Buffalo Bandits 13 – Las Vegas Desert Dogs 10

The back-to-back allowed the Bandits to rotate Lukas Nielsen in for his NLL debut to start the weekend, and the 7th overall pick in this past draft went first shift first goal, finishing on a look from Josh Byrne with the game 4-on-4 1:06 into the game. Two possessions later, Chris Cloutier drove to the net and scored his first goal of the month of March. With the way that things have been going for the Desert Dogs of late, the “Here we go again” feeling was settling in. A jab move from Dhane Smith made it 3-0, and then after forcing a turnover, Byrne had a jab of his own to create space and fire to join in on the fun, and then right off the ensuing faceoff, a clean faceoff win from Connor Farrell gave Buffalo the ball right back, where Byrne ripped a pass across the floor to Smith for the quick stick to make it 5-0 before the first media timeout. After the goals quieted down in the middle third, the final four and a half minutes started with Nick Weiss intercepting a Holden Cattoni pass and feeding Justin Martin on a 2-on-1 for a transition goal, only for Kyle Buchanan to finish off a nice passing sequence with Byrne and Tehoka Nanticoke on the next possession. Then finally Smith found Cloutier on their next possession once again, pushing the lead up to 8-0 with still 2:43 left in the first quarter, ending Landon Kells’s night between the pipes. A dunk from Casey Jackson about a minute later gave Vegas their first goal to prevent a shutout in the first 15.

Some extended time on the powerplay gave Vegas a handful of chances in the middle of the second quarter, with a shot from Holden Cattoni making it 8-2. Josh Byrne on the run pushed the lead back up to 7 before he would feed a cutting Cloutier for a first half hat trick and first half Moe’s for the 18,000+ in Banditland. Another forced turnover led to another goal on the next sequence, with Dhane Smith feeding a rolling Kyle Buchanan for an 11-2 lead that would be carried into the half.

Perhaps aware of the context of the weekend and bigger picture ahead this spring, the game slowed down as the second half got underway. A powerplay goal from Ian MacKay in front pushed the lead to 12, but an outside shot from Kyle Killen and a powerplay goal of Jonathan Donville’s own gave the Desert Dogs a 2-1 advantage in the third quarter. Donville would also score shorthanded to open up the scoring in the fourth quarter, with MacKay making sure of a neutral powerplay attempt. Goals from Casey Jackson and Killen in quick succession cut the deficit to 6 early in the fourth before Luke Pilcher, an RIT Grad and former player in the UCBLL, scored his first career goal. Jackson Webster and Donville scored on Steven Orleman in the final 4:36 to secure a 13-10 final score, making the deficit relatively serviceable after the brutal start for the road Desert Dogs.

Dhane Smith’s 2 goals and 6 assists and Josh Byrne’s 2 goals and 5 assists paced the Bandits through that early onslaught and throughout the game. Chris Cloutier had 3 goals and 2 assists as well. For Vegas, Jonathan Donville finished with 3 goals and 3 assists while Casey Jackson had 2 goals and 4 assists. The Bandits defense limited Jack Hannah to a single assist.

The win gave the Bandits an official invitation to the playoffs for the fifth straight season, but their weekend wasn’t over, as they had to head east in an overnight bus to take on the awaiting Albany FireWolves.

Albany FireWolves 11 – Buffalo Bandits 10 F/OT

After being the scratch on Friday Night, Chase Fraser’s fresh legs would give the Bandits the 1-0 on their first shot of the game, but Albany’s younger and fresher legs countered with a goal of a turnover on the faceoff to tie it at one in the first minute. Kurtz got loose on a rebound in front for Albany’s first of the game, but Ian MacKay would tie the game minutes later to keep up. After killing a penalty, the Bandits had extended possession time, and on their second reset of the shot clock, Josh Byrne fed a cutting Dhane Smith to give the Bandits their lead back. Buffalo would finish the first and open the second with a powerplay but were denied.

Along with the three shots turned aside in the first 45 seconds of the second quarter, Doug Jamieson already had 20 saves on the ledger. A delayed penalty and the extra attacker led Albany to the tying goal, with Johnathan Peshko’s first as a member of the FireWolves. Dhane Smith fired from the point for a powerplay goal 4 minutes into the quarter, but a pump fake and a goal from Alex Simmons on Albany’s next possession evened the game back up. Nick Weiss got a breakaway goal for his sixth of the season halfway through the quarter, and then while it looked like Buffalo was going to take their first two goal lead of the night on a crease dive from Josh Byrne, the goal was overturned with a review, although Chris Cloutier did get that 6th Buffalo goal with 1:25 to go, leading 6-4 at the half.

Out of the halftime break, Albany took the game over. Alex Simmons fed a cutting Johnathan Peshko to cut the deficit to one, and then out of the under 10 timeout, Simmons scored from midrange to tie the game back up at 6. The FireWolves continued to possess the ball for much of the middle of the quarter while forcing multiple turnovers on defense, and with an Ethan Walker crease dive, the result of the strong play was a regaining of the lead. Penalties in quick succession gave the FireWolves an extended 5-on-3, but the Bandits PK held up before the offense would draw a penalty of their own. The powerplay, however, would be short lived, as they were called for another penalty a minute into the two minute advantage. Albany would carry the 7-6 lead into the fourth, however they would lose Simmons to a non-contact injury late in the frame.

When the 4-on-4 turned to a powerplay for the FireWolves, Dyson Williams scored from the point to make it 8-6. Who else but Kyle Buchanan to score on a roll and a feed from Dhane Smith to end the Albany run and give Buffalo their first goal in almost 20 minutes. But Albany would immediately bounce right back with a goal from Ethan Walker followed up immediately with a second goal from Williams. Ian MacKay would prevent another run before Chase Fraser scored on his off step from outside to once again get back within a goal. The score would remain as is heading into the final two minutes, and after a stop on the other end, Smith would get the Bandits set up and send a pass to Josh Byrne, who put everything he had into his offering from outside to tie the game at 10. The goalies would exchange saves until the clock expired on regulation, and once again, the fourth time this season for Albany (all at home), there would be overtime at MVP Arena.

The theme of a stalemate defined the early minutes of overtime, as the defenses forced a handful of turnovers on both sides and neither team registered a marquee shot attempt. A video review was required after a shot from Byrne led to Doug Jamieson scrambling to keep the ball out, but it turned out that the net rattling was due to the end of Jamieson’s stick falling into the net while the ball stayed under his body. And until the halfway point of the initial overtime period, there continued to be strong defense on both ends. Then as the 8th minute of the frame began, Kyle Jackson rebounded a wide shot from Tye Kurtz. The vet found the rookie Dyson Williams in front of the net, and a day after the Bandits beat his dad’s team, the number one overall pick in the 2023 draft threw a behind the back look on his opposite side to beat Matt Vinc and give the FireWolves their first overtime win of the season in front of their largest crowd of the season.

With 3 goals and an assist, Williams was one of four FireWolves to finish with 4 points, while Tye Kurtz led the team with 2 goals and 4 assists, but the mvp of this game for the FireWolves was Doug Jamieson. After his 31 first half saves, he stopped another 20 in the second half and 6 in overtime for 57 total saves for his new career high, passing the 55 he had against the Thunderbirds back on December 28. Now at 6-9, the task at hand still is a steep slope, but the FireWolves remain alive for a potential playoff spot.

For Buffalo, the consequence of the loss is simply that a guarantee of a top 4 spot is yet to be confirmed, although that is likely to be accomplished regardless of their own game next weekend. Josh Byrne had a goal and 7 assists for the Bandits, while Dhane Smith had 2 goals and 4 assists, and Chase Fraser had 2 goals and 2 assists. Matt Vinc made 45 saves despite the loss.

Week 17 Around The League

Halifax Thunderbirds 17 – Ottawa Black Bears 16

We mentioned previewing the week that this could be a make or break week for Ottawa, and while they got out to a 6-2 lead on Friday night, Halifax scored 10 of the next 13 goals to take control. While the Black Bears managed to even the game back up at 13, Mike Robinson would score the eventual game winner short handed on the way to a 17-16 win. The Thunderbirds registered 101 total shot attempts, with 75 of them on goal. Cody Jamieson and Clarke Petterson each had 2 goals and 3 assists, while it was Graeme Hossack’s turn to be the transition spark with 3 goals and 2 assists. Relieving an injured Warren Hill in the first quarter, Drew Hutchison finished with 33 saves in the win. For the Black Bears, Jeff Teat had 6 goals and 4 assists to lead his bunch, while the onslaught of shots from the Thunderbirds led to 57 total saves for Zach Higgins.

Ottawa Black Bears 14 – Colorado Mammoth 9

The home leg of the two game weekend for the Black Bears, however, gave them a much needed win to get back to 6-8. Jeff Teat’s efforts did not go to waste in this one, as he led with another 5 goals and 4 assists. Connor Kearnan had 2 goals and 4 assists, while the Black Bears limited the Mammoth to only 4 shots on goal across the entire third quarter to help go on the run that gave them a lead they wouldn’t relinquish. Ryan Lee led the Mammoth with 3 goals and 5 assists, and Nate Whittom made 39 saves in his first career start, with Dillon Ward missing the game on paternity leave.

The results of the two games meant that Halifax would take a one game lead on the Mammoth for the third seed at 9-5, one game behind the Rush for second. Their next win will clinch a playoff berth for the Thunderbirds.

Toronto Rock 15 – Philadelphia Wings 8

Despite missing Tom Schreiber due to injury, the Rock were the recipients of some good fortune that escaped them earlier in the season, but they, like the Wings, stand at 5-9 and are not dead yet, as the home Rock got out to an 8-2 halftime lead on their way to a 15-8 win. The rest of the right side stepped up in Schreiber’s absence with Josh Dawick scoring twice and adding 6 assists and Chris Boushy finishing with 3 goals and 3 assists. A goal and 3 assists and a hat trick from Sam LeClair led the Wings, whose losing streak dropped to 7.

San Diego Seals 16 – Calgary Roughnecks 12

A 10 point night for Ben McIntosh was the catalyst for another San Diego offensive explosion for their third win in a row and their first time being 2 games above .500 on the year, while also dropping the Roughnecks under .500 for the first time this season. Rob Hellyer had 9 assists, while Wes Berg had 5 goals and 3 assists as the three righties combined for 27 points. Zach Currier had 3 goals and 2 assists in his return to the Saddledome. Tanner Cook had 4 goals and 3 assists, while Dane Dobbie and Jesse King had 2 goals and 3 assists for the Roughnecks in the loss.

Vancouver Warriors 15 – Georgia Swarm 13

While the Swarm were able to cut a previous 13-8 deficit to 14-13 with 2:07 to play, the Warriors would shut things down the rest of the way for their second straight home win to get back to .500. Something about springtime in the lower mainland does wonder for Keegan Bal’s game, as he continues a similar late season surge that he did last year with 3 goals and 9 assists for his first double digit point game of the season. Kevin Crowley had 2 goals and 4 assists, while Ryan Martel had 4 goals and an assist and Marcus Klarich had 3 goals and 2 assists. Christian Del Bianco got the win with 43 saves. Lyle Thompson led the Swarm with 4 goals and 2 assists, with Bryan Cole matching at 2 goals and 4 assists, and Shayne Jackson adding 3 goals and 2 assists. Brendan Bomberry had 5 assists as well.

Week 18 Preview

The games of the week will be taking place locally this weekend, fortunately for all.

Vancouver Warriors (7-7) @ Buffalo Bandits (11-3) – Saturday March 29, 7:30 pm

The Warriors make their first trip to Buffalo since December 2018 with a chance to, as they did last March at home, put the league on notice of what they’re building on the West Coast. Each of Buffalo’s final four games are against teams currently in playoff positions, creating multiple potential previews for a 4-5 weeks from now.

San Diego Seals (8-6) @ Rochester Knighthawks (8-7) – Saturday March 29, 7:00 pm

The winner of this game will separate themselves from the pack another game and allow them to start looking towards potentially hosting a playoff game in the first round or creating havoc at the bottom of the bracket. The loser won’t necessarily find themselves in immediate trouble, but it’ll mean a shrunken margin of error as the calendar flips to April. The annual Military Appreciation Night at The War Memorial starts a three game homestand for the Knighthawks to finish the season. The two teams have a combined record of 10-3 since February 1. The Seals have defeated the Knighthawks in both all time meetings, but this will be the first time the two teams face each other in Rochester.

Ottawa Black Bears (6-8) @ Philadelphia Wings (5-9) – Friday March 28, 7:00 pm

Both philosophically and (mostly) mathematically, the loser of this game will not be able to call themselves a playoff team. It may be too late for Philadelphia after 7 losses in a row, but if Jeff Teat can continue the tear he was on last weekend, there’s still a spot in the bubble for the Black Bears. The road team won each of last season’s matchups.

Colorado Mammoth (8-6) @ Saskatchewan Rush (10-4) – Saturday March 29, 9:00 pm, ESPNU

Dillon Ward will be back between the pipes for the Mammoth as they, like the Seals and Knighthawks, keep pace for a potential top 4 seed, while the top seed is still not out of the cards in Toon Town. The Rush have won 16 of the 21 meetings between the two former western rivals since their relocation to Saskatchewan in 2016, including 5 of the last 6 and last season’s lone matchup in Denver.

Halifax Thunderbirds (9-5) @ Georgia Swarm (7-7) – Sunday March 30, 4:00 pm, ESPNU

A roller coaster season for the Swarm could get a massive jolt to close out the month of March if they are able to knock off the Thunderbirds at home, while for Halifax, getting a third straight win before matchups with San Diego and Buffalo could be critical for their final spot in the standings, with that first ever home playoff game lurking at the end of the tunnel.