What a weekend of National Lacrosse League action.

Buffalo Bandits 15 – Toronto Rock 13

As Brian Cameron scored 1:56 into the game, followed by a powerplay goal for Challen Rogers 28 seconds later in his return from injury, the Rock were out to prove that this 15th rivalry game between the Rock and Bandits since the start of 2022 would not be lacking in competitiveness despite the Rock’s winless record through 4 games. Buffalo of course was able to get back in the game quickly enough, starting with a roll pass from Ian MacKay to Josh Byrne 5 minutes in and then Kyle Buchanan scored a signature net front goal over the shoulder of Nick Rose in transition to re-tie the game. Josh Dawick broke the tie 1:30 later only for Tehoka Nanticoke to use his frame to brush off a defender and nod the game up at 3 on the next Bandits possession. However it was Dawick getting the lead right back on their next touch and then Chris Boushy sneaking a shot around Zach Belter on the net possession to push the lead back up to 2. After a late penalty kill from the Bandits PK unit. Ian MacKay scored a pair of goals in the final minute, including a point shot as time expired, to even the game up at 5 after 15 minutes.

It was Buffalo scoring first in the second quarter, as Dhane Smith brushed off a pair of defenders to stall time to get space to shoot and score, but after another Bandit penalty, Corey Small gave the Rock their second powerplay goal of the game. Small scored again minutes later through traffic to give the Rock the lead back with 7:39 left in the half. With just under 4 minutes on the clock, with the Rock back on the powerplay, it was the Bandits getting back on the scoreboard with an outside shorthanded goal from Josh Byrne in which he picked the top corner on the run from the restraining line. Into the final 90 seconds, it was Brian Cameron’s turn to score on the run, ensuring the Rock would have an 8-7 lead at the half, with two powerplay saves from Nick Rose to add to the ledger before the horn sounded.

Toronto would kill the rest of the carried over penalty, and the defenses held up through the first five minutes of the new half. The game got chippy with a five minute high sticking penalty on Josh Jubenville, albeit taking Josh Byrne with him with the defense of his teammate Kyle Buchanan for coincidental roughing penalties. The Rock’s PK was only able to hold up for the first 1:52, as after Billy Hostrowser blocked a point shot from Dhane Smith, Ian MacKay got the rebound and scored from outside. The play-by-play in the final minute of the major sounded a bit similar too, as Hostrowser blocked another shot from Smith, Smith rebounded the shot and found who else but MacKay who pump faked and then snuck a shot through Nick Rose’s arm and in to give the Bandits the lead. However, the lead only lasted 18 seconds as the Rock forced a turnover after Connor Farrell won a draw and Chris Weier got a loose ball and led Justin Martin for a one-on-one run to the net in which he scored while being tightly checked by Kyle Buchanan. Then with 3 minutes left in the quarter, Chris Boushy took advantage of a miscommunication from the Bandits defense and had ample time to wind up a side arm shot past Matt Vinc for the Rock lead.

And now if you’ve been on the sports internet this week, the moment you’ve probably been waiting for.

The Rock won the ensuing faceoff and a Josh Dawick shot rang wide with Buffalo getting the rebound. Thomas Whitty sent a outlet pass up to Chase Fraser who got decked by Elijah Gash on a bang bang play. Using a football analogy considering Elijah’s Dad is Sam Gash, it was similar to a coin flip PI call on a downfield pass where the DB tries to time the hit as the WR is about to make the catch. It would not be called, implying that the officials considered Fraser having the ball and Gash making a clean check without a charge. But given the nature of the collision, Zach Belter did come to the aid of his teammate with the speed and urgency of when you hit a player too hard in Chel and fighting is turned on. The scrap ensued and after the players separated to remove their arm pads and helmets, Gash fired a clean knockout punch to end the fight as quickly as it started, knocking Belter out of the game. And because of the combination of the hit being ruled clean with the quickness of the fight being commenced, he was given a 5, 10, and a game misconduct in addition to the 2 minute instigator penalty, while Gash only got 5 for fighting. The no-call and the league reportedly looking to crack down on the aggression of hits such as that led to the arguments from the Bandits bench giving the team a bench minor as well.

The Bandits PK blocked two shots on the two minute 5-on-3 and two shots went wide, keeping the score as is during the stretch, and then Challen Rogers hit the post in the final seconds of the quarter to keep the score 10-9 after 3 in favor of Toronto. The fourth quarter began with a strange sequence of its own. After a clean faceoff win from Connor Farrell, Dhane Smith drove to the net and had his shot stopped by Nick Rose, and as Zack Kearney went to pass after getting the loose ball, Smith tipped the pass, regained possession, and sent a pass to Kyle Buchanan who buried an open quick stick. However, the far side referee waved the goal off and called the Bandits for an illegal substitution since the O to D change was still going on as the play did, sending confusion among the 17,000+ in Banditland and the Rock back to the powerplay. Dan Craig swam on Cam Wyers and beat Matt Vinc over the shoulder 17 seconds into the man advantage to give the Rock their first two goal lead since it was 5-3.

It was, however, the last two goal lead of the night for the Rock, as the Bandits gained possession off a faceoff violation and a shot from Josh Byrne got lost in Nick Rose’s equipment and then fell out and rolled into the net. After another Buffalo faceoff win, Dhane Smith found Ian MacKay with a cross-floor pass, and just like that, the game was tied. But there wasn’t much time to celebrate the tie, as the Bandits won another faceoff and got a two shot possession that led to a goal from Kyle Buchanan. The goal sent Nick Rose to the bench for Troy Holowchuk. With the new netminder making his third appearance of the season, the Rock got stops on the next three possessions and were rewarded the other way with a dunk from Chris Boushy to even the game at 12. A penalty halfway through the quarter on Toronto gave the Bandits the chance to get the lead back, but Holowchuk made multiple saves, and the Rock killed the penalty. In their next touch after the penalty, Mitch de Snoo scored in transition, and Toronto was back in front with 5:31 to go. More Bandit possessions led to more saves from Holowchuk, but Matt Vinc continued to make saves of his own to keep the score as it was. As Banditland rose to its feet with less than 90 seconds to play, Chase Fraser moved in from the boards to the middle of the floor and then took a hard jab step to the left and drove hard to the net, beating Holowchuk over the near shoulder to tie the game with 1:13 left. On Toronto’s next touch, Corey Small was stopped by Matt Vinc, and Steve Priolo rebounded the shot and wasted no time flipping a pass to Nick Weiss, who added to his track record of late game winners with 43 seconds left. Dhane Smith added an empty netter with 8 seconds left, and the Bandits had a 15-13 win against the Rock in their 11th win in their last 12 matchups with Toronto.

Including playoffs, the Bandits have now won 13 games in a row, which is the longest streak since their run from 1992-1994 in which they won 22 games in a row. It’s also the first time they have started a season 4-0 since starting 6-0 in 2021-22.

The story of the game was Ian MacKay, who was playing in his first game since the death of his step-father to cancer. He had his second 5 goal game of the season and added 3 assists, 9 loose balls, and 2 caused turnovers. Dhane Smith had what is becoming a signature stat line with 2 goals and 8 assists, while Josh Byrne had 3 goals and 4 assists. The Bandits outshot the Rock 57-37 on goal, as the Rock missed the net on 32 shot attempts, meaning Matt Vinc’s save total was limited to 24.

On the Toronto side, as they have fallen to 0-5, their worst start since going 0-6 in 2016, Challen Rogers had a goal and 6 assists, with Chris Boushy scoring 3 goals with 3 assists. After Nick Rose made 31 saves, Troy Holowchuk stopped 11 of 13 shots in 12:51 to keep the Rock in it until the end.

Halifax Thunderbirds 19 – Rochester Knighthawks 18

Rochester was unable to repeat the good start they had last week against the Swarm, as the Thunderbirds got out to the early lead to neutralize the early crowd energy alongside the different look the Knighthawks were sporting on the evening. Randy Staats got scoring underway 3:37 in, and then following a Knighthawks turnover out of a multi-shot possession, Cody Jamieson had a vintage take to the net in his return to the lineup to make it 2-0, and then minutes later it was once again defense turned into offense as Johnny Pearson took it himself and scored with his man in his face. The first powerplay of the game rewarded the Knighthawks with a marquee opportunity to get on the board, and they did such, as an offensive rebound from Thomas McConvey led to a pass to Connor Fields, where a faked shot collapsed the Thunderbirds penalty kill and allowed him to send a quick stick to a wide open Graydon Hogg, who buried to make it 3-1. Bo Bowhunter got the Thunderbirds back on the board, only for Connor Fields to respond on the next possession with a shot off a screen with 3:55 left in the quarter, putting the score where it would stay after 15 at 4-2.

A late first quarter penalty from Rochester was capitalized upon by the Thunderbirds powerplay courtesy of Dawson Theede, and then on their next possession, Halifax extended the lead to 6-2 thanks to the first goal of the game from Thomas Hoggarth, sending Kevin Orleman into the game to relieve Riley Hutchcraft. The goalie change sparked the Knighthawks, as a forced turnover in transition from Kyle Waters led to Thomas McConvey scoring on a screen from an outside shot a minute later. Connor Fields nearly scored immediately on the next possession, only for it to be waved off on a crease call, but the defense forced another turnover back the other way and got a second goal from McConvey. Then an illegal screen led to a transition attempt that was buried by Josh Medeiros, and the Knighthawks had cut the deficit back to 6-5 about five minutes into the new quarter. Randy Staats stopped the run on a jumpshot that picked the far corner, but Fields got the goal back after a flurry in front of the net after a multi-shot sequence. Cody Jamieson got the next goal on the next touch for Halifax, but Rochester was able to score the next two to tie the game for the first time since 0-0, first on a transition drive from Ryan Smith and then second from an outside rip from Fields. A pick-and-roll from Theede to Hoggarth gave the Thunderbirds the lead back with 49 seconds left, but Rochester was rewarded with successful execution of their ATO play on the final possession with a tying goal from Smith.

Mike Robinson opened the scoring in the second half early from outside, but this time, the responses were quick from the Knighthawks. Taylor Jensen sent an outlet pass to Thomas McConvey for a breakaway, and then off the ensuing faceoff, a clean win from Mike Sisselberger, who ended the game winning 24 faceoffs compared to 17 from Jake Withers, led to the newest Knighthawk registering his first career point in his second career game finding Josh Medeiros for a breakaway of his own and his second goal of the game. Unfortunately, Rochester’s first lead of the game only lasted 40 seconds, as after a 27 second clamp at the dot, the Thunderbirds got possession and a goal from Dawson Theede. McConvey’s 4th of the game out of the under 10 timeout and Ryan Smith’s third from a pass from McConvey in transition made it 13-11 Knighthawks with 8:08 left in the third. Rochester looked to extend the lead to 3 on their next possession, but Connor Fields was called in the crease on his dive, and Thomas Hoggarth scored in transition off the bench on a look from Graeme Hossack, confirmed with a challenge from Mike Hasen given the Thunderbird goal was so close to the waved off goal on the other side. Randy Staats tied the game in transition with 5:25 left, and the score would stay that way through 3, with back-to-back transition saves from Kevin Orleman highlighting the final three minutes of the frame.

Perhaps those transition plays were an omen of things to come, as the Thunderbirds came out flying in the fourth, starting with a first possession goal courtesy of Clarke Petterson. After forcing a turnover and an eight second call on the next two possessions for the Rochester offense, Randy Staats added a second goal sneaking a shot through Orleman’s arm sleeves. Rochester got their first shot of the quarter about 3 minutes in, but after an illegal screen on their next possession after that, the Thunderbirds capitalized on the miscue again with Jason Knox’s first of the game on an outlet feed from Jake Withers in transition. Another illegal screen in transition after a Knighthawks faceoff win gave the ball back to Halifax again, and Thomas Hoggarth finished off a pick-and-roll with Staats, and only 4:05 into the fourth quarter, it quickly became a four goal game, with shots 9-1 in that span. Ryland Rees scored off the ensuing faceoff but Bo Bowhunter tallied his second goal to make it a 4 goal game once again. Matt Gilray added another transition goal less than a minute later on the verge of the under 10 timeout, which also saw the return of Riley Hutchcraft to the game. As the game moved on, consecutive Thunderbird penalties put the Knighthawks on an extended 5-on-3, scoring during the tail end of the second of those two with Curtis Knight’s first of the game. And just as they had done in their last home game against Saskatchewan, the Knighthawks weren’t done yet. With 1:43 to play, Ryan Smith added his fourth of the game. Rochester then won the ensuing faceoff and one extended possession with 3 shots later, including Drew Hutchison making a massive point blank save on Ryan Lanchbury on the first of those, Knight finished off a give and go from Smith to tie the game at 18 with 53 to play.

Rochester won another faceoff as the final minute moved on, but Graeme Hossack deflected a pass attempt between Lanchbury and Smith to give the Thunderbirds the ball, and Mike Accursi called timeout with 22.9 seconds on the clock and the shot clock off. As the Thunderbirds swug the ball around, Rochester managed to keep their men in front of them and force passes down to the final couple of seconds. Clarke Petterson swung the ball to Randy Staats who drew the defense of Chad Tutton, who forced Staats to send the ball to Cody Jamieson behind the net, and Jamieson sent the ball back to the point for Petterson. The clock now at 1.6, Matt Gilray got into Petterson’s body to force him out of a shot, but he managed to get an attempt off with enough time to take a step and a half to the right, wind up, and send a shot past Tutton, Ryland Rees, Ethan O’Connor, Ian Llord, and Riley Hutchcraft. The ball hit the back of the net, the green light was on, and the refs signaled goal. About three minutes of video review later, inconclusive evidence was declared, and the Halifax Thunderbirds had stunned the Rochester crowd to the tune of a buzzer-beating 19-18 win.

While he gave up 18 goals in the end, Drew Hutchison’s 15 saves in the first quarter in his first start of the season may have proven to be the difference in the end with how the game ended up flowing, and he finished with 42 saves. We will see if he gets the nod in the second leg or if Warren Hill will be back between the pipes next week. As for the offense, Randy Staats continued his strong start to the season with 4 goals and 6 assists, while Thomas Hoggarth had 4 goals and 3 assists. Clarke Petterson’s game winner was his second goal of the game, he also added 4 assists. Cody Jamieson and Dawson Theede each had 2 goals and 3 assists, while Jason Knox and Mike Robinson each had a goal and 3 assists.

On the other end, while the ups through 7 games have felt anything like a 2-5 team, the downs are what the reality shows for the Knighthawks halfway through January, and it’s games like this one and their loss to the Rush that may be the shoulda, woulda, coulda down the stretch. Fortunately, there are still 11 games to go and a myriad of permutations of how the unified standings could potentially play out, and they proved last year that this is a hole they can climb their way out of. Thomas McConvey had his best game of his sophomore season so far with 4 goals and 6 assists, with Connor Fields adding 3 goals and 4 assists and Ryan Smith reversing with 4 goals and 3 assists. Ryan Lanchbury also matched the 7 point total but did so only with assists, as all 8 of his shots on goal were turned away by Hutchison. The two goalies combined for 35 saves, with Kevin Orleman playing 33:53 compared to 26:07 for Riley Hutchcraft. Rylan Hartley remains week-to-week with a lower body injury.

Week 7 Around The League

Ottawa Black Bears 14 – Georgia Swarm 10

The severe weather in Duluth made it a bit more cozy of an atmosphere, as less than 100 people were able to make their way to the Gas South Arena for the game, despite the conditions, but they were treated to a pretty good lacrosse game where both Jeff Teat and Lyle Thompson performed to their star studded abilities. In the end, Teat’s 3 goals and 5 assists led his Black Bears to a victory. Larson Sundown had 3 goals and 3 assists, while Jacob Dunbar had 3 goals and 2 assists. For Georgia, Lyle’s 5 goals and 3 assists were supported with 3 goals from Brian Cole, but the rest of the team was limited to 2 points or less, as Zach Higgins stopped 41 saves for Ottawa.

Vancouver Warriors 11 – San Diego Seals 9

After a 6-5 win last week, the Seals found themselves up 3-2 at the half and 6-3 after the third, but Keegan Bal channeled his inner Dane Dobbie with 6 fourth quarter goals, albeit not unanswered, as part of an 8-3 third quarter for the Warriors as they pulled ahead and won 11-9. Bal, who scored the game winner with 1:08 to play, had an assist as well for a seven point night, with Adan Walsh getting another win with 44 saves. Wes Berg had 4 goals and an assist while each of Rob Hellyer and Kyle Jackson had 4 points.

Philadelphia Wings 13 – Calgary Roughnecks 11

Trailing 10-9 halfway through the 4th quarter, the Wings scored 4 straight goals to pull away from the Roughnecks and solidify their 4th win of the season in 5 games. Joe Resetarits was credited with 22 shots on goal with 2 goals and 5 assists, as well as 13 loose balls, on the scoresheet. Mitch Jones flipped the point total with 5 goals and 2 assists, while Holden Cattoni had a goal and 5 assists. Nick Damude had 29 saves in the first half alone on his way to 46 for the game. For Calgary, Curtis Dickson had 4 goals and 2 assists, while Tyler Pace had a goal and 5 assists. Brayden Mayea, this 5th overall pick in the 2024 draft, had 2 goals and an assist in his NLL debut with Dane Dobbie sidelined by injury.

Saskatchewan Rush 15 – Las Vegas Desert Dogs 9

The Rush played a Full 60 to get out quickly and stay in front to the tune of a 15-9 win in Saskatoon. Zach Manns had 3 goals and 5 assists, with Ryan Keenan scoring 4 goals and adding 2 assists and Austin Shanks matching with 3 goals and 3 assists. Kyle Killen led the Desert Dogs with 5 assists, while Jack Hannah had 2 goals and 2 assists.

Colorado Mammoth 15 – Albany FireWolves 13

Albany got out to an 8-1 lead in the first 20 minutes but nicely and slowly, the Mammoth channeled the sorcery that they’ve developed in second halves at ball arena not only to cut the halftime deficit to 10-7, but then to score the final 5 goals of the game in a fourth quarter shutout for a 15-13 win, led by 5 goals and 2 assists from Connor Kelly and 4 goals and 2 assists from Connor Robinson. Eli McLaughlin and Zed Williams combined for 9 assists in five point efforts, while Dillon Ward made 10 fourth quarter saves to seal the backend. On the Albany side, as they drop to 1-5, did get 7 goals and 2 assists from Tye Kurtz on 19 shots on goal. Alex Simmons had 3 goals and 4 assists, while Ethan Walker had 7 assists.

Week 8 Preview

It’s the busiest weekend of the NLL season ahead with 8 games on the docket, including the 3rd game of the Bandits 4 game homestand.

There have been two trades in the lead up to the weekend as well. On Monday, Albany sent Eric Fannell to Ottawa for a 2028 second round pick, giving the Black Bears another lefty body to create space for Jeff Teat while Reilly O’Connor is out with injury and giving the FireWolves less of a lefty logjam. Then the next day, the Desert Dogs looked to take their first step towards improving their defense and turning their season around, acquiring Drew Belgrave from San Diego with a second round pick in 2027 in exchange for Dylan Watson. The second overall pick in 2022, Watson has struggled to crack the Desert Dogs lineup, playing in only 3 of the 6 games and registering 2 goals and 5 assists. The move will give San Diego some more youth on the left side while providing Watson with a fresh start on a veteran team featuring Ryan Benesch on that side.

Philadelphia Wings (4-1) @ Buffalo Bandits (4-0) – Saturday January 18, 7:30 pm, WNLO, ESPN+

The marquee matchup of the week in the standings will take place at KeyBank Center, as the Wings reignited offense face their toughest challenge yet. The challenge comes with the context that Buffalo has beaten the Expansion Era Wings in 8 of the 9 matchups, with the lone loss coming in a 7-6 slugfest in Buffalo on February 15, 2020. Last season’s matchup resulted in an 18-12 win for the Bandits in Philadelphia.

Rochester Knighthawks (2-5) @ Halifax Thunderbirds (2-3) – Saturday January 18, 6:00 pm

It’s no surprise what the premise is in the second leg of the home-and-home, it’s a near must win game for both teams in the Maritimes

Vancouver Warriors (3-1) @ Ottawa Black Bears (3-2) – Friday January 17, 7:00 pm, TSN Game of the Week

Two defenses that have had some notable performances early on, the Warriors head to Ottawa with their eyes on neutralizing Jeff Teat and the Black Bears offense. The Warriors beat the Riptide last season 16-10, and all three regular season matchups have taken place in Vancouver in the head-to-head. Way back when, the Vancouver Ravens beat the Ottawa Rebel in three of their four all time matchups across the 2002 and 2003 seasons, with the last of those games taking place in Vancouver on March 28, 2003, and the previous game in Ottawa 20 days prior to that.

Saskatchewan Rush (4-1) @ Toronto Rock (0-5) – Saturday January 18, 7:00 pm

The Rock are slowly getting healthier, but after the Rush got back in the win column last week, the quest for their first win of the season doesn’t get easier. The Rock beat the Rush 12-11 on the final week of the regular season last year. This is the first trip for the Rush to Ontario since February 1, 2019, when the Rock still played at Scotiabank Arena.

Colorado Mammoth (4-2) @ Albany FireWolves (1-5) – Saturday January 18, 7:00 pm

The second leg of the home-and-home will come with some additional urgency for the FireWolves to get off their early season snide, while the Mammoth could match their previous season win total halfway through January.

Georgia Swarm (4-2) @ Calgary Roughnecks (2-2) – Saturday January 18, 9:00 pm

Two teams that have lost their last two games after strong starts to the season, the Roughnecks will look to get revenge on the Swarm after they defeated them in overtime last season in Duluth. It will be the Swarm’s first trip to Calgary since a 14-13 loss to the Roughnecks on April 12, 2019. It’s also the first Marvel Superhero Night of the season.

San Diego Seals (3-3) @ Las Vegas Desert Dogs (1-5) – Saturday January 18, 10:00 pm

The Desert Dogs hope some home cooking will help them build on their first win of the season a couple of weeks ago after a tough loss this weekend in their first of two matchups this season in the Tsai Bowl, in which the Seals have won 5 of the 6 all-time matchups, with the lone win coming in Vegas last season by a 10-8 margin.

Vancouver Warriors (3-1) @ Philadelphia Wings (4-1) – Monday January 20, 5:00 pm

The NFL scheduling the Philadelphia Eagles to play Sunday afternoon at 3 meant that it would probably not be the best idea for the Wings to play their home game against Warriors three hours later across the street, so the first Monday Night Lacrosse game since March 2023 will be played on MLK Day (the last one also took place at Wells Fargo Center, as the Wings upset the Rock in that one 11-10 behind 55 saves from Zach Higgins. The Warriors throttled the Wings 21-12 at Wells Fargo Center last season as part of their March push back into playoff contention and are 2-1 in the all time series.

(Photo Credit: Bandits.com)