The Mammoth franchise previously played as the Baltimore Thunder from 1987 to 1999, the Pittsburgh CrosseFire in 2000, and the Washington Power from 2001 to 2002. Up until the joining of the expansion team San Diego Seals, Colorado was the only non-Canadian team in the Western Division from 2014 to 2018. They have only missed the playoffs twice since moving to Colorado.
In 2004 and from 2006 to 2008, the Mammoth lead the league in attendance. 2006 was the first year in the 20-year history of the NLL that the league had an attendance of more than one million fans in one season. The Mammoth had the honor of hosting fan number one million.[1] In 2008, the Mammoth average attendance per game was higher than Pepsi Center's other teams, the Colorado Avalanche (NHL) and the Denver Nuggets (NBA).[2]
2006 champions
In the 2006 season, the Mammoth went to the playoffs in the #2 seed in the Western Division. Round one was hosted in Colorado against rivals Calgary. The Mammoth won 18–17 in overtime. Brian Langtry scored the overtime goal. Round two (Western Division finals) was also hosted at Pepsi Center against the Arizona Sting. Rookie Dan Carey scored the winning goal as the Mammoth defeated the Sting 13–12. The championship game was held at HSBC Arena in Buffalo against the Bandits who held the league's best record and the incumbent league MVP, goaltender Steve Dietrich . The Mammoth won the Champion's Cup by a score of 16–9, with Gavin Prout being named Game MVP.
Gary Gait, who retired after the 2005 NLL season as the NLL's all-time scoring leader with 596 goals and 495 assists in 174 games (a record since surpassed by John Tavares). Gait also won the 2003 NLL MVP Award while with the Mammoth. On November 12, 2005, Gait was inducted into the NLL Hall of Fame, and on December 30, 2005, his number 22 jersey banner was hung from Pepsi Center rafters — the first NLL number ever to be retired and hung from any arena. Gait was the Mammoth head coach for the 2006 and 2007 seasons before stepping down in August 2007 to pursue other interests.[4]
Gavin Prout, a crowd favorite who consistently puts up high numbers. In 2006, Prout was named team captain. On October 31, 2009, to the outrage of many fans, Prout was traded to the Rochester Knighthawks, who in turn traded him to the Edmonton Rush on November 10. After a season and a half in Edmonton, Prout was traded back to the Mammoth in March 2011.[6]
