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A 7-1 Third Quarter for the Bandits Secures a Season Split with the Knighthawks – NLL Week 10 Review

by Eddy Tabone - 0

In the first matchup of the season between the Bandits and Knighthawks, the Knighthawks had answers for each Bandits’ run. Rochester got the first run of the game in Saturday’s contest, but the Bandits countered before the half and then continued that counter until it was no longer a counter: It was a knockout. The 7-1 third quarter was the difference as the Bandits won 13-10 against their neighbors to the east.

Like last game, the two teams started the game with half a quarter of feeling each other out before the Bandits got the first goal from Dalton Sulver. It took a little longer for Rochester to get their feet wet, but with 2:00 to go in the first, Thomas Hoggarth scored on the powerplay to tie the game and then Ryan Smith scored in the final minute to give the Knighthawks their first lead of the night. Into the second, the goals piled up for Rochester, as Connor Fields and Curtis Knight scored in the first minute, and then Fields added another on the powerplay to put the Knighthawks up 5-1 4 minutes into the quarter.

But from there, the goals stopped for Rochester. Matt Vinc was dialed in, and the Bandits’ offense did what they did best: score in bunches. Dhane Smith scored twice and Sulver got his second of the night to get the score to 5-4 before the break.

The next 5 minutes would be crucial for the game script. If Rochester got the next run, they’d have figured out Matt Vinc and resumed the back and forth, but a Bandits run could’ve broken the game open, and fortunately for the reported 14,923 in Banditland, it was the orange and black who broke the game open…and then wide open. It started with Steve Priolo going on a transition run to open the scoring in the third and then Brandon Robinson followed his shot to give the Bandits the lead they didn’t give back.

Bryce Sweeting’s first goal of the season was canceled out by Ryan Smith ending an ~18-minute scoreless drought for the Knighthawks, but another stretch of 4 goals extended the Bandits’ lead to 11-6 after the third. After 10 of 11 straight goals allowed with the Knighthawks’ best stretches of offense negated by a combination of good goaltending from Matt Vinc, multiple goals negated by video replay, and posts and cross bars hit to add further discouragement, it just wasn’t their night.

Rochester was able to get the score back within three with the first two goals of the fourth quarter, but Dhane Smith and Brad McCulley scored to help the Bandits keep the lead comfortable. Holden Cattoni’s goal with 21 seconds left made the score 13-10, but that was as close as they could get. The Bandits defended home turf, ensured a season split with the Knighthawks, and with their 7th win of the season compared to Rochester’s 6, took back first place in the East for the first time this season.

With Josh Byrne out of the lineup with a leg injury, Dhane Smith did exactly what a two-time MVP would be expected to do in that situation and stepped up with 4 goals and 5 assists. The timeliness of his two goals in the second quarter set the tone for the rest of the game and ensured they would at least go into the half within 1 as opposed to down 4. Brad McCulley had two goals and three assists to lead the left side with Ian MacKay and Brandon Robinson adding a goal and 2 assists each, as did Steve Priolo out the of the back end as the Bandits transition team was able to figure out what has been a strong transition Knighthawks defense this season. In a game where the shots were even at 57, Matt Vinc won the goaltending battle with a strong 47-save performance.

For the Knighthawks, Connor Fields and Ryan Smith led the way with three goals each, Fields adding 4 assists while Smith added 3. Curtis Knight had 2 goals and an assist, while Thomas Hoggarth and Holden Cattoni were held to a single goal each, and Turner Evans, Austin Hasen, and the Knighthawks transition players were each held scoreless. Rylan Hartley managed 42 saves when all was said and done even after being pulled for a 2:11 breather in the third quarter where Riley Hutchcraft was able to stop both shots that he faced.

Buffalo has the upcoming weekend off while the Knighthawks will return home looking to avenge their January-ending loss to Halifax. It will be the second time that the former Knighthawks organization returns to the Flower City in their new colors, and the teams will be coming together to host Native American Heritage Knight at Blue Cross Arena.

Week 10 Around The League

Colorado Mammoth 13 – Georgia Swarm 10

The Mammoth bookended the weekend in the NLL with a doubleheader, starting with using a 5-2 fourth quarter to pull away from the Swarm and win 13-10. Connor Robinson was the man of the night, scoring 4 goals and adding 3 assists to lead a Mammoth offense that is still finding its footing in the wake of Ryan Lee’s absence from the lineup. Rhys Duch and Eli McLaughlin each had 2 goals, while Chris Wardle distributed 7 assists in addition to lighting the lamp once himself. Dillon Ward made 39 saves in his return to the lineup. For Georgia, Andrew Kew matched Wardle’s goal and 7 assists to lead the Swarm while Lyle Thompson had 2 goals and 2 assists. Seth Oakes stepped up for the Swarm offense with a hat trick in his second game of the season in his first NLL action since 2018-19 with New England. The two teams’ powerplays combined to go 9 for 11.

Las Vegas Desert Dogs 13 – Colorado Mammoth 8

Unfortunately for the Mammoth, the second game of the weekend did not go their way, as they ran out of gas and couldn’t keep up with a rested Vegas team. The Desert Dogs got an “I’ve arrived” game from rookie Jack Hannah, who is playing his first season of box lacrosse after a field lacrosse upbringing that saw him have a successful 4 years at the University of Denver and a 14-point season in his rookie campaign in the PLL with the Waterdogs. His 6 goals and 2 assists paced Vegas to their second franchise win, with veterans Rob Hellyer and Zack Greer scoring twice. Landon Kells stopped 42 shots in the win.

The 3rd assist referenced in the tweet was stat corrected

Calgary Roughnecks 12 – Halifax Thunderbirds 11

The game of the week took place in Halifax as the Roughnecks and Thunderbirds went back and forth for four quarters and couldn’t break the tie. Calgary used the final 16:02 to slowly claw back from an 11-7 deficit and shut the Thunderbirds out in that final stretch. Halifax outshot the Roughnecks 65-47 with the majority of those shots coming in the early game as Calgary struggled to get their initial footing, but a 54-save evening for Christian Del Bianco kept the Roughnecks in the game. Zach Currier’s hat trick made up for a tough night for Calgary’s set offense in which they only scored 5 goals, and Jeff Cornwall’s two goals were a buzzer-beater in the third after the Thunderbirds ran an empty net set at the end of the quarter that was foiled by a Cornwall caused turnover and then the OT winner which came off a breakaway after only their third faceoff win of the night. Clarke Petterson and Randy Staats each scored twice for the Thunderbirds.

Toronto Rock 22 – New York Riptide 14

The 11-10 narrow win over Calgary in Week 9 appears to have been the exception to the rule since Toronto dropped two straight to Buffalo and Rochester to end December, as they coasted to not only their second 8-goal defeat of the New York Riptide but put up a new season high of 22 goals in the process. Corey Small had 5 goals and 5 assists but did not lead the Rock in points, as Tom Schreiber (casually) registered 3 goals and 12 assists. Dan Craig (3G 5A) and Stephen Keogh (4G 4A) had 8 points each, while Dan Dawson turned back the clock with 2 goals and 7 assists. Jeff Teat once again did the heavy lifting for the Riptide with 5 goals and 7 assists. While being left off the goal sheet, Reilly O’Connor had 8 assists.

Philadelphia Wings 13 – Albany FireWolves 5

In a performance that can only be described as “Man that felt good”, the Wings handled the FireWolves with a shutout performance in the middle quarters on their way to a 13-5 win, snapping a three-game losing streak. While Zach Higgins’s 43 saves, Mitch Jones’s 2 goals and 4 assists in his Wings debut, and Joe Resetarits’s 4 goals and 4 assists would steal the headlines on most nights, Trevor Baptiste’s perfect 22 for 22 night in the faceoff circle, along with 23 loose balls, made the record books at Wells Fargo Center. Connor Kelly and John LaFontaine each scored twice for Albany.

San Diego Seals 12 – Panther City Lacrosse Club 10

San Diego used a 9-goal first half to help pace their way to a wire-to-wire home win against Panther City. Curtis Dickson’s 6 assists led the way for the Seals while the scoring was led by hat tricks from each Wes Berg, Dane Dobbie, and Austin Staats. Chris Origlieri once again was strong, making 42 saves in the win and continuing to make his case to be the team’s starter as the season carries on. While not the 25-point barrage that they combined for last week in Vancouver, Jonathan Donville and Will Malcom once again led Panther City in points with a combined 2 goals (1 each) and 11 assists. Mathieu Gautier chipped in with 4 goals.

Saskatchewan Rush 14 – Vancouver Warriors 8

The final score might not bat an eye, but the Warriors led 6-5 at the half in their first game after trading Mitch Jones and losing Logan Schuss to injury, but the Rush offense turned it on in the fourth with 8 goals on their way to their fourth win of the season. The Rush shared the load fairly evenly in the win, with 5 points each from Mark Matthews and Robert Church, 4 points from Ryan Keenan and Matthew Dinsdale, and 3 from Marshall Powless and Austin Madronic. Alex Buque held his former team to two goals in the second half as part of a 44-save night in downtown Vancouver. Kyle Killen and Keegan Bal each had 2 goals for the Warriors with Aden Walsh stopping 41 in a bounce-back effort from him.

Week 11 Matchups

  • Friday, February 10
    • Toronto Rock vs Georgia Swarm – 7:30 pm
    • Saskatchewan Rush vs Calgary Roughnecks – 9:00 pm (TSN Game of the Week)
  • Saturday, February 11
    • Halifax Thunderbirds vs Rochester Knighthawks – 7:00 pm
    • Albany FireWolves vs New York Riptide – 7:30 pm
    • Vancouver Warriors vs Panther City Lacrosse Club – 8:00 pm
    • Colorado Mammoth vs Calgary Roughnecks – 9:00 pm
Photo Credit: Michael Hetzel/NLL
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