Brian Langtry scored two goals, including the game winner in double overtime, as the Colorado Mammoth knocked off the Toronto Rock, 13-12, Friday night in the first NLL game ever played in Denver.

Langtry's latter goal, at 8:46 of sudden-death overtime, ended what is believed to be the longest game in league history.

However, these teams are no strangers to extra-long play, going to double overtime in last season's semifinals. Toronto defeated the Mammoth, playing as the Washington Power at the time, by a 12-11 score.

Joe Mahoney Rocky Mountain News   Colorado Mammoth fills Pepsi Center for its home debut.

However, the crowd the Mammoth saw for its debut was strange for the players. After playing in front of small crowds for years, including showings of five hundred or so last season, the team was greeted by an eye-popping 16,121 fans.

"None of us imagined seeing a crowd like that," Mammoth goaltender Erik Miller said. "They knew what they were watching, and they cheered at the right time. It was fantastic."

With a huge walk-up crowd outside, waiting to come into the Pepsi Center, the Mammoth delayed the start of the game by fifteen minutes.

"Pepsi Center sold more than 6,000 tickets in a little over an hour and that's a record for the arena," Paul Andrews, senior vice president for ticket sales, said.

Oh, lest we forget, there was a lacrosse game, too, and what a dandy it was.

Rookie Aaron Wilson opened the scoring for the Rock just 1:49 into the game, and Blaine Manning connected two and a half minutes later to make the score 2-0. Despite efforts from both sides, the score stayed that way the rest of the quarter.

Maybe it was a case of nerves that left the Mammoth scoreless through fifteen minutes; if so, it didn't last. Gary Gait scored the franchise's first goal in Denver, then repeated himself two minutes later. Although Toronto went on a brief run, Colorado pulled to within one goal with four minutes to play, on a Ted Dowling strike. At halftime, Rock 6, Mammoth 5.

The wild action continued after intermission, with Langtry and Toronto's Kevin Finneran swapping goals early. After Matt Oglesby and Steve Toll did the same, Colorado launched a three-goal run, on scores from Al Truant, Dowling, and Bryan Cole (the first of his career).

Defenseman Pat Coyle replied with twenty-two seconds to play in the quarter, bringing the Rock back to within one, 10-9.

Play tightened in the fourth quarter, with the teams realizing that every goal would be crucial. Jim Veltman struck first, scoring on a power play 91 seconds into the period, and the teams stood on the 12-12 tie for over six minutes.

Gait ended the deadlock with an even-strength goal with seven minutes to play, but Toll fired back a minute later and then bagged another, his fifth of the night, with barely over three minutes remaining.

With his team playing a man up after Toronto was caught with too many men on the floor, Dowling scored to tie the game, and after some nerve-wracking moments for each team, regulation ended at 12-12.

The game neared its end when crew chief Hans Wittelsberger whistled Toronto's Carter Livingstone for holding at 7:56 of overtime. Livid at the call deep into sudden death, several Rock players exploded, nearly racking up more penalties.

As it was, the Mammoth took possession of the ball with a five-on-four advantage, and fifty seconds later, Dowling fed Langtry, who fired the ball past Rock goaltender Bob Watson's left shoulder.

"I think [Langtry's] pretty overwhelmed," Mammoth head coach Rod Jensen said. "He was missing low for most the night. We told him to bring his shots up, and he did. He scored the golden goal."

Miller recorded 47 saves on 59 shots, while Watson stopped 36 of 49 Mammoth shots.

BOX SUMMARY
                                1  2  3  4 OT OT     TOT
Toronto Rock (1-1)              2  4  3  3  0  0  --  12
Colorado Mammoth (1-0)          0  5  5  2  0  1  --  13

TORONTO ROCK                  COLORADO MAMMOTH
               G - A   PTS                   G - A   PTS
Toll           5 - 0     5    Dowling        4 - 2     6
Veltman        2 - 2     4    Gait           3 - 2     5
Doyle          1 - 3     4    Langtry        2 - 1     3
Coyle          1 - 1     2    Halladay       1 - 1     2
Manning        1 - 1     2    Truant         1 - 1     2
Wilson         1 - 1     2    Seremet        0 - 2     2
Finneran       1 - 0     1    Cole           1 - 0     1
Livingstone    0 - 1     1    Oglesby        1 - 0     1
Richard        0 - 1     1    E Miller       0 - 1     1
Watson         0 - 1     1    Phair          0 - 1     1

Shots on goal           59    Shots on goal           49
Saves made by           36    Saves made by           47
   Watson            36          E Miller          47
Penalties               10    Penalties                8
Penalty Minutes         20    Penalty Minutes         19
Power Play Chances       8    Power Play Chances      10
Power Play Goals         6    Power Play Goals         5
   Veltman            2          Dowling            3
   Coyle              1          Halladay           1
   Finneran           1          Langtry            1
   Manning            1
   Toll               1
Shorthanded Goals        1    Shorthanded Goals        0
   Toll               1          (None)
Loose Balls             93    Loose Balls            106
   Watson            16          E Miller          24
   Finneran          15          Rosa              11
   Coyle             10          Hanford            8
Faceoffs Won            16    Faceoffs Won            13

 *** STATS OFFICIAL BY VERIFY WITH COLORADO MAMMOTH ***