Philadelphia Wings 13 – Buffalo Bandits 11

While the Bandits got out to an expected 3-0 lead in the first five minutes of the game, the Wings roared back over the rest of the quarters with two goals from Brennan O’Neill around shorthanded goals from Joe Resetarits and a hand switching goal in transition from Scott Dominey. This set the tone for a stalemate in the middle quarters before the Bandits pulled ahead.

Trailing 9-8 late the third, Dhane Smith scored a short handed goal of his own to tie the game. On the other side of the quarter break, Ian MacKay looked to have given the Bandits the lead, but a shot to the near that got lodged between the crossbar, connecting mesh, and Nick Damude’s shoulder was waved off because it didn’t cross the goal like until after MacKay had landed in the crease. It was on a later penalty where MacKay was able to add a shorthanded tally to the ledger after Cam Wyers sprang him for a break. On the possession after penalty expired, Lukas Nielsen scored probably the flashiest goal of his young NLL career with a one hander with two defenders on him at the side of the crease.

The momentum stopped off the ensuing faceoff after the Bandits headed back to the box, and this time, Brennan O’Neill was able to sneak one through from the point to immediately get back within a goal. The action continued again on the next possession, with another tough break for Ian MacKay, as a no look backhand hit the far post and rolled along the goal line, Nick Damude’s right leg pad, and out, being confirmed by replay review (John Tavares’s challenge flag throw landed right in the faceoff dot, which is the kind of information you, reader, come here to learn). As the Wings got the ball back, Michael Sowers scored from midrange to re-tie the game, and then on the next possession, Kyle Jackson ran up and downhill past the Bandit defenders and gave the Wings the lead back with 3:54 to play. Sowers added the final insurance with 1:31 left, and the Bandits were unable to get a good shot on net with the net empty, solidifying a 13-11 win for the Wings inside a sold out KeyBank Center.

Fresh out of the free agent pool after being released from the struggling Oshawa offense earlier in the year, Kyle Jackson entered the Wings lineup and led the team with 2 goals and 5 assists. Joe Resetarits had five points with a goal and 4 assists, but the offensive spotlight was on the Philadelphia’s young American stars, as former 2021 Duke teammates Michael Sowers and Brennan O’Neill each had 4 goals and an assist, with Sowers showcasing his speed and O’Neill his shot. Nick Damude had double-digit saves in every quarter on the way to 47 total.

Meanwhile for Buffalo, the first thing that stood out to many fans discussing the game in the days following was Josh Byrne being held without a goal for the first time this season on 7 out of 13 shots on goal despite 4 assists. While his ability to set his teammates up for productive shot attempts hasn’t waned during this losing streak, he has been a bit snake-bitten putting the ball in the net. Dhane Smith led the team with 2 goals on 22 shots on goal and 5 assists, while Ian MacKay finished with 3 goals and 2 assists. Matt Vinc had 34 saves on 47 shots faced.

Vancouver Warriors 16 – Rochester Knighthawks 15

(Like last week, if you want to watch it, look it up)

Things started off better for the Knighthawks this week with Jake Piseno scoring off the opening faceoff and then getting out to a 4-1 lead, but a Jesse King natural hat trick started a 7-0 run that carried across the next 15 minutes of play. After Connor Fields stopped the run, the Warriors scored three more for a 13-7 halftime lead, including 7 of those goals coming from Curtis Dickson.

The reset of halftime led to first minute goals from Connor Fields and Ryan Smith, but they were only able to cut the deficit by one as Vancouver scored 2 of the next 3. They got the same fortune to start the fourth quarter with Fields and Ryan Lanchbury scoring in the first minute, this time to make it 15-12. Slowly but surely, they cut it to a one goal deficit on a three goal run from Thomas McConvey, Kyle Waters, and a fifth of the game from Connor Fields with 1:50 left. After winning the ensuing faceoff, Rochester got the ball back but was stopped with a shot clock violation. On their next touch, a quick stick from McConvey was stopped by Christian Del Bianco. Vancouver was able to get the clock down to 5.9, and the buzzer sounded before the Knighthawks could get another attempt off, giving the Warriors a home-and-home sweep.

In addition to Curtis Dickson’s 7 goals and an assist. Keegan Bal had another double-digit point night with 3 goals and 8 assists, and Jesse King finished with 4 goals and 5 assists. It was the third time Dickson has reached that mark in his career — the previous 2 during his Roughnecks tenure were April 9, 2014 against Edmonton and February 21, 2015 against the then-Vancouver Stealth.

On the side of the Knighthawks, their third straight loss has them at an interesting place considering the difference from the first and second games of this pseudo series. After being stilted on offense last week, the offense got back to their family style roots that saw 5 goals and 5 assists from Connor Fields, 2 goals and 7 assists from Ryan Lanchbury, and 3 goals and 2 assists from Ryan Smith. They’ll have the opportunity to show whether or not the 8-3 second half was an emotional reset this weekend back at home.

Week 11 Review

Georgia Swarm 12 – Las Vegas Desert Dogs 9

The Swarm’s top defense got the best of the Desert Dogs’s top offense, as 8 point nights from Shayne Jackson (2G 6A) and Lyle Thompson (3G 5A) carried Georgia to a 4th straight win. Toron Eccleston, whose return from injury aligns with the start of that streak, added 2 goals and 2 assists. Jonathan Donville had 3 goals and 2 assists to lead Vegas, and Kyle Killen had a hat trick after re-entering the lineup following last week’s injury to Chase Fraser.

Ottawa Black Bears 11 – Calgary Roughnecks 9

The Black Bears scored the final 3 goals of the game after Calgary took a 9-8 lead earlier in the fourth quarter and got back to .500 with a home win against the Roughnecks. Jeff Teat led with 4 goals and 5 assists, as he continues to hold the offensive triple crown 28 goals and 45 assists for 73 points through 10 games. Zach Higgins made 45 saves in the win. Tanner Cook and Tyler Pace each had 3 goals and 2 assists for the Roughnecks, with Haiden Dickson getting 2 goals and 3 assists and Aden Walsh making 46 saves despite the fourth straight loss.

Toronto Rock 12 – Oshawa FireWolves 10

While Oshawa was able to rattle off 5 straight goals to get back to within 1, the Rock’s 11-5 start to the game was enough to get them even with their GTA rivals on the season with a 12-10, capped off by a hat trick from Challen Rogers. Josh Dawick and Chris Boushy each had 2 goals and 4 assists with Troy Holowchuk getting the win with 42 saves. Dawson Theede had 5 goals and an assist to lead Oshawa.

Saskatchewan Rush 12 – San Diego Seals 9

After trailing 4-0 after the first, the Rush scored 4 of their own in each of the final 3 quarters on their way to a 7th straight win, improving to 8-1 and still finding themselves with padding atop the standings. Robert Church led the Rush with 4 goals and 4 assists, while Frank Scigliano had 40 saves in the win. Connor Robinson led the Seals with 4 goals and 2 assists.

Week 12 Preview

We’re now past the halfway point of the season. Everyone say welcome back to the standings graphic!

• Friday February 13
  • Colorado Mammoth (6-2) @ Las Vegas Desert Dogs (4-4) – 10:30 pm: Vegas has another opportunity to see how they stack up against the top of the tables in the first of two meetings this year with the Mammoth in Jack Hannah’s return to the den. The road team won both matchups last season. Chase Fraser will miss a second straight game with injury. Stephen Keogh will make his season debut after being activated from the practice squad. The 38 year old was a member of the 2020 and 2022 Thunderbirds before a season in Toronto and New York in 2023 and 2024 and not playing last season.
• Saturday February 14
  • Buffalo Bandits (3-5) @ Halifax Thunderbirds (3-5) – 6:30 pm: Maki Jenner will continue to add to her impressive resume as she’ll become the first female to do play-by-play for an NLL game in what is the biggest make or break game of the weekend between two teams that did not expect 3-5 records through 8 games. Clarke Petterson’s overtime winner made the difference in the first of the two matchups between the two teams back in December. Mitch de Snoo has been removed from the injury report ahead of this pivotal matchup.
  • Ottawa Black Bears (5-5) @ Rochester Knighthawks (4-4) – 7:00 pm: Two of the top offenses in the league will square off at the War Memorial as the Knighthawks look to end their skid before their final bye week of the season in Week 13. It will be Riley Hutchcraft’s crease with Cam MacLeod serving as the backup, as Rylan Hartley will serve his one game suspension. Rochester won both games of last year’s series by a combined score of 30-14.
  • San Diego Seals (4-4) @ Oshawa FireWolves (2-8) – 7:00 pm: The Seals will make their first trip to Oshawa with aspirations of climbing back into the Top 8. The home team won both matchups last April.
  • Vancouver Warriors (6-2) @ Saskatchewan Rush (8-1) – 8:00 pm: The game of the week will take place in Saskatoon as the Warriors hope to be the first team to crack the Rush in two months. The Rush have won the last two meetings, both in Vancouver, but it was the Warriors winning in their last trip to Saskatoon back on January 20, 2024.
  • Philadelphia Wings (2-6) @ Calgary Roughnecks (1-7) – 9:00 pm: The first of two home games this weekend for Calgary sees the Wings coming to town hoping to build on their win last weekend. The Wings won last season’s matchup 13-11 while Calgary won the last time the two teams played at the Saddledome back in February 2024.
  • Toronto Rock (5-3) @ Colorado Mammoth (6-2) – 9:30 pm: The Mammoth will fly home to Denver after their game in Vegas to welcome a rested Rock team to town. The Rock have won the last 3 meetings, including 9-8 on February 1, 2025. The two teams will play the week after in Hamilton as well.
• Sunday February 15
  • Georgia Swarm (6-3) @ Calgary Roughnecks (1-7) – 8:00 pm: The Swarm’s win in Edmonton the first time these teams faced off started their 4 game win streak, as the Roughnecks will look to be the ones to stop it.

(Photo Credit: Caroline Sherman)