The Loudest House in Lacrosse was rockin’ as the Colorado Mammoth put forth their best effort of the season.

A 14-10 victory Saturday over the previously undefeated Georgia Swarm resulted from a passionate effort by all in the maroon and black. A Pepsi Center crowd of 15,254 loved it. An NHL game at the same venue earlier in the day drew 13,930. That’s how much they enjoy the National Lacrosse League in Denver.

 “It’s a great product,” general manager Steve Govett said.

The Mammoth, 3-3, play their next three games on the road, giving them a month to promote their eighth-annual Lacrosse Out Cancer game March 3.

 “We’re hoping for an even bigger crowd,” Govett said.

Denver Pepsi Center attendance Saturday: NHL 13,930; @NLL 15,254 #lacrosse

— Eddie (@EddiesTop100) February 5, 2017

There was good reason for the spirited Mammoth effort Saturday night.

 “We lost our previous two games, both to our biggest rival, Calgary, and the boys understood that instead of a three-game losing streak, we had to step it up and get a win,” Govett said.

Dillon Ward rebounded from some so-so performances with a sensational showing in the nets, and his defensemen limited the Swarm to 37 shots on goal. Callum Crawford and Zack Greer scored three goals each and Chris Wardle, Jacob Ruest and Eli McLaughlin got two each.

“It’s the first night we’ve put together a full 60 top to bottom,” Greer said. “From the goaltending out — defense, transition, loose balls, the offense got going — that’s what we need to be successful. There’s too much parity in this league to not have every facet going every time. [Saturday’s win] was a big step in the right direction.”

It was accomplished without star forwards John Grant Jr., who has missed the last three games, and Jeremy Noble, who has sat out two, both after taking hits to the head.

 “We’re going to be very cautious,” Govett said. “We’ll continue to protect the players until they are ready to go.”

Grant, No. 2 in the league in all-time goals and points, is 42 but he’s not finished.

 “He’ll play again,” Govett said. “We’re not sure when. It has to be the right situation.”

Georgia, 4-1, remained in first place overall.

 “We got what we deserved,” Swarm coach Ed Comeau said. “Colorado was the better team. They played with more passion, and that’s a lesson learned for our guys. You’ve got to bring it every night or this is what happens.”

Home Grown

Nick Ossello played his first NLL game. He’s from the Denver suburb of Wheat Ridge and was a Mammoth fan as a kid, so pulling on the uniform was something special.

“He’s a great kid,” Govett said. “He has such a cool attitude. He’s full of youthful exuberance and he’s a physical beast. He had some rookie jitters, but who doesn’t?”

Ossello played NCAA lacrosse for four years at Notre Dame. He then played a season on the special teams unit on the Fighting Irish football team.

Three Straight for Rush

The champs are on a roll.

Trailing 8-7 at halftime, Saskatchewan blanked Calgary in the third quarter and the Rush cruised to a 15-11 win Saturday in Calgary, with Aaron Bold making 46 saves.

Mark Matthews scored four goals and Ben McIntosh got three as the Rush, 3-2, jumped atop the NLL West.

They have now defeated the Roughnecks in six consecutive regular-season meetings and eight straight times overall, including a pair of playoff wins in 2016.

Hasn’t Missed Yet

Matt Hossack got off one shot in his first NLL game with Saskatchewan and he put the ball behind Calgary goalie Frankie Scigliano for his first goal. Hossack, from Port Perry, Ontario, was the 14th player selected in the 2016 entry draft via RIT.

Teammates call him Hoss. Check out his bio page on the Rush website and discover, among other quirky things, that he always looks forward to teammate Kyle Rubisch’s speeches.

Culpmania

Chad Culp’s third straight two-goal game for New England included a goal 1:53 into overtime that lifted the Black Wolves to a 10-9 win over visiting Rochester on Friday. A behind-the-back pass from Shawn Evans set him up.

 “I just saw Evy had the ball over on the right side and my guy was kind of cheating towards him,” said the 35-year-old forward from Arthur, Ontario. “I just figured I’d stay where I was and watch my guy go. Evy is a smart enough guy and a really good passer. He just found me once my guy slid to him. I was able to get a shot off. Luckily, it went in.”

Happy Birthday

Seth Oakes and Derek Searle of the Black Wolves scored their first NLL goals last Friday.

Oakes turned 23 the day before the OT win and his teammates sang “Happy Birthday” to him while celebrating in their dressing room. A Mohawk from Akwesasne, N.Y., he was the eighth overall pick in the 2016 entry draft via Albany. His father was one of the ironworkers who constructed some of the Mohegan Sun buildings at the Connecticut complex where he scored his first goal.

Searle, 24, was acquired from Rochester for Andrew Suitor during the offseason. He is from Dundas, Ontario, and played NCAA lacrosse at RIT.

Jamieson Will Be Missed 

Disappointing news out of Rochester: Cody Jamieson is done for the year due to surgery on his left knee. The 29-year-old lefty out of Six Nations via Syracuse was the 2012 and 2013 Champion’s Cup MVP and 2014 regular season NLL MVP. Now, after serious injuries to both legs, his future as a pro player is uncertain, although he’s adamant he’ll return.

He ended a Twitter message this way: “I’ll be back!”

Shooting Peas

Buffalo was outshot 60-48 in losing 18-10 in Toronto last Friday, and no team allowing that many shots stands much of a chance of winning. So don’t blame Anthony Cosmo, who was replaced by backup Davide DiRuscio for the third time in as many starts as the Bandits fell to 1-4. 

“We threw a lot of rubber down at that end,” Rock goalie Nick Rose said. “I thought Coz was playing pretty good. They had some tough luck in the first half with penalties. Coz played well and then DiRuscio went in and made a lot of saves for them. Our guys were shooting some peas out there, so you can’t blame their goalies.”

Career Excellence

Shawn Evans (924) edged past Gavin Prout (922) and into 10th place in career points when he picked up five (two goals, three assists) in New England’s 10-9 home OT win over Rochester.

Ryan Benesch is two points shy of 800.

Rhys Duch’s next point moves him past NLL Hall of Fame member Tom Marechek (773).

When Derek Keenan of the Saskatchewan Rush steps behind the visitors’ bench in Rochester on Saturday, he will pass Darris Kilgour (206) and top the career list with 207 regular-season games coached.

Summer Gig

Dan MacRae, who is in his seventh season playing defense for the Calgary Roughnecks, is the new head coach of the Burlington, Ontario, summer Junior A team.

Numbers 

Second-year Toronto forward Dan Lintner (Cornell) wears 41 on the back of his Rock sweater and we asked him why. In his answer, Lintner refers to Rock defenseman Rob Marshall as Marsh.

 “I’m normally 14, but Marsh has it,” Lintner said. “I just flipped it around.”

Time Traveling

Feb. 6, 1993: Paul Gait became the first player with 100 career goals as he scored six to help the Philadelphia Wings defeat the visiting New York Saints 13-8 in front of 16,731 fans at the Spectrum.

Week 7 Preview

(All times Eastern)

SATURDAY

New England (2-3) at Georgia (4-1), 7:05 p.m.

New England edged visiting Rochester 10-9 on Chad Culp’s OT goal last Friday.

Georgia is coming off its first loss, 14-10, at Colorado last Saturday.

This will be the second of four meetings. Georgia won the first, 14-9, at home on Jan. 20.

“New England has a little momentum going on right now, and we got a little bit of a slap in the face here,” Swarm coach Ed Comeau said after the loss in Denver. “They’re going to come in hungry looking to play better than they did last time down in Georgia, and we’re going to have to get back to what we do well and be ready to compete.”

Saskatchewan (3-2) at Rochester (2-3), 7:30 p.m.

Saskatchewan is coming off a third straight win, 15-11 at Calgary, where Aaron Bold allowed only three second-half goals.

Rochester is coming off a 10-9 OT loss at New England.

This will be the second of two meetings. Saskatchewan won, 16-8, at home on Jan. 21.

SUNDAY

Toronto (3-1) at Calgary (3-2), 4 p.m.

Toronto is coming off an 18-10 home win over Buffalo.

“We were happy with our effort, but we’re heading to Calgary, and that’ll be a really tough test on the road,” said Rock goalie Nick Rose, who has the best goals against average among NLL goalies.

Calgary is coming off a 15-11 home loss to Saskatchewan.

This is the first of two meetings. The teams will square off in Toronto on March 11. In 2016, Calgary beat the Rock 18-17 at home and 15-10 in Toronto.

Colorado (3-3) at Vancouver (2-4), 10 p.m.

Colorado is coming off a 14-10 home win over Georgia.

Vancouver was idle last weekend. The Stealth have lost their last four.

This will be the second of four meetings. The Stealth won 15-9 in Denver on Jan. 7.

BYE: Buffalo (1-4)