Gary Gait’s first year as Colorado Mammoth coach in the National Lacrosse League is impressive. Despite the team-leading 81 points Colorado lost when Gait retired as a player last spring, the club can win the NLL West Division title Saturday against Arizona at noon at the Pepsi Center.
Colorado has won six of its past seven games, including an 18-17 overtime thriller against Calgary last Saturday, the second postseason victory in Colorado’s four-year history.
“It has been an entire season of trying to build chemistry and create a group of players who play as a team for 60 minutes,” Gait said.
Mammoth owner Stan Kroenke signed Gait to four three-year contracts.
Last season under coach Jamie Batley, the Mammoth lost five of its last seven regular-season games, including three in a row before falling at Arizona in the playoffs 16-13.
Gait, along with assistants Russ Heard and Dan Pratt, have delivered a consistent message all season: play packed-in defense, stay out of the penalty box, and run the ball up the floor whenever possible. Gait made wise goalkeeper changes, replacing Gee Nash with Chris Levis and winning all five times.
Ranked second in the NLL for career points, Gait has shared his shooting success with players, emphasizing fakes, showing various release angles and studying goaltenders’ vulnerable areas.
He also established regular communication – not an easy task considering half his team spends weekdays in Denver and the other half is spread from British Columbia to Ontario to the East Coast. Gait started in training camp, meeting with each player to establish expectations.
Colorado’s path to the NLL West final also was cleared by general manager Steve Govett, who pushed for the NLL to review several penalties by Calgary amid Colorado’s sweep of the Roughnecks on April 14 and 15. Jason Wulder was suspended and teammates Jesse Phillips, Andrew McBride and Ryan McNish were fined by the NLL.
Consequently, the Colorado- Calgary playoff game was less about roughing. Colorado occasionally veered from Gait’s philosophy and committed more penalties than Calgary.
Matt Leveque, starting in place of injured John Gallant, slammed Calgary captain Tracey Kelusky and was assessed five minutes for boarding, which allowed two Calgary goals.
Dave Stilley earned five minutes late in the game for a high stick on Kelusky, which led to a pair of Roughnecks power-play goals that tied it 15-15.
In an otherwise well-officiated game, Calgary’s Andy Ogilvie got away with slamming Colorado’s leading scorer, Gavin Prout, into the boards.
When Prout returned to the game, he set up Andrew Burkholder for goal No. 16. Burkholder, the third player Govett has brought in this year to fill the left-handed spot, also scored No. 17. And Brian Langtry, a shooter Gait has counseled, scored the game- winner.
