Talk about déjà vu. And with it, even more heartache for the Vancouver Warriors.

For the second time this season, the Colorado Mammoth appeared on life support against their division rivals. And for the second time, they pulled off a historic comeback.

This time, the Mammoth dug out of a seven-goal hole in the final 18 minutes, then got the overtime winner from Eli McLaughlin for a 17-16 victory.

THE GAME WINNER #TuskUp pic.twitter.com/2RWeQCx1uK

— Colorado Mammoth (@MammothLax) March 19, 2022

Colorado even went ahead in regulation thanks to an eight-goal run that stretched just eight minutes. McLaughlin and Chris Wardle each had hat tricks during that period alone, while Connor Robinson put the team ahead with 10:20 remaining.

Keegan Bal, who had a monster game with 12 points for Vancouver, put out the fire a bit when he helped the Warriors regain the advantage with a pair of goals. McLaughlin equalized in the final minute of regulation before ending it for good 3:30 into the extra frame.

Ryan Lee and McLaughlin each reached double-digit point totals, with Lee collecting 13 and McLaughlin 11. The result brought back bad memories for Vancouver of its January 7 meeting with Colorado, when the Mammoth came back from an eight-goal deficit.

“No quit in this team, no quit,” McLaughlin said.

The victory helped further solidify Colorado’s second-place position in the West Division, but a day later, the Seals reminded the Mammoth who is on top. San Diego scored the final two goals of the night, with Austin Staats getting the game-winner and Wesley Berg the cushion, in a 9-7 win.

“Winning that game put a stranglehold on first place in the West,” Staats said.

San Diego exits the weekend 9-2, while Colorado looms at 7-5 as the only other West team above .500.

PANTHER CITY MAKING PLAYOFF PLAY

Panther City Lacrosse Club has now won four straight games, going from a team with clear eyes toward the future to one with playoff aspirations right now.

The expansion squad’s latest victim was the Calgary Roughnecks, who couldn’t slow down a 10-2 Panther City run stretching from the second quarter into the early stages of the fourth. The increasingly dangerous trio of Will Malcom, Patrick Dodds and Cam Milligan combined for 20 points in a 14-11 triumph.

Dodds led the way with eight points (seven assists), while Malcom had seven points and Milligan had five. Rookie Dean Fairall had at least six points for a third straight game with a hat trick and three assists.

With the victory, Panther City is just a half-game back of Vancouver for the third playoff spot in the West.

“It feels really great to finally start clicking with our offense,” Malcom said. “We’re touching both sides, and we’re making our late playoff push here. Hopefully we get it done.”

GEORGIA CREATES CUSHION

The Georgia Swarm are in the driver’s seat when it comes to the fourth East playoff spot, gaining some distance between themselves and the FireWolves this weekend. Lyle Thompson had nine points, five coming in a crucial fourth quarter, in a 15-12 victory against Albany.

The FireWolves entered the fourth up 9-7 and expanded that advantage when Andrew Kew opened the final frame’s scoring, but Georgia had a final push in it. A 4-0 run featured an equalizer from Shayne Jackson, the go-ahead goal from Jordan Hall and the eventual game-winner from Bryan Cole.

“It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish,” Thompson said. “We did not play well in the first half, and we had a good solid group chat at halftime. We knew we had to come out and just play more intense, play with more intensity and more urgency. That’s what we did.”

Georgia moved to 7-6, while the four teams below it in the East are all under .500 by two or more games.

STAYING IN THE HUNT

Weekend splits for both the Saskatchewan Rush and Calgary Roughnecks kept the teams at least within striking distance in the West Division.

The squads kicked off the weekend with a rare Thursday matchup, one which saw the Riggers get the luck they needed on St. Patrick’s Day. Six points each by Curtis Dickson and Jesse King and four each from Tyler Pace and Zach Herreweyers helped Calgary win 14-12 in a game that stayed within two goals the entire way.

The Rush rebounded Saturday with a wire-to-wire victory against Rochester. Saskatchewan opened on a 5-0 run to kickstart a 9-6 victory. Ryan Keenan led the way with five goals and an assist.

After closing out the weekend with its loss to Panther City, Calgary sits at 4-7, tied in the loss column with third-place Vancouver. Saskatchewan has an uphill climb at 3-9.

BEATING THE DEADLINE

The NLL saw some intriguing deals prior to its trade deadline on Tuesday, one of which featured a former No. 1 pick heading from the East to the West.

That would be Tyson Gibson, whose move from the Riptide to the Mammoth signaled a major shakeup for New York. Gibson, the former Rookie of the Year who notched 28 points and 37 loose balls in 11 games with New York this season, was swapped for a first-round pick, forward Tyler Digby and defenseman Ron John.

The Wings, whose plans to build on a strong 2020 haven’t come to fruition, also made some adjustments. Veteran forward Brett Hickey, who had 36 points in 12 games this year, was sent to San Diego for a second-round pick, while Anthony Joaquim and a third-round pick went to Colorado for Sam LeClair and a second.

Forward Stephan Leblanc was moved twice, first going from Halifax to Panther City on Monday along with a second-round pick for Dawson Theede. A day later, he was flipped by PCLC to the Georgia Swarm for a second-round pick.

Rounding out the major transactions was the Bandits sending young defenseman Brent Noseworthy across the state on Monday. He and a fourth-round pick were sent to the Riptide for a first.

NOTEWORTHY

This weekend, the Seals wore specially designed helmets by local youth with Down syndrome. An auction at the game raised $31,576.46 for the Foundation for Developmental Disabilities and Home of Guiding Hands. … Two Swarm players reached major milestones. Jordan MacIntosh passed Ian Hawksbee to move into 10th in league history in loose balls. Lyle Thompson meanwhile reached 500 career points. … Keegan Bal’s eight goals against Colorado and Ryan Lee’s 12 assists were both highs for the league since Mark Steenhuis in 2009, as discovered by Graeme Perrow. … Eli McLaughlin moved into fourth in Mammoth franchise history with 375 career points. … Tyson Gibson is wearing No. 43 for Colorado in honor of his former Robert Morris teammate, Jack Toomb, who passed away in 2020. He did the same while with the Philadelphia Barrage in the Major League Lacrosse bubble.

POWER RANKINGS

Last week’s rankings in parentheses:

1. Buffalo Bandits (1)
2. San Diego Seals (2)
3. Toronto Rock (3)
4. Halifax Thunderbirds (4)
5. Georgia Swarm (5)
6. Colorado Mammoth (7)
7. Panther City Lacrosse Club (9)
8. Albany FireWolves (6)
9. Philadelphia Wings (9)
10. Vancouver Warriors (10)
11. Calgary Roughnecks (11)
12. New York Riptide (12)
13. Saskatchewan Rush (14)
14. Rochester Knighthawks (13)

UP NEXT
ALL TIMES EASTERN

Friday

Seals at Warriors, 9:30 p.m.

Saturday

Thunderbirds at Bandits, 1 p.m.
Swarm at Rock, 4 p.m.
Wings at Knighthawks, 6 p.m.
FireWolves at Riptide, 6:30 p.m.
Roughnecks at Rush, 8:30 p.m.
Mammoth at Panther City, 8:30 p.m.

Sunday

Bandits at Thunderbirds, 3 p.m.