Buffalo Bandits 9 – San Diego Seals 8 F/OT

For 38 minutes, it looked like the Bandits and Seals were going to once again play the lowest scoring game in NLL history, as they did 11 months prior in the first round of last year’s playoffs. With the score 4-2 San Diego, Ari Steenhuis and Zach Currier scored in quick succession to extend their lead to 4. While Dhane Smith would score on the powerplay followed by another Currier goal to ensure it would not, in fact, be another lowest scoring game in history, but with 3 goals through 3 quarters, it was looking like a 4 goal lead might end up being safe.

But in the most Chris Berman cadence possible, that’s why they play the game.

Josh Byrne rebounded his own miss with 9:07 to play for the fourth Buffalo goal. While Ben McIntosh extended the lead again about a minute and a half later, two minutes after that, Joe Resetarits took advantage of his man looking away and finished a quick stick in tight from Dhane Smith to make it 8-5 with 5:27 to play. With 2:50 left, a fantastic screen from Clay Scanlan led to him having plenty of runway to roll open to the net and finish off a pass from Byrne, and just like that, it was a 2 goal game for the first time since it was 4-2. The Bandits went 6-on-5 for the first time with just over a minute to play, and once again it was an open Bandit receiving a pass in tight and scoring on a quick stick, this time Ian MacKay feeding Tehoka Nanticoke to make it a one goal game. After Connor Farrell won the ensuing faceoff and called timeout, Smith had a pass behind the net deflected off target by Graydon Bradley, but Kyle Buchanan picked up the loose ball to extend the possession, and it would be Smith finishing off the play with a goal from outside to tie the game at 8 with 43.5 seconds left. A Matt Spanger deflection on San Diego’s final possession meant that the Seals would be unable to get one final shot before time expired, meaning the game would head to overtime.

The extra session started with Matt Vinc and Chris Origlieri trading saves, including Vinc closing the 5-hole just in time to stop Zach Currier in front. The next two possessions saw each defense force a turnover followed by two more saves from Origlieri. A blocked shot by Steve Priolo gave Buffalo the Ball back for their fourth possession of overtime, and after a hard jab step from Dhane Smith before cutting to the middle of the floor, The Great Dhane beat Origlieri 5-hole just as he did to tie the game, and gave Buffalo their first lead since 1-0 and a crucial road win.

Smith finished with 3 goals and 3 assists, only exceeded in points by a goal and 6 assist effort from Josh Byrne. Tehoka Nanticoke added two of the Bandit goals. Defensively, Mitch de Snoo was credited for 20 loose balls and 3 blocked shots. Steve Priolo’s overtime block was his fourth of the game; he added 9 loose balls. Buffalo now has 4 wins in a row and sit with an 8-6 record ahead of their rematch with the Saskatchewan Rush, which is much different than the 4-6 record that they had when they first played the Rush a month ago. Along with the out of town scoreboard, that record puts them in the 6-seed in the unified standings, one game back of the 9-5 Georgia Swarm and Toronto Rock.

For the Seals, who fell to 6-8, Ben McIntosh (3G 1A), Wes Berg (2G 2A), and Tre LeClaire (4A) each had 4 points, with Zach Currier adding 2 goals and an assist in addition to causing 3 turnovers. Chris Origlieri made 41 saves despite the loss. They fell to the 9-seed because…

Las Vegas Desert Dogs 17 – Rochester Knighthawks 13

Two wins later, the Las Vegas Desert Dogs are back in a playoff spot after their win in Rochester on Saturday. For the third straight game, an opponent went up early and scored in frequent succession in the opening quarter, with the Desert Dogs scoring the first 6 goals of the game. After a slashing penalty on Alex Buque led to Ryan Smith getting Rochester’s first goal of the game, Mitch Jones scored with a delayed penalty and ended Rylan Hartley’s night early. Adam Poitras added one more in the first to make it 8-1.

Rochester’s offense would get a spark in the second, including two goals from Ryan Lanchbury. Their five goals in 11:44 would cut the deficit to 3, but Jones scored with 13 seconds left in the half to make it 10-6. Despite 2 goals allowed in the second, Riley Hutchcraft did make 14 saves. Smith picked up his third of the game in the first minute of the second half. After a goal from Kevin Crowley, Blaze Riorden scored his first goal in front of the home crowd before Connor Fields picked up his second of the game to cut the deficit back down to 2. Fields would score again later in the quarter after Brandon Goodwin to make it 12-10 after 3.

Into the fourth, the Knighthawks offense found a spark and went on their first 4 goal run since the second quarter of their game with the Toronto Rock two months prior, back when they were still 4-1 and Sean McDermott was still the head coach of the Buffalo Bills for a few more hours. Ryan Smith scored 20 seconds into the new quarter, and then Fields scored on the powerplay to tie the game with his fourth of the night. With just under 12 minutes to play, Fields scored on the run from outside for his fifth and Rochester’s first lead since it was 1-0 in their game against Calgary. After the goal, Landon Kells relieved Alex Buque in goal. Unfortunately, a dunk from Adam Poitras a minute later tied the game at 13. The stalemate lasted five more minutes of gameplay, and while the Knighthawks killed off a penalty with 5:41 left, Vegas would get the ball on the next possession and get a goal from Kyle Killen to re-take the lead and not relinquish it. A quick stick from Mitch Jones on the powerplay extended the lead to 2 before Chris Cloutier finished the hat trick a minute later. An empty netter from Jones wrapped up the scoring with their 17th goal of the game.

With Matt Gilray and Rylan Rees out for the Knighthawks, the Desert Dogs lefties picked up the bulk of the production, with Mitch Jones picking up 4 goals and 5 assists, Adam Poitras scoring 5 times and assisting on 3 goals, and Chris Cloutier adding two assists to his hat trick. Jonathan Donville had 6 assists and a goal to lead the righties. In 11:47 of game time, Landon Kells made 11 saves to keep Rochester off the scoreboard after their go-ahead goal.

Rochester’s offense was led by 5 goals and 3 assists and 2 goals and 8 assists from Ryan Lanchbury. Thomas McConvey had 6 assists, while Ryan Smith had 4 goals and an assist. For the fourth time in his last 5 starts, Rylan Hartley was pulled, giving up 7 goals on 13 shots in 11:41 before Riley Hutchcraft stopped 32 of 41 shots faced. The Knighthawks now stand at 5-8 and are running out of losses with 5 games remaining in aspirations for a fourth straight playoff berth.

Georgia Swarm 17 – Halifax Thunderbirds 16

The Swarm got out to a 10-1 lead in the first 18:11 of gameplay and held on to win. Okay maybe it was a little more dramatic than that.

After trailing 15-6 after the third, the Thunderbirds scored the first 3 goals of the fourth quarter. With 7:32 left, Kaleb Benedict scored the 16th goal for Georgia, and Brett Dobson was relieved in between the pipes in what at the time appeared like garbage time. From there, the Thunderbirds picked up quick goals from Will MacLeod, Stephen Keogh, and Clarke Petterson. And then in another burst in the final five minutes, Austin Blumbergs and Petterson scored to make it a 2 goal game. With 1:18 to play, after Jordan MacIntosh hit the post on an empty net attempt, Keogh scored again with the net empty to make it 16-15, with Dobson rushing back into the net. Halifax won the ensuing faceoff, where Keogh would set up shop in front of the net and score through the legs facing away from the net for the ultimate game-tying heat check. The Thunderbirds again won the faceoff, but this time Keogh’s shot was blocked by MacIntosh, and then Jeff Henrick forced a turnover to give the Swarm the ball back where in transition on a two-on-one, the Swarm’s captain ensured that the thoughts of a full Halifax comeback would stop right there, beating Warren Hill in transition on a 2-on-1 to re-take the lead.

Georgia’s win improved them to 9-5, led by 2 goals and 7 assists from Shayne Jackson. Nolan Byrne scored 4 times as part of a very well-rounded effort from the Swarm on the offensive end saw 12 different goal scorers and 14 total players picking up a point. Dobson made 42 saves in the unconventional path to a win.

Clarke Petterson had 4 goals and 6 assists for the Thunderbirds despite the loss. He also picked up 14 loose balls. They also got five points from the trio of Stephen Keogh (4G 1A), Mike Robinson (3G 2A), and Cody Jamieson (2G 3A). Jake Withers won 35 of the game’s 36 faceoffs.

Toronto Rock 13 – Saskatchewan Rush 9

The Rock extended their win streak to 3 with a statement home win over the Rush, led by 3 goals and 4 assists from CJ Kirst. Challen Rogers distributed 7 assists. Nick Rose got the win with 42 saves. Robert Church and Ryan Keenan combined for 6 goals and 6 assists despite the team’s third loss in their last four games. While they’re still atop the table at 11-4,

Vancouver Warriors 10 – Ottawa Black Bears 8

they are now tied with the Vancouver Warriors with that record after two late goals from Keegan Bal and Curtis Dickson pulled the Warriors away from a plucky Black Bears team who stuck with them the whole way. Bal had another 8 points on the night with 3 goals and 5 assists. Adam Charalambides had 3 goals and an assist, with Christian Del Bianco got the win with 42 saves, including 16 in the fourth quarter. For Ottawa, who is the 7-seed at 8-7, Jeff Teat had 2 goals and 5 assists. Zach Higgins made 41 saves despite the loss.

Colorado Mammoth 14 – Calgary Roughnecks 12

The Roughnecks gave the Mammoth everything they could handle for 60 minutes, but the Mammoth, led by 6 goals and 4 assists for Andrew Kew, held off Calgary’s quest for three straight wins and clinched a playoff spot for themselves along the way. Will Malcom and Jack Hannah each had 3 goals and 3 assists, while Braedon Saris had 2 goals and 2 assists and Dillon Ward got the win with 48 saves. Tyler Pace had 5 goals and 4 assists despite the loss.

Week 18 Preview

Buffalo Bandits (8-6) @ Saskatchewan Rush (11-4) – Saturday March 28, 9:00 pm

The second finals rematch of the season is bound to once again be a battle, with the Rush needing to get off the snide to maintain their spot in first while the Bandits would place themselves on the doorstep of the playoffs before the calendar flips to April with another win.

Rochester Knighthawks (5-8) @ Oshawa FireWolves (4-10) – Saturday March 28, 7:00 pm

Rochester won last year’s lone matchup and will need to do it again this year to keep their playoff hopes alive given their tough April schedule. It’s the first of four straight road games and is also the first game for their new defensive coordinator, Bobby Keast.

Two in Philly

While the Wings were mathematically eliminated from the playoffs last weekend, they find themselves bookending this week’s NLL slate with a pair of home games while the Phillies open up their season across the parking lot against the Rangers.

• Halifax Thunderbirds (5-9) @ Philadelphia Wings (3-11) – Friday March 27, 7:00 pm – The Thunderbirds have won 7 of the 8 all-time matchups with the Wings, including two last season. They will need to continue that to not fall further behind in the playoff hunt. Halifax has never missed the playoffs since their move in 2019-20.
• Toronto Rock (9-5) @ Philadelphia Wings (3-11) – Sunday March 29, 1:00 pm – Similar to the Thunderbirds, Toronto has won 9 of the 10 all-time meetings with the Wings. This is the first time the Rock are playing in Philadelphia since March 6, 2023, which was the lone Wings win on a rare Monday Night game.

Georgia Swarm (9-5) @ Ottawa Black Bears (8-7) – Saturday March 28, 7:00 pm

The Black Bears return home for the first time since their incredible comeback against Oshawa one month ago to the date. The road team won both of last season’s matchups.

Calgary Roughnecks (4-10) @ Las Vegas Desert Dogs (6-7) – Saturday March 28, 10:00 pm

The Saturday night slate concludes in Henderson with the Desert Dogs looking to get back to .500 and add another half game of space between them and the idle San Diego Seals. Calgary won both games last season and have won the last 4 of the 5 all-time meetings.

(Photo Credits: National Lacrosse League)