Colorado Mammoth coach Gary Gait showed his deft touch with goalkeepers in Colorado’s 2-0 start.
In the season opener, Gait pulled starter Gee Nash at the first sign of poor performance and installed Chris Levis, who stopped several breakaways in a 30-save effort.
“It’s kind of instinct,” Gait said afterward. “You never know if it’s the right call. I said at the beginning of the year that we have the best 1-2 goalie combination in the league, and this shows why. Gee will be back next week and ready to go.”
True to Gait’s prediction, Nash was in stellar form for the second game of the season, making 42 saves and two assists in a 10-6 victory Friday at Arizona.
Nash’s mental resilience is one of the qualities that makes him among the best in the National Lacrosse League.
“You always try to be as focused as possible,” he said. “But after a game that’s not up to your standards, you’re even more focused.”
Considering the potency of Arizona’s offense, ranked second in the NLL last season at 12.4 goals per game, limiting the Sting to six goals on its home floor is unusual.
Nash, who is not prone to exaggeration, was lavish in his praise.
“Defensively, we came in with an exceptional game plan, battled through some adversity with two key guys injured and played as great as I’ve ever seen us play,” he said.
Matt Leveque filled in for defender John Gallant (concussion). Rookie left-handed forward Jordan Cornfield replaced veteran right-handed forward Ben Prepchuk (hamstring).
Nash points to the end of last season as explanation for the reason the defense is in peak form so early in the 16-game season.
“It is a spillover,” he said of Colorado’s successful run through the playoffs to the NLL championship.
“We’ve maintained the core group on the backdoor, and we have so much confidence in tight situations because we’ve experienced them before and come out on top. You draw from those experiences.”
Footnotes
Gallant is expected to play Friday against Buffalo. Prepchuk will likely miss at least two more weeks. … One of Nash’s stellar outlet passes went to speedy transition player Josh Sims for his NLL-leading second short-handed goal of the season. With six goals in two games, Sims already has half of last season’s 12-goal total in 16 games. … Second-year forward Dan Carey also is off to a high-scoring start. The NLL rookie assist leader with 45 last season, Carey has seven goals. In 16 games last season, he netted 17.
