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14,000 Watch Swarm Fall to Mammoth in Debut It was a party-like atmosphere at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn., Friday night as the National Lacrosse League raised the curtain on its latest expansion franchise, the Minnesota Swarm. Unfortunately for the 14,084 fans that redeemed free tickets to the preseason opener – the first professional lacrosse game ever to be played in Minnesota – the visiting Colorado Mammoth ruined the festivities. Brian Langtry scored four goals and Jay Jalbert led all scorers with seven points (two goals, five assists) to lead the Mammoth to a 16-6 rout in the front end of its home-and-home series with the Swarm. The teams will meet again on Saturday at 7 p.m. in Loveland at the Budweiser Events Center. The Mammoth scored five unanswered goals in the first quarter and took a 10-3 lead into halftime. The second half was filled with penalties, thanks in large part to several fights. Josh Sims added three goals and Mammoth captain Gary Gait scored twice. Jamie Hanford, Nick Carlson and Brad Self each added one goal, while Chris Panos and Chris Prat – NLL veterans playing their first game in a Colorado uniform – also added one goal each. Michael Longboat led Minnesota with two goals. Mammoth goaltender Gee Nash was steady in net and earned the victory. Erik Miller finished the game after replacing Nash in the third quarter. Colorado 7 3 3 3 – 16 Minnesota 2 1 1 2 – 6 |
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