(Okay fine we’ll go quick this week so you can get back to thinking about those Buffalo Sabres)

Buffalo Bandits 15 – Vancouver Warriors 5

Through 17:16, it looked like the Bandits and Warriors were going to be going blow for blow, but then soon after, Thanos snapped his fingers. Quick goals from Joe Resetarits and Josh Byrne extended the lead to two before Byrne picked up two more in the quarter for the natural hat trick. After Clay Scanlan and Marcus Klarich exchanged goals early in the third, Buffalo scored the final 6 in the game, including 4 in quick succession in the first 5:15 of the fourth quarter. Amidst a fourth quarter full of 17 total penalties and a pair of fights, 17,350 in Banditland got to celebrate a 6th consecutive trip to the NLL playoffs, winning their 6th straight game in doing so.

For those playing along at home, it’s the first time since 2000 that the Bills, Sabres, and Bandits were in the playoffs the same year.

There’s not much else you can say about Josh Byrne’s play during this win streak after some struggles during the preceding losing streak. He led the way in this game with 4 goals and 6 assists. He’s now ecliped the 100 point park once again at 31 goals and 70 assists through 16 games. Since Buffalo’s loss to the Wings on February 7, he’s picked up 20 of those goals 39 of those assists, while not finishing with less than 7 points in any game during this win streak. Of course not to diminish the play of his running mate on the right side, Dhane Smith had 3 goals and 7 assists to put himself at 35 goals and 70 assists with two games to play. The offense was rounded out by 2 goals and 4 assists from Ian MacKay and 3 goals and an assist from Joe Resetarits. It was a relatively light night for Matt Vinc, only facing 31 shots in 56:02 before Evan Constantopoulos closed out the game with 5 more saves for Buffalo backstops.

For Vancouver, Marcus Klarich and Adam Charalambides each had 2 goals and 2 assists.

Halifax Thunderbirds 15 – Rochester Knighthawks 10

A five-goal run in the second quarter proved to be the difference, as the Thunderbirds picked up a 15-10 win over the Knighthawks to leap frog them in the standings. It was Jake Withers leading the way for Halifax, scoring twice, assisting four times, causing two turnovers, blocking two shots, and winning 18 of 28 faceoffs while picking up 12 loose balls. Clarke Petterson also had 6 points with 3 goals and 3 assists. Jason Knox also picked up a hat trick. Warren Hill got the win with 42 saves.

For the Knighthawks, once again, it ended up being the lack of saves that caught up to the Knighthawks, who are another loss away from a losing season after finishing 5th last season. Rylan Hartley did relieve Riley Hutchcraft after 10 goals on 32 shots faced in 26:46 with 20 saves on 24 shots faced in the remaining 33:13. Connor Fields had a goal and 5 assists to lead the Knighthawks offense, who got multi goal and assist games from each of Ryan Lanchbury, Ryan Smith, and Thomas McConvey.

Colorado Mammoth 13 – Las Vegas Desert Dogs 8

The Mammoth gave the Desert Dogs a reminder of what playoff lacrosse could be like if they do manage to get in, as Colorado, who is now first in the unified standings, outscored Vegas 8-3 in the second half en route to a 13-8 win. Will Malcom had 5 goals and an assist, with Andrew Kew scoring twice and adding 4 assists. Dylan McIntosh added 3 goals and an assist. Dillon Ward made 43 saves in the win. For Vegas, Jonathan Donville and Adam Poitras had 2 goals and 2 assists apiece.

Toronto Rock 7 – San Diego Seals 5

The Rock got out to a 4-0 start and that did most of a heavy lifting in a defensive clinic. Owen Hiltz was the lone player in the game to reach 4 points with 2 goals and 2 assists. CJ Kirst had 2 goals and an assist as well, with that mark being matched by Wes Berg, who led the Seals. San Diego’s defense, despite the loss, held the Rock to 28 shots on goal. Of their 43 shots on goal, Nick Rose stopped 38.

Oshawa FireWolves 10 – Calgary Roughnecks 9

Tye Kurtz’s go-ahead goal with 2:28 to play proved to be the difference in a tight game the whole way, giving the FireWolves only their second road win of the season. The goal gave him a hat trick on the night, he added an assist as well. Alex Simmons also had 3 goals but added 4 assists to lead Oshawa. Doug Jamieson got the win with 43 saves, including 17 in the fourth quarter. Tyler Pace had 2 goals and 6 assists for the Roughnecks, while Tanner Cook added 3 goals and 4 assists. Aden Walsh had 40 saves despite the loss.

Week 20 Preview

Friday April 10

Toronto Rock (10-6) @ Ottawa Black Bears (8-8) – 7:30 pm, TSN

The first of two meetings between the Rock and Black Bears this season saw Toronto put up their highest offensive output of the season with 17 goals. Ottawa will need to reverse those favors to ensure that they don’t slip into uncomfortable territory the last week of the season, which they have been on the wrong side of the previous two seasons.

Halifax Thunderbirds (7-9) @ Vancouver Warriors (11-5) – 9:00 pm

Last week’s win ensured the Thunderbirds are still alive for a potential playoff spot, but they will be facing an eager Warriors squad hoping to ensure that they do not fall behind the winner of the Rush-Mammoth game on Saturday. In three all-time Thunderbirds-Warriors meetings, the home team has won all three, including Halifax’s win last season and Vancouver’s win in the lone other matchup at Rogers Arena in April 2024.

Saturday April 11

Rochester Knighthawks (6-9) @ Buffalo Bandits (10-6) – 7:00 pm

Well a lot has happened since January 10th, when the Knighthawks won the first matchup of the season. The Bandits close out their regular season home schedule with a spot in the top 4 getting closer and closer by the week, which would ensure that Saturday is not the final game in Banditland this season.

Calgary Roughnecks (4-12) @ Oshawa FireWolves (5-11) – 7:00 pm

The second leg of the home-and-home will be Calgary’s final road game of the season. A reminder that neither of these teams owns their first round pick, so a win is meaningful to each of them without any extra-curriculars.

Las Vegas Desert Dogs (7-8) @ Philadelphia Wings (4-12) – 7:00 pm

The first game for the original Philadelphia Wings was a 17-11 win at The Spectrum against the New Jersey Saints on January 31, 1987. If you want to be more technical, the first National Lacrosse League of 1974 and 1975’s Wings played their first game on May 19, 1974. Maybe we’ll throw it back to that league’s two year history at some point.

Regardless, the final game at Xfinity Mobile Arena with this iteration of Philadelphia Box Lacrosse will see the Wings hosting the Las Vegas Desert Dogs for only the second time in the youngest NLL franchise’s time in the league. The Desert Dogs won the first of two matchups this season back on January 16 and will aim to get back to 8-8 as they still control their destiny out of the 8-seed.

There has been no additional news in regards to the future of the Wings since last week’s announcement of Comcast relinquishing of the franchise at season’s end.

Colorado Mammoth (11-5) @ Saskatchewan Rush (11-5) – 9:00 pm, ESPNU

The top of the unified standings is giving Atlantic Division. Just like the Lightning and Canadiens facing off Thursday, the 11-5 Mammoth and Rush will battle in Saskatoon, with the winner earning the head-to-head tiebreaker with this being their lone meeting of the season. Last year, they played twice, with the Rush winning both matchups.

Sunday April 12

San Diego Seals (6-9) @ Georgia Swarm (10-5) – 4:00 pm

To snap their 5 game losing streak and make it to their final weekend back-to-back with the Desert Dogs with a chance, the Seals need to get a road win in Georgia, something that they haven’t done in two previous all-time trips.

(Photo Credit: National Lacrosse League)