Buffalo Bandits 15 – Rochester Knighthawks 13

There wasn’t a doubt that Saturday Night’s game in Rochester would be played, as Rochester was only forecasted (and only got) an inch or two of snow with a little bit of wind. There may have been a doubt that the energy wouldn’t match that which it usually replicates when the rival Knighthawks host the Bandits, but the players and those who did travel for the highest attendance number of the Expansion Knighthawks Era assured that the energy would be at its usual NLL peak.

So buckle up for the first half.

Ryan Smith scored 50 seconds into the game on a give and go from Ryan Lanchbury to get the Knighthawks on the board. Buffalo was able to tie the game about a minute later as Justin Martin fed Dylan Robinson in transition for the goal, but after his jump landing put him straight into Riley Hutchcraft, the first meeting of the minds ensued. Smith capitalized right away on the powerplay to give the Knighthawks the lead with a bouncer off Matt Vinc’s leg pad that snuck underneath the bar. After multiple transition opportunities back and forth, Tyler Biles and Emerson Clark put together a lively scrap that continued the frenzy. The Bandits took the energy and ran with the next two possessions, starting with Chris Cloutier stinging the top corner to tie the game, and then Kyle Buchanan picked up the loose ball off of the follow up faceoff and took it himself to the net in transition to give the Bandits their first lead of the game. A Connor Fields shot led to a loose ball push to give the Knighthawks the possession into the media timeout, but after falling on Thomas McConvey, Dylan Robinson took a little bit too long to get up, leading Fields to shove him away, but the teacher caught the retaliation and put the Bandits on the powerplay, where the Bandits got a three shot possession capped off by a point shot from Josh Byrne. After a shot clock violation from the Knighthawks, Dalton Sulver sent Josh Byrne in on a breakaway for a chance that went off the post but also sent Byrne into Hutchcraft once again, starting more airing of grievances.

And this was only the first half of the opening quarter. Told you to buckle up.

Buffalo was able to kill off the two minute goaltender interference penalty, but Rochester scored on the possession they returned to 5-on-5 courtesy of Kyle Waters. Buffalo scored once they got the ball back, as Tehoka Nanticoke slipped to the front of the net and buried a pass from Chris Cloutier. After taking a high crosscheck to trigger a delayed penalty, Matt Gilray rebounded a blocked Waters shot to make it 5-4. Another delayed penalty led to the game-tying goal for the Knighthawks, courtesy of a second goal for Waters. Rochester got the ball right back, leading to Connor Fields ripping a low-to-high shot past Vinc to give Rochester the lead. Thomas McConvey snuck one more past Vinc in the final three seconds to make it 7-5 Knighthawks after 15 wild minutes of lacrosse.

Rochester pushed the run to 5 straight to open up the second quarter, as Ryan Smith drove to the net and pinpointed the top right corner to make it 8-5 42 seconds in. Play went 4-on-4 off the ensuing faceoff as Mitch Ogilvie and Ian MacKay got tangled up after the faceoff, and that’s where the Bandits were able to end the run with Brandon Robinson streaking off the bench and to the net off a pass from Kyle Buchanan. And then a transition opportunity for Nick Weiss cut the deficit back to a single goal 26 seconds later. Off that faceoff, MacKay, Weiss, and Thomas Whitty took roughing penalties, and the Knighthawks capitalized with Smith’s fourth of the game to put the Knighthawks back out in front. Chris Cloutier got a powerplay goal of his own with 3:33 to play in the quarter, and then each team got one more goal to wrap the first half up with the game tied at 10 apiece — coming from Kyle Waters and Tehoka Nanticoke.

After a combined 74 shots on goal in the first half (38-36 in favor of Rochester), the scoring reached an impasse as play opened up for the third and the game almost seemed to have exhaled as both teams re-emerged from the locker room. Kyle Waters had the first scoring chance of the third net front that nearly beat Matt Vinc but he was able to slide his pads forward to keep the ball out. A similar play on a quick stick from Ryan Lanchbury played out to open a Knighthawks powerplay with just under nine minutes left in the half, but again Vinc was able to sprawl in time and sit on any potential rebound. Rochester forced a transition turnover and got an abrupt 2-on-1, but Vinc was ready and made a stick save. But as Rochester got the rebound and another loose ball went to the corner, Cam Wyers cross-checked Thomas McConvey up high and got called for a 5 minute major. The Bandits forced a turnover during the single possession of the 5-on-3 and then again on the first possession once it went 5-on-4, but Rochester overcame that and a pair of shots off iron before Waters bounced a shot over Vinc’s shoulder with 5:19 left in the third quarter. Rochester scored out of the under five media timeout to make it 12-10 and end the major penalty, as Connor Fields ripped a low-to-high laser over the shoulder of Vinc for the second time in the game. Play, however, did not return to 5-on-5, as Lanchbury was called for a dead ball foul during the celebration of the goal, giving Buffalo their first chance for sustained offensive touches in a while. However, Riley Hutchcraft turned aside 3 Bandit powerplay shots. A pair of unforced 8 second violations for the Knighthawks allowed the Bandits to sustain pressure in the closing minutes of the third, but they were still unable to find the back of the net, including the Knighthawks defense forcing a shot clock violation in the 6-on-5 possession to end the quarter.

Buffalo was kept off the scoreboard in the third quarter — a staple of their dominance in the last five seasons — for the first time since February 18, 2022.

Ryan Lanchbury beat Vinc five hole to open up the first possession of the fourth quarter, but a John Tavares challenge overturned the goal, as the shot clock had expired before the shot crossed the goal line. Minutes later, Lanchbury got alone in front of the net again and was denied by Vinc point blank, and that set up Ian MacKay to pick up the rebound and go down the floor and sweep his first goal of the game in to cut the deficit to a single goal with 11:48 to play. Rochester’s offense began fighting after that goal, and with 7:59 remaining, it started to catch up to them, as Chase Fraser fired a step back from deep to tie the game. Then after a transition opportunity from Kyle Waters was stopped by a split save from Vinc, the Bandits came back down the floor and Josh Byrne found space between 3 Knighthawks on the way to the cage and beat Hutchcraft short side, narrowly sneaking it between the leg pad and the post. And then after Justin Martin picked up a loose ball off the ensuing faceoff after Joe Post won the initial clamp, Dhane Smith dished out of a post up to Byrne who buried the team’s third goal in 100 seconds to make it 14-12 Bandits with 6:18 to play. Rochester had the opportunity immediately to respond, as MacKay’s clearing attempt off a rebound was intercepted by Connor Fields, who fed Austin Hasen for a shot that was saved, immediately rebounded by Kyle Waters, and Waters went cross crease to Lanchbury for a quick stick that was, again, robbed by Vinc. Chris Cloutier added some insurance with 3:50 left, and while Thomas McConvey was able to score on the ensuing possession, that would be all the Knighthawks would be able to muster. Vinc made another point blank save on the next possession to get even with McConvey after that goal, and then when the Knighthawks went 6-on-5, McConvey once again was open in front after an offensive rebound and once again denied by Vinc. Once more save in the final 30 seconds later, and the Bandits had themselves a 15-13 road victory.

Buffalo ended up sharing the wealth on offense with Josh Byrne’s 3 goals and 3 assists leading the comeback initiative. Despite being held out of the goal column for the third time in their first five games, Dhane Smith had 6 assists to bring his total so far this season to 30, maintaining a 120 assist pace (which, yes, should shatter the 94 and 96 assist seasons he has had the last two seasons to break the single season record). Chris Cloutier had 3 goals and 2 assists as well. Matt Vinc finished the game with 51 saves for back to back 50 save games.

As he did nearly a year to the date hosting Buffalo, Ryan Smith led the Knighthawks with 4 goals and 5 assists for 9 points, with Kyle Waters also adding 4 goals, while Connor Fields and Thomas McConvey each had 2 goals and 7 assists and Ryan Lanchbury had 6 assists. Smith is tied for 2nd in the league with 16 goals while Connor Fields is tied for 4th, right behind Smith with 15. Riley Hutchcraft made 47 saves for the Knighthawks, who have another bye week this upcoming week, and Joe Post once again controlled the faceoff dot with 24 wins on 32 attempts.

These two teams will play in Buffalo on February 3.

Week 7 Around The League

The Rush couldn’t get to Philadelphia for their scheduled matchup because of the weather, so their game was postponed.

Toronto Rock 11 – Halifax Thunderbirds 9

The Rock jumped out to a 5-1 first quarter and had the Thunderbirds playing catch up all night at home but were unable to tie the game despite getting it within one twice and outshooting the Rock 54-39, as the Rock improved to 4-0 on the early season. Challen Rogers led the Rock in a full transition game with 2 goals and 3 assists, and Corey Small had 4 goals. Nick Rose made 45 saves and built on his league leading 8.50 GAA and .830 SV%. The Thunderbirds offense was generally held in check, but Randy Staats managed 3 goals and 3 assists and Ryan Terefenko had 2 goals and an assist out of the back door. The Thunderbirds are also off this week before hosting the Knighthawks on the 27th.

Las Vegas Desert Dogs 10 – San Diego Seals 8

The Desert Dogs hosted a whiteout with a Wayne Gretzky jersey giveaway and it didn’t not help give the home team the edge to shut down the Seals on Friday Night on ESPNU. The vets Zack Greer (2G 6A) and Rob Hellyer (1G 4A) provided the foundation for Jack Hannah to bust out for his best game of the season with 4 goals and 2 assists which included a second quarter natural hat trick. Landon Kells bounced back after his team gave up 17 goals in each of their previous two games with 37 saves. For the Seals, who only mustered three goals in the first three quarters, ended up getting 4 goals and 2 assists from Wes Berg, three of which came in the final 5:02. Kyle Jackson also added a hat trick.

San Diego Seals 12 – Colorado Mammoth 8

However for the Seals, they were able to rebound with a wire-to-wire win in the second night of their back-to-back weekend in a game that started with a natural hat trick for Austin Staats to open the game on his way to a five point night. Wes Berg led the team with a goal and 6 assists, while Kyle Jackson and Curtis Dickson each had a goal and 3 assists. Mac O’Keefe made his season debut for the Seals and had 2 goals. Chris Origlieri had 43 saves in the win. For Colorado, the offensive struggles continued as they dropped to 1-4 despite 3 goals and 3 assists from Eli McLaughlin and 2 goals and 3 assists from Connor Robinson.

Albany FireWolves 12 – Georgia Swarm 8

The magic start continues for the FireWolves, as they went on the road and took down the Swarm to improve to 6-0. Travis Longboat (2G 3A) and Alex Simmons (1G 4A) each had 5 points, while Colton Watkinson and Ethan Walker each had two goals as part of a 10-3 start to the game that pulled Brett Dobson after 33:43. Lyle Thompson had 3 goals and an assist and Shayne Jackson had 4 assists to lead the Swarm. Angus Goodleaf stopped 12 of 13 shots faced in relief of Dobson.

Panther City 14 – New York Riptide 12

Panther City used a four goal run in the third quarter to pull away from the Riptide and then held off a late 3 goals surge to get a road victory to get their second win of the season. Rookie Jason Knox had 4 goals and an assist and was joined with by points by 3 goal 2 assist games from Jonathan Donville and Callum Crawford and a 1 goal 4 assist game from Will Malcom. Nick Damude got the win with 45 saves. The Riptide were unable to get their second win in as many games despite 2 goals and 5 assists from Reilly O’Connor and Connor Kearnan. Jeff Teat had 4 goals and 2 assists, while Kiel Matisz flipped his 6 points with 2 goals and 4 assists.

Calgary Roughnecks 14 – Vancouver Warriors 7

The Roughnecks spoiled Curt Malawsky’s first game coaching against his former team as they used a 5-0 second quarter to pull away and not look back. Tanner Cook’s 5 goals and 2 assists led Calgary, and Jesse King added 3 goals and 3 assists. Christian Del Bianco reminded his old coach of his 2023 MVP form with 48 saves. Ryan Martel was the lone Warrior to reach 3 points with 2 goals and an assist.

Week 8 Preview

New York Riptide (1-4) @ Buffalo Bandits (3-2) – Friday January 19, 7:30 pm (ESPN+ and WNLO)

The Bandits return home for their annual Tucker Out Lymphoma Night, where they will go up against the Riptide. Despite the records not only this year but the past couple of years, the Riptide have given the Bandits trouble despite their 1-3 record against Buffalo since entering the league. Two of the losses have come in overtime, including in their last matchup on April 15, 2023 in Buffalo in last year’s Tucker Out Lymphoma matchup.

San Diego Seals (3-2) @ Albany FireWolves (6-0) – Saturday January 20, 7:00 pm

San Diego will be the next team looking to give Albany their first loss of the season as they travel to the Capital Region for a Saturday Night matchup at MVP Arena. It’s the first time the Seals, who are looking for their first back-to-back wins of the season, will travel to Albany, as their only other matchup since the FireWolves moved to Albany took place in San Diego, where the FireWolves got a 13-12 win.

Georgia Swarm (4-2) @ Toronto Rock (4-0) – Saturday January 20, 7:00 pm

While Albany defends their undefeated start, the other undefeated team will be doing the same in their home city of Hamilton. Playing only four games to this point somehow has helped a championship contending favorite fly under the radar so far despite it being the first time they’ve ever started 4-0. As when the Swarm came into Buffalo a couple weeks ago, the ingredients are in place for another potential chess match. Toronto won both matchups against Georgia last year.

Vancouver Warriors (1-4) @ Saskatchewan Rush (1-3) – Saturday January 20, 8:00 pm

The Rush return to action after a postponed game last weekend, although it does look like a warm front will make it a toasty 8 degrees Fahrenheit in Saskatoon on gameday. Both they and the Warriors, who will play twice this season, had higher aspirations at season’s start, so this game could be big for either team attempting to right the ship and keep up in the unified standings. The Rush won 2 of the 3 matchups with the Warriors last season.

Calgary Roughnecks (2-2) @ Colorado Mammoth (1-4) – Saturday January 20, 9:00 pm

While not 4-0, Calgary’s lack of games has them almost overlooked in the same way Toronto has been in comparison with its peers in the standings. After losing road games to Rochester and San Diego, they have responded with 6 and 7 goal wins to get back to 2-2 and have the Mammoth this weekend and the Riptide in two weeks before two straight games against the Rock. Meanwhile for Colorado, they have made their magic from the bottom of the bracket the last two seasons, which of course includes their three game series win against the Roughnecks in the playoffs, but dropping to 1-5 would make it really challenging to get back into the playoff picture this season. The last time Colorado started 1-4 was in 2018-19 where they also fell to 1-5 and finished 6-12. It’s also going to be the last game before they embark on a 4 game road trip. In 10 matchups since the start of the 2021-22 season, the series is 5-5.