Buffalo Bandits 12 – Rochester Knighthawks 6

A pick and roll between Joe Resetarits and Dhane Smith led The Great Dhane to the net where he beat Rylan Hartley alone in front to open the scoring 2:19 in, and then on their next possession, Josh Byrne scored on the run, picking the top corner for a quick 2-0 lead. While Zed Williams would score as Rochester got the ball back and he put a shot off of the post and then off Matt Vinc and in, the Bandits got a powerplay goal from Kyle Buchanan to go back up 2. Buchanan finished off the quarter with a second straight goal to make it 4-1 Buffalo after 1.

Defense turned into offense extended Buffalo’s lead to 5-1 after only 41 seconds as Matt Spanger caused a turnover on one end which led the to a spin-around midrange goal from Steve Priolo. Back-to-back goals from Ryan Lanchbury and Blaze Riorden got Rochester back into things, but it was as close as they would get. Josh Byrne left the bench and stepped into one halfway through the quarter to make it 6-3. While Jake Piseno looked to score off the ensuing faceoff, his foot stepped down in the crease before the ball crossed the goal line. Ian MacKay scooped up a rebound and scored with 5:34 left to add on to the swing, although Piseno did get his 7th goal of the season about a minute later and set the score at 7-4 through 30.

With the game at 4-on-4, Josh Byrne didn’t need the extra space to score his second of the game, letting a shot go from above the KeyBank Center script logo to make it a doubling up once again. Minutes later, after the defense killed their fourth of five penalties on the night, the first goal of the game flipped itself as Dhane Smith fed Joe Resetarits to make it 9-4 with 6:57 left. Ryan Smith got the Knighthawks back on the board before Ian MacKay’s second of the game. Into the fourth, Blaze Riorden and Dhane Smith scored their second goals of the game before Mitch de Snoo scored from deep in the defensive zone on the empty net to seal the deal and give the Bandits a 12-6 win, their 7th in a row.

Two goals in the second half only added further to the extensive resume that the back end in Buffalo has put together the last couple of seasons. Rochester was limited to 20 shots on goal in the first half, and after getting 29 on net in the second, Matt Vinc turned 27 of them aside. 8 defenders caused turnovers and 6 blocked shots, led by Paul Dawson’s 4. They held Connor Fields and thomas McConvey without a goal. Ryan Lanchbury had a goal and 4 assists, while Fields also had 4 assists, but the defense limited him to 14 total shots and half of them reaching the net.

For the Bandit offense, the leaders led again. Josh Byrne had 3 goals and 4 assists, while Dhane Smith had 2 goals and 5 assists. Kyle Buchanan added 4 assists to his 2 goals. At 11-6, Buffalo enters the last week of the season third in the standings.

Colorado Mammoth 13 – Saskatchewan Rush 11

Even without Andrew Kew, the Mammoth climbed out to a 7-0 lead halfway through the second quarter. While the Rush were able to chip away and eventually cut the deficit to 1, it was Jack Hannah scoring the insurance tally to cap off a 4 goal, 5 assist effort and give the Mammoth the win to jump up to the top seed. Will Malcom got each of his three goals in that first stretch of 7 and also picked up 4 assists. For the Rush, who fell to 5th following the loss, Zach Manns had 2 goals and 4 assists while Ryan Keenan score once with 5 assists. Mike Messenger also added 4 assists. Brock Haley picked up a hat trick.

Toronto Rock 10 – Ottawa Black Bears 6

A 38 save night for Nick Rose and hat tricks from Chris Boushy and Sam English helped the Rock steadily pull away from the Black Bears as the game went on and got themselves a road win in Ottawa. Josh Dawick was the high point getter for Toronto with 2 goals and 3 assists. Their defense held Rob Hellyer and Jeff Teat to a goal and 3 assists apiece. Ottawa’s loss marks their fourth in a row and means that instead of clinching this weekend, they’ll need to play a winner take all game in the final weekend against the Halfiax Thunderbirds, who…

Vancouver Warriors 8 – Halifax Thunderbirds 7

…were on the verge of a huge road win on the opposite Canadian coast after Casey Wilson’s first career goal extended their lead to 7-5, but the Warriors scored the final three goals of the game, including the game-tying and go-ahead goals completing a fourth quarter hat trick for Jesse King, who also had 3 assists. The 8-7 win for the Warriors allowed them to keep pace in a tie atop the standings. Christina Del Bianco got the win with 43 saves. For Halifax, Warren Hill made 51 saves despite the loss. Each of Clarke Petterson, Jason Knox (2G 2A each), Cody Jamieson, and Mike Robinson (1G 3A) had 4 point nights for the offense.

Philadelphia Wings 11 – Las Vegas Desert Dogs 5

In hindsight, it’s easier to say that the Wings were simply not going to lose their final game in Downtown Philly in front of nearly 10,000 at XFinity Mobile Arena. Led by 59 saves for Nick Damude, the Wings pulled away in the second quarter and then held down the fort the rest of the way, with 4 goals and 3 assists for Lukas Nielsen being the game-high. Adam Poitras had 2 goals and 2 assists, while Mitch Jones had assists on 4 of the 5 goals.

San Diego Seals 9 – Georgia Swarm 7

Things got even more complicated for the Desert Dogs on Sunday afternoon as the Seals fought defense with defense and picked up a crucial road win to set themselves up nicely heading into the final weekend (more on that later). Wes Berg’s 2 goals and 4 assists and Ben McIntosh’s 3 goals and an assist led the way for the Seals offense, while Chris Origlieri made 32 saves on 39 shots faced. For the Swarm, Shayne Jackson had 2 goals and 3 assists, while Kaleb Benedict had 5 assists and Nolan Byrne picked up a hat trick.

Calgary Roughnecks 14 – Oshawa FireWolves 7

The FireWolves scored 5 in the first but only 2 more the rest of the way, while the Roughnecks controlled the rest of the game on their way to a 14-7 win. After relieving Aden Walsh in the second quarter, Colby Bowman only gave up a single goal on 39 shots faced in 41:35, the best save percentage ever for a goaltender that played that many minutes in a game at .974. Tanner Cook had 4 goals and 4 assists, while Tyler Pace had 2 goals and 6 assists. Haiden Dickson added 5 assists. Alex Simmons led the FireWolves with 2 goals and 4 assists.

Week 21 Preview

Tsai Bowl IV

• Las Vegas Desert Dogs (7-9) vs San Diego Seals (7-9)
  • Friday @ SD, 10:30 pm, ESPNU
  • Saturday @ LV, 10:00 pm

While he probably wishes it was for the first and second seed in the standings and not for one of the two teams to clinch a playoff berth, Joe Tsai couldn’t have asked for a higher stakes for his two teams’ home-and-home to end the regular season.

A sweep ensures the winning team makes the playoffs. If they split, the result of the Knighthawks game against the Swarm determines the fates. If Rochester wins both games, the spot goes to Vegas. Otherwise, the Seals get the spot.

A split with the home team winning both games is how the last two seasons have gone in this head-to-head.

Win and In

Ottawa Black Bears (8-9) @ Halifax Thunderbirds (7-10) – Saturday April 18, 6:00 pm, TSN

It’s taken contradicting paths to get here. The Thunderbirds rebounded from 3-7 to get back to 7-10 and hang around in the 10 seed, while Ottawa has dropped 4 straight after winning 4 straight across February and the first week of March. Since Halifax won the first matchup back on January 9, if they win, they get the head-to-head tiebreak for the two 8-10 teams. The Thunderbirds have never missed the playoffs since arriving in Halifax, while the Black Bears are still looking for their first appearance dating back to their expansion arrival that same year, losing out on tiebreakers in their last season in New York and in 9th place in their first season in Ottawa.

Seeding Stakes

Toronto Rock (11-6) @ Saskatchewan Rush (11-6) – Saturday April 18, 9:00 pm

Both teams are comfortably clinched, but they could both finish anywhere between 2nd and 6th. Saskatchewan’s spot in the Top 4 only comes down to whether or not they win, which could be crucial considering they lost the first matchup with Toronto a couple weeks ago in Hamilton as part of 5 losses in their last 6 games since starting 10-1. Strong games for each of CJ Kirst, Owen Hiltz, and Sam English could strength the possibility that all three rookie of the year candidates play for the Rock.

Buffalo Bandits (11-6) @ Oshawa FireWolves (5-12) – Saturday April 18, 7:00 pm

The Bandits make the trip to Oshawa to finish their regular season out and also still have plenty of ways their seeding to end up, which does include some permutations where they climb all the way up to the #1 seed. That would require them, Colorado, Vancouver, and Georgia to all be 12-6, which of course would mean the first two losing and the Swarm winning both games. To finish second, that would entail one of Colorado or Vancouver losing and Georgia not getting to 12-6; the differences there would come down to head-to-head results (The Toronto-Sask result obviously wouldn’t matter because the Bandits didn’t lose any of the three matchups with those two teams). If the Mammoth and Warriors hold their positions, they’d of course remain the 3 seed. Then finally, a loss could drop them to 5th if Georgia wins both games or 4th if they lose at least once to the Knighthawks.

Colorado Mammoth (12-5) @ Calgary Roughnecks (5-12) – Saturday April 18, 9:00 pm

All it’ll take is a win for the Mammoth to ensure their position as the 1 seed, with that standing still possible if Vancouver also loses. Whether or not they’d be there, second, or third with a loss would come down to the Warriors, Bandits, Rush vs Rock, and Swarm games. The Mammoth won their first matchup with the Roughnecks this season 14-12 back on March 21.

Philadelphia Wings (5-12) @ Vancouver Warriors (12-5) – Saturday April 18, 10:00 pm

Just like Rochester last April, the Wings will enter the void following their final game of the season in Vancouver, with their fate still up in the air and potentially ranging anywhere from relocation to folding. On the other end, the Warriors can still jump to the 1 seed if they win and Colorado loses. If they lose, the rest of the out of town scoreboard determines if they stay at second or drop to third or fourth. The home team won both matchups last season.

Hawks and the Bees

• Rochester Knighthawks vs Georgia Swarm
  • Saturday @ Georgia, 4:00 pm
  • Sunday @ Rochester, 3:00 pm

Rochester won last season’s lone matchup, a 16-9 win in Duluth on January 4.

For the Swarm, a sweep and everyone above them losing would mean that they can leap all the way up to the 2 seed. The rest of the out of town scoreboard if all those teams don’t lose would determine if a sweep places them anywhere between third and fifth. If they split, being fifth or sixth would depend on if Toronto beats Saskatchewan. Losing both games would place them sixth.

On the side of the Knighthawks, the highest they can finish is 9th, which would be 6th overall pick. If they lose both games, a Calgary win could drop them to what would equate to the 3rd overall pick. Regardless, they’ll finish their season in fashion.

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(Photo Credit: Caroline Sherman)