It was Buffalo’s turn in Game 2 to get an early powerplay and capitalize on the man advantage to open up the game’s scoring, as Dhane Smith scored from outside after some snappy ball movement to get the Warriors PK out of position. Vancouver got the fair share of the possession for the next handful of minutes, but it would be all for naught, as Ian MacKay also found the back of the net on an outside shot to make it 2-0 4:42 in, continuing his red hot start to the playoffs. The Warriors did continue to apply pressure through the middle of the quarter, and about five minutes after MacKay’s goal, off a forced turnover, Kevin Crowley finished off a pick-and-pop for Vancouver’s first even strength goal of the series. A goaltender interference penalty would put Vancouver on the powerplay for the first time, and while Buffalo killed off the penalty, Riley Loewen split defenders in partial transition and scored to tie the game at 2, where the score would remain after 15. After their shot accuracy was stifled in Game 1, Vancouver outshot Buffalo 12-6 on goal in the quarter.

Despite a turnover on their first touch of the second quarter, they got back on the scoreboard after Chase Fraser set a hard pick for Tehoka Nanticoke and rolled for an open goal net-front. The Warriors tied it back up at three with Adam Charlambides’s first goal of the playoffs after 7 assists in the first two games. Matt Vinc drew a goaltender interference penalty on the ensuing possession, but Fraser would be going to the box for some after whistle extra-curriculars to cancel out the powerplay. After no goals were scored on the 4-on-4, the Warriors would get the next marquee scoring chance as Alex Stathakis got a partial breakaway, which was stopped by Vinc, who then stopped Keegan Bal on the rebound while off balance and managed to keep himself from falling backwards behind the goal line. The salt was rubbed in on the next possession, as Fraser found Ian MacKay for his second of the game to put Buffalo up 4-3. After the defense forced a shot clock violation, Kyle Buchanan rebounded a Dhane Smith miss and found an open MacKay on the other side of the crease to extend the lead to 2 with 4:12 left in the half. But in the final minute, the Warriors would get back within one, as Bal willed his way to the net and got a shot off before the help-side defense arrived.

Vancouver turned the late first half tally into a micro-run, as off the opening draw, Marcus Klarich found a cutting Adam Charalambides for a goal 29 seconds into the quarter, and then after another faceoff win, Charalambides returned the favor and fed Klarich for a midrange goal. In the blink of an eye, the Bandits lead was turned into a 6-5 advantage for the Warriors. Klarich got open on the next possession as well for a crease dive, but he put it over the net, and the Bandits were able to go the other way and get the game back evened up thanks to Tehoka Nanticoke. The goals paused while the back-and-forth continued until Klarich once again found Charalambides, who completed the hat trick 5:06 into the quarter. Their defense forced a shot clock violation on the ensuing faceoff, and then after the under 10 timeout, Keegan Bal picked the far corner from outside to extend the lead back up to two.

It was the first time since Game 2 of last year’s semifinals against Toronto that the Bandits trailed by 2 or more in the playoffs.

Throughout this Bandits dynasty run, every team learns the hard way that if you’re up multiple goals in the second half, one moment of lost focus could snap the rubber band. After Ryan Martel picked up an offensive rebound along the boards, he was met by a cluster of Bandits defenders, losing his helmet in the meantime. If you’ve been following along this playoff, you’re likely feeling the premonition to where this is headed. Martel got up and gave Paul Dawson a couple of cross-checks before getting off the floor, which was a couple too many. The illegal equipment penalty put the Bandits on their second powerplay of the evening, and Dhane Smith would find Chris Cloutier cutting to the middle of the floor and, in turn, cutting the Bandits deficit back to 1 with 5:03 to go in the third just before the expiration of the shot clock. About a minute later, Brett Mydske interfered with Tehoka Nanticoke while the Warriors went up the floor in transition and put the Bandits back on the powerplay. While Vancouver got the kill, the additional possession time for the Bandits kept the Warriors from sustaining any more offensive pressure throughout the rest of the third quarter.

Buffalo was rewarded for weathering the storm from the early third quarter push with an opening minute goal of their own in the fourth, as Dhane Smith added his second of the game to nod it at 8. Three minutes later, Chase Fraser would score from nearly the same spot as Smith, and Buffalo would have the lead back again. After Matt Vinc went post-to-post to kick away an offering from Riley Loewen on the next possession, Josh Byrne fed Chris Cloutier, who finished off a two-man game, extending the Bandits lead to two with 11:01 to play.

We’ve seen this one before plenty of times. It’s just the first time Vancouver has had to experience it firsthand.

The Warriors did respond after Christian Del Bianco had his biggest save of the game on Fraser in an eerily similar play to his first goal of the game back in the first quarter, as Marcus Klarich rolled off a screen of his own and finished on a Ryan Martel pass, and then they were given their second powerplay of the game soon after. But the Bandits PK held up once more and the game carried on. Soon, with under 6 to play, the final sign of a Bandits Death Run came to fruition. Take it away, Chase.

While still only a two goal game, the energy in Rogers Arena had definitely shifted. Vancouver’s offense was the victim of back-to-back shot clock violations on their next three possessions, and their next shot on goal didn’t take place for over 3 minutes. After that shot forced a restart with 2:10 left on the clock, they went to their first goalie pull of the final push. Adam Charalambides was stopped in close by Matt Vinc, who fell back to ensure the ball stayed out, as confirmed by review. When they got the ball back with a minute left, they failed to hit the net on both shot attempts. After Cam Wyers was stopped on a breakaway with Christian Del Bianco back in the net, Vancouver called their timeout, but on the ensuing possession, they turned the ball over. After the Bandits picked up the loose ball and called their timeout, their stalling out the clock possession dropped the game clock to 6 seconds left. Keegan Bal was stopped as time expired, and the Bandits had themselves a series clinching win on the road.

Buffalo’s victory, their 9th in a row in the postseason, in Vancouver was the first win for an Eastern team in the last 11 Warriors home games against the other coast. After the Warriors came out strong in the first and had their best goal differential quarter in the third, they still came up being limited to 38 of their 70 shots reaching the goal, with 29 of them being stopped by Matt Vinc. The Bandits defense was credited with another 10 blocked shots across 7 shot blockers, including 3 from Cam Wyers and 2 from Ron John. On offense, Ian MacKay led with 3 goals and 3 assists. Dhane Smith had 2 goals and 3 assists, while Josh Byrne had 4 assists. With those 7 combined assists from Dhane and Josh, the secondary scoring came from 3 goals and an assist from Chase Fraser and a combined 3 goals and 3 assists from Chris Cloutier and Tehoka Nanticoke. The latter 2 had their struggles in this regular season, Cloutier especially battling injuries, but their efforts have the Bandits back in the finals with a bye week before the finals start.

Vancouver’s first playoff appearance under Curt Malawsky comes to an end despite 3 goals and 4 assists from Adam Charalambides, 2 goals and 3 assists from 22 year old Marcus Klarich, and 2 goals and 2 assists from Keegan Bal. Christian Del Bianco finished with 30 saves. While it’s not a post-credit scene, this is not the last we’ll see of the Vancouver Warriors in the postseason, as they have been linked on the still lightly heated stove to numerous BC-resident players with the incentive of coming home and playing for one of the best coaches and GMs in the NLL, who even with the success has referred to his team as being “ahead of schedule”.

As mentioned, the Bandits will be able to sit back and take in the rest of the other semifinal series. The Saskatchewan Rush, up 1-0 in the series, will host Game 2 against the Halifax Thunderbirds on Saturday May 10 at 9:30, eastern. If the Thunderbirds are able to force the split, Game 3 will take place the next night at 8:00, eastern, once again from SaskTel Centre.

(Photo Credit: Jaclyn McKee)