(Photo by Bob White)

by Geoff Safford | Special to MCLA.us

DENVER, Colo. – The Montana lacrosse team hit the road over the weekend, making the trip southeast to the Denver area for a pair of games against two of the most talented teams in all the Men’s Collegiate Lacrosse Association (MCLA).

The Grizzlies began play in the Mile High City Saturday afternoon opposite St. Thomas inside the Denver Broncos practice facilities. The top-ranked Tommies came in boasting a resume that spoke for itself, having won six of the last nine MCLA Division II national championships.

The task Sunday would also prove to be a challenge as the Griz faced the No. 4-ranked Bulldogs of Minn.-Duluth to conclude play on the road trip. After the dust settled, Montana found itself with a 1-1 record highlighted by a victory on Sunday.

St. Thomas wasted little time finding its footing Saturday, taking an early lead in the game’s first possession.

The Tommies also turned in a solid defensive effort from the start as Montana would be limited to two goals in the first half. The Grizzlies never led at any point in the game and fell to the Tommies, 12-6.

Attackman Peter Curran scored a pair of goals in a losing effort to lead the Griz. Midfielder Parker Swank also performed well, finishing with a goal and six ground balls to lead the team in that category.

Sunday’s contest opposite the Bulldogs would be a much different story for Montana as its offensive attack would come alive.

The Grizzlies tallied more goals (8) in the first half opposite Minnesota-Duluth than they did in the entire game the night before. Led by the offensive tandem of Miles Hess and Eric Frazer, Montana ended the road trip on a high in a 17-11 win.

The victory for the Grizzlies also was their first of the season over an opponent ranked in the top five in the MCLA rankings.

After scoring eight goals in the first half, Montana would make sure the Bulldogs would have no chance at mounting a comeback in the third quarter by tallying five goals. Hess and Frazier did a bulk of the damage, finishing with four goals each in the win.

Hess also led the team in assists, finishing with six with Frazier also finished with four assists. Senior captain Trent Tubbs also got in on the act, scoring three goals of his own. The Southern California native is currently tied for the team lead in goals with ten.

After playing its first five regular season games on the road, the Grizzlies (3-2) will now prepare for their first action in the Garden City on March 5 opposite Idaho.

Action inside Washington Grizzly Stadium is set to begin at 1 p.m. Stream the action live on grizlax.com.