events January
* January 1 – Bolivia reintroduces the Boliviano currency.
* January 2 – Chadian–Libyan conflict – Battle of Fada: The Military of Chad, Chadian army destroys a Libyan armoured brigade.
* January 3 – Afghan leader ...
to
1999
1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons.
Events January
* January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers.
* January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...
, the
Pittsburgh CrosseFire in
2000
2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year.
Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...
, and the
Washington Power from
2001
The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...
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
2004 was designated as an International Year of Rice by the United Nations, and the International Year to Commemorate the Struggle Against Slavery and Its Abolition (by UNESCO).
Events January
* January 3 – Flash Airlines Flight 60 ...
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. In 2008, the Mammoth average attendance per game was higher than Pepsi Center's other teams, the Colorado Avalanche (
NHL
The National Hockey League (NHL; , ''LNH'') is a professional ice hockey league in North America composed of 32 teams25 in the United States and 7 in Canada. The NHL is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Cana ...
) and the Denver Nuggets (
NBA).
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
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
*
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.
*
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.
*
Gord "Gee" Nash, who was the 2004
Goaltender of the Year.
*
Gavin Prout, a crowd favorite who consistently puts up high numbers. In 2006, Prout was named team captain. On October 31, 2009, to the outrage of many fans, Prout was traded to the Rochester Knighthawks, who in turn traded him to the
Edmonton Rush on November 10. After a season and a half in Edmonton, Prout was traded back to the Mammoth in March 2011.
*
John Grant Jr., who was the 2012
NLL MVP. Retired in 2017.
*
Joey Cupido, three time fan favorite award winner who was the 2015 and 2018
Transition Player of the Year.
*
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
NLL Hall of Fame members
*
Pat Coyle (Class of 2014)
*
Dan Stroup (Class of 2010)
*
Gary Gait (Class of 2006)
*
Paul Gait (Class of 2006)
Current roster
All-time record
Playoff results
Head coaching history
See also
*
Colorado Mammoth seasons
Notes
References
External links
Official WebsiteColorado Mammoth news
{{Colorado Sports
Sports clubs and teams in Denver
Lacrosse clubs established in 2002
Lacrosse teams in Colorado
National Lacrosse League teams
2003 establishments in Colorado
Kroenke Sports & Entertainment