Buffalo Bandits 12 – San Diego Seals 9

It wasn’t a storybook start to the 2023 season for the Bandits after losing their first game, but when it came to their home opener this week, the epilogue of their championship season and the second chapter of this season fit quite nicely.

Austin Staats attacked the net to open the scoring during the second San Diego possession of the game, but Josh Byrne quickly tied it back up for Buffalo on their second next possession off a nice passing play from Dhane Smith and Chris Cloutier. The Bandits took the lead soon after as Nick Weiss found Brandon Robinson in transition to make it 2-1. Curtis Dickson tied the game after a defensive breakdown led him to the crease with about 6 and a half to play in the quarter. After the under-five timeout, Josh Byrne gave the Bandits the lead back again, plastering the near corner on the run from mid-range, but a goaltender interference call on Tehoka Nanticoke led to a Seals powerplay marker, again courtesy of Dickson, to make it 3-3 after 15 minutes.

The Seals did, however, take a penalty of their own in the final minute of the quarter, which the Bandits capitalized on to get the lead back. Another penalty, this time on Buffalo, allowed Wes Berg and the Seals to tie the game back up with just over 11 minutes to play in the half. The Seals got the next two as well, first with Jake Govett capitalizing from outside and then Wes Berg firing behind the back for a shorthanded goal with 6:07 left in the half to make it 6-4. Chris Cloutier got the Bandits back within one before the end of the half after a loose ball battle led to an open lane with the shot clock expiring.

As he did most of the night, Trevor Baptiste won a clean faceoff to give the Seals the ball during the opening possession of the second half, which was finished off by Wes Berg’s third goal of the game. When the Bandits later got the ball for their first possession of the half, it was once again a Josh Byrne – Chris Cloutier two-man game out of the locker room, leading to the defense doubling the roll man and Byrne getting an open lane to cut the deficit to 7-6. And once Trevor Baptiste was whistled for getting his stick head up near Steve Priolo’s face, the crescendo began. Kyle Buchanan buried his dunk attempt on the powerplay to tie the game 13 seconds into the man advantage, and then after he and Ian MacKay mucked up the ensuing faceoff enough to force a long loose ball battle that went all the way to the end boards, MacKay scooped up the loose ball, ran to the front of the net, and buried the transition marker over Chris Origlieri’s shoulder. The game was only tied again for 18 seconds before the Bandits had the lead with 3 goals in 41 seconds. The run continued with a transition goal from Matt Spanger with 11:40 left in the quarter, and then they picked up one more goal to make it 10-7 with a powerplay marker from Byrne. Dane Dobbie got a powerplay marker back in the final minute of the quarter to cut it back to 10-8 at the end of 3.

Another powerplay tally started scoring in the fourth quarter, albeit with only 6:59 left in the game courtesy of Kyle Buchanan. Austin Staats snuck one more goal five-hole for the Seals with 4:28 to play, but that was it for them on the scoresheet. Chase Fraser added one more goal with 2:16 left, and that 12-9 Bandits lead would hold to the final buzzer, as the team bounced back from their opening weekend loss and evened their record up to 1-1.

Josh Byrne led the way for the Bandits as he did in that 2023 playoff run with a 4-goal 3 assist evening, while Dhane Smith matched that point total in assists alone. The rest of the offensive output was fairly well distributed, with four Bandits putting up 2 points. Nick Weiss had 3 assists out the back door. While MacKay struggled against Trevor Baptiste in the faceoff dot, he still mustered 12 loose balls. Matt Vinc rebounded with 39 saves on 48 shots against. For the Seals, Curtis Dickson had 2 goals and 4 assists to lead the Seals, while Wes Berg (3G 1A), Austin Staats (2G 2A), and Dane Dobbie (1G 3A) each had four points.

The Bandits have Christmas weekend off before a second of three straight home games, with the Georgia Swarm coming to town on Friday, December 29. The Seals are also off and will also be at home on the 29th, facing the Rochester Knighthawks.

Week 3 Around The League

Saskatchewan Rush 17 – Las Vegas Desert Dogs 5

The Rush offense picked up where they left off last week, but this time they were joined by the defense that was on a mission to make a statement, and that statement was a 12-goal road win in Vegas on Friday Night. The vets led the way for the Rush, with Ryan Keenan registering a goal and 9 assists for a double-digit point game, and Robert Church had 4 goals and 3 assists. Patrick Dodds’s 7 assists and Zach Manns’s 4 goals and 1 assist joined in on the complete effort. Frank Scigliano struggled in his first two appearances for the Rush, but 38 saves on 43 shots faced put him comfortably in the W column for the first time in neon green. Vegas got three-point nights from Sean Westley and Rob Hellyer in the loss.

Albany FireWolves 15 – Philadelphia Wings 10

Last week, the theme for the FireWolves was being relentless. It continued Saturday afternoon in Philadelphia, with a 6-1 third quarter being the difference in an otherwise even game of a trio of 3-3 quarters. Alex Simmons and Ethan Walker each had 3 goals and 5 assists, Tye Kurtz had 2 goals and 3 assists, and Nathan Grenon had 2 goals and 2 assists, while Doug Jamieson was good between the pipes yet again with 38 saves. Missing Holden Cattoni and Blaze Riorden, Joe Resetarits (3G 3A) and Mitch Jones (2G 4A) stepped up with 6-point outings, and Ben McIntosh (1G 3A) and Taite Cattoni (2G 2A) had 4 points, albeit limited in the second half. Deacon Knott made his NLL debut in relief of Zach Higgins, making 11 saves on 14 shots faced.

Halifax Thunderbirds 14 – New York Riptide 6

A steady first half for the Thunderbirds was capped off with two goals in the final 17 seconds of the second quarter, and that 8-3 halftime was added onto in the second half as the Thunderbirds took care of business on Long Island. Randy Staats had 3 goals and 3 assists in his season debut to lead the Thunderbirds in points, while Clarke Petterson had a goal and 4 assists and Cody Jamieson had 4 goals and an assist. Warren Hill stopped 32 of the 38 shots he faced. Their defense built on its strong start to the season, holding Jeff Teat to a single goal and assist. Kiel Matisz’s 3 goals were the bright side for the struggling Riptide offense. Connor Kearnan added a goal and 2 assists as well. Will Johnston also got his first NLL action in relief, making 5 saves in 5:52.

Vancouver Warriors 15 – Georgia Swarm 7

A 4-goal 5 assist night for Ryan Martel paced the Warriors to their first win of the Malawsky era, outscoring the Swarm 11-4 in the second half as part of a statement 15-7 win on the TSN Game of the Week. A trio of 3 goals 4 assist performances from Adam Charalambides, Keegan Bal, and Kevin Crowley filled the reinforcements. Aaron Bold made 35 saves on 42 shots faced in his first win since March. Lyle Thompson and Andrew Kew each had 4 points for the Swarm.

Week 4 Preview

Vancouver Warriors (1-1) @ Rochester Knighthawks (2-0) – Saturday December 23, 7:00 pm ESPN+

Blue Cross Arena has WiFi, which is why “But the Bills play at 8” is not a valid excuse to miss the Knighthawks return to action on Saturday night as they look to start 3-0 for a second consecutive season in a Cold Winter’s Knight themed game that will have custom jerseys, giveaways, and themed auction items including locker plates, ornaments, holiday gifts, and the game jerseys.

February 9, 2020, was the last time the Warriors came to Rochester, winning 11-10 in overtime.

Toronto Rock (1-0) @ Panther City (1-1) – Friday, December 22, 8:00 pm, ESPN+

The Rock take their first trip to Fort Worth to build off of their strong start in their first game against the Wings, while Panther City looks to rebound after their tough overtime loss in Week 2.

Georgia Swarm (1-1) @ Colorado Mammoth (0-1) – Saturday, December 23, 9:00 pm, ESPN+

The Mammoth will welcome the Swarm into what is sure to be a hostile Loud House after tensions flared at the end of their Week 2 matchup, which the Swarm won 16-10.

Photo Credit: Mike Hetzel/NLL