Buffalo Bandits 19 – Philadelphia Wings 14

It was certainly going to be a barometer check for the Wings no matter the results. Their 4-1 start placed them second in the league, of course only behind the 4-0 Bandits, and the defending champs were more than ready for the challenge.

Josh Byrne set the tone early, as the reigning MVP picked up a loose ball off a tipped pass in front of the net and beat Nick Damude 2:04 into the game, and then it was Byrne scoring again midway through the first quarter. Some defense into offense off a blocked shot from Matt Spanger led to a loose ball and a pass up to a streaking Cam Wyers who pumped and buried his first career goal to make it 3-0. An offensive penalty on the Bandits allowed Joe Resetarits to put the Wings on the board in the final minute of the quarter, but the script of the quarter planted the roots for what was to come in the next 15 minutes.

Only 1:34 into the second quarter, Chase Fraser scored from midrange, and then after a faceoff win, Josh Byrne scored from midrange himself from the lefty side of the floor. Some transition 47 seconds later saw Nick Weiss get a shot on goal that was rebounded by Steve Priolo to quickly blow the game open to 6-1 only 2:48 into the second quarter. After a stop each way, a multi-shot possession was finished off by Bryne’s third goal of the game trickling past Nick Damude and rolling into the net. A stray pass on the next Wings possession led to some more transition, this time finished off by the silky hands of Paul Dawson, and if Banditland wasn’t already going crazy, it was now.

The Wings were able to stop the bleeding momentarily with a powerplay goal from Blaze Riorden on a quick stick, followed by a backhanded shovel shot from Sam LeClair on the next possession to cut it to 8-3. Over three minutes of scoreless lacrosse was once again broken up by Josh Bryne. Off the ensuing faceoff, the Bandits continued to pour it on with a successful hidden ball trick pulled off by Ian MacKay. Multiple shots on the next possession were finished off led to a drawn penalty Clay Scanlan and a goal from Dhane Smith with the 6-on-5. Joe Resetarits scored his second of the game with 2:33 left in the quarter to end that micro-run, but another Connor Farrell faceoff win led to Josh Byrne picking a corner from outside for his sixth goal of the game, a first half sock trick. And once the socks were cleaned off of the turf, Smith fed Chris Cloutier for his first goal of the game in his return from injury. Their 10th goal of the quarter made it 13-4 with 1:48 to go before halftime. LeClair’s second of the quarter with 4 seconds left make it an 8 goal Bandits lead at the half.

This was the 8th instance in the NLL since 2005 in which a team scored 10 goals in a quarter, per Graeme Perrow. It’s the second time the Bandits have done it, with the other instance taking place in a 20-7 rout of the New England Black Wolves in Uncasville on March 23, 2018.

While Chase Fraser scored 25 seconds into the new half, the Wings managed to stick around the rest of the way. The scored the next two goals, the first of which came from an outside shot from Holden Cattoni, followed by a powerplay goal scored by Phil Caputo on a rebound. Fraser scored net front with 4:47 left, followed by Josh Byrne extending the lead to 16-7, or 7-16 if you prefer, crossing over to drive right and putting a one handed underhand shot on net for his seventh goal of the game. Some misfortune saw a Cattoni pass attempt ricochet off of Steve Priolo’s facemask and to the net and snuck past Matt Vinc to get the Wings back on the board again, and then a spin and a drive from Mitch Jones and a Cattoni quick stick to Blaze Riorden in the final minute of the quarter made it 16-10 after 3.

And the run continued into the fourth. Phil Caputo scored on the opening possession of the quarter, and then after the Wings forced a turnover off the ensuing faceoff, Sam LeClair picked a corner for the 4th Wings goal in two minutes of game time between the end of the third and the start of the fourth. Just over three minutes into the quarter, Joe Resetarits fed Holden Cattoni on a lead pass off the bench to pick the same corner, and all of a sudden, with 11:56 to play, the Wings had cut the deficit to 3. A transition turnover led to the Bandits getting a goal from Ian MacKay in front to halt the 6-0 run. As the middle section of the fourth quarter progressed, the Wings got a big loose ball from Brennan O’Neill after a near turnover and he fed Mitch Jones in front to make it a 3 goal game again, while both defenses got stops otherwise to keep the game within 3. It appeared like it was going to continue, but a Sam LeClair pick caught Ian MacKay off guard and sent him to the ground with enough force up top for Todd Labranche to put his arm up for a penalty, which was ruled a minor after a major review. Philadelphia had gotten through the first 1:20 of the penalty before Alex Pace crosschecked Tehoka Nanticoke from behind, sending Matt Vinc to the bench for the extra attacker, where Chris Cloutier scored his second goal of the game. Pace was given an extra two minutes for arguing the call, resetting the penalty clock to a full additional four minutes, and there, Nanticoke joined in on the scoring for the Bandits 19th goal with 3:06 left. The Wings killed off the rest of the penalty, but there wasn’t much time left on the clock from there, and the Bandits were able to eventually stall out the clock and close the book on another win.

The 19-14 victory made the Bandits 5-0 on the season and gave them their 14th consecutive win dating back to last season through the playoffs. After scoring 18 goals in their second game of the season, they reached the 19 goal mark for the first time since scoring 20 in the first round of the 2023 playoffs in which they beat Rochester 20-8.

Along with his 7 goals, Josh Byrne had 5 assists for a 12 point evening, with Dhane Smith hitting double digits with a goal and 9 assists. Chase Fraser had 3 goals and 4 assists, and Chris Cloutier had 2 goals and 2 assists. Connor Farrell helped to fuel the runs the Bandits were able to take in the game with 24 faceoff wins on 37 attempts, picking up 14 loose balls himself. Buffalo will return to another bye week in Week 9 before hosting Albany in Week 10, who happen to be the last team to beat them at home all the way back on February 24.

For Philadelphia, Holden Cattoni had 3 goals and 5 assists, while Joe Resetarits had 2 goals and 6 assists to lead the Wings offense. Mitch Jones had 2 goals and 5 assists, and each of Blaze Riorden, Phil Caputo, and Sam LeClair had multi-goal games. Nick Damude made 15 saves in the fourth quarter to help salvage a tough night which included being pulled for 10:39 in the second quarter for Deacan Knott, who made 7 saves on 12 shots on goal. Damude totaled 36 saves total for the game.

Rochester Knighthawks 10 – Halifax Thunderbirds 9

Although about half the goals, there was not half the intrigue or drama as the Knighthawks and Thunderbirds battled for the second straight weekend. A crease attack and dive from Mike Robinson got the home team on the board first on their second possession of the game, followed up two possessions later by Clarke Petterson. Rochester was able to settle in from there and took back the control of the rest of the quarter, starting Chad Tutton’s first goal as a Knighthawk in transition. Halfway through the quarter, Connor Fields finished off some good board play from Thomas McConvey to get to the net and tie it at two for the first forward goal of the game. Then with a delayed penalty coming up with a little over two minutes to play, Ryan Smith beat the shot clock and gave Rochester a 3-2 lead that they would take into the break.

Randy Staats would tie the game back up at 3 with 8:45 to play in the first half, but the Thunderbirds would soon take the first penalty of the game, and while it wasn’t the PP unit getting the next goal, it was Jake Piseno intercepting a Cole Kirst pass and using his speed to burst down the floor and score his first career goal on a breakaway. More special teams saw the Knighthawks kill a Chad Tutton penalty, but nearly immediately after he found himself going back to the box after a huge illegal body check that created a stir, and on that ensuing powerplay, Staats had his second goal of the quarter to tie it at 4.

A four minute penalty to Cody Jamieson in the final minute of the first half gave Rochester an extended powerplay, with Warren Hill making two saves to close out the quarter, but a delay of game off the opening faceoff of the third quarter on Taylor Jensen evened the game at 4-on-4 for the middle portion of the double minor, and Halifax capitalized quickly. After a transition turnover from Rochester, Mike Robinson started off scoring in the frame the same way with another crease dive. Rochester won the ensuing faceoff, but another turnover led to another goal for the Thunderbirds, this time from Randy Staats slipping a screen for a clear lane to the net. Halifax would kill the rest of the double minor, and then Rochester would kill their own penalty halfway through the third, overcoming a successful crease challenge on a would’ve been goal from Clarke Petterson just before. On the first possession after the killed penalty, Connor Fields scored his second of the game to cut it back to a one goal game. However he would be called for embellishing a Jake Withers check from behind, and Jamieson would make quick work on the powerplay, and then after another faceoff win for Withers, Petterson swam and scored to give the Thunderbirds the largest lead of the night, 8-5 after 3.

Turner Evans scored 1:20 into the fourth on the doorstep to ensure the game would not get away from Rochester, and the tone would continue as it went on. They sustained pressure right away after the goal with a foray of chances in front of the net, but Warren Hill made multiple highlight saves to prevent what could’ve been a run. Out of the under 10 timeout, Connor Fields had his third of the game on a crease dive, and then got his fourth on a laser outside shot that picked the near corner, tying the game with 8:37 to play. A Colton Armstrong breakaway goal gave the Thunderbirds the lead, but a penalty call halted their quest to extend it. Rochester reaped the benefits of sticking with a broken play, as Thomas McConvey had a pass deflected looking for a quick stick, but he picked up the loose ball and immediately fired the low-to-low shot past Hill. Then on Rochester’s next possession, Fields spun between a double team to get free and passed to a rolling Ryan Smith who popped a shot over Hill’s shoulder to give Rochester their first lead since 4-3.

The defenses were locked in for the final 4:15, and multiple crease calls later, it was all of a sudden the final minute. Jason Knox was denied net-front by Riley Hutchcraft on a 6-on-5 with the shot clock close to its expiration, and Brad Gillies got a rebound and called timeout. With 32 seconds left, Ryan Smith sent a pass up to Matt Gilray, but Colton Armstrong was able to dislodge his stick and pick up the loose ball for the turnover, calling timeout himself. Clarke Petterson had the first attempt of the possession, which was stopped by Hutchcraft. Mike Robinson rebounded and fired a shot on net that was blocked by Ian Llord, and then Jason Knox rebounded that but shot over the net with Hutchcraft down. Petterson grabbed the ball with about 10 seconds left and was able to draw a holding call on Matt Gilray as his arm got caught around the Thunderbirds forward while reaching for a stick check, with Thomas Hoggarth getting stopped on the doorstep in the midst of the play as well. With 3.8 on the clock, the Thunderbirds reset now up 6-on-4, with Petterson running the ball from center and passing to Staats who was stopped by Hutchcraft. It wouldn’t be another buzzer beater like last week; the Knighthawks redeemed last week’s loss with a 10-9 win to even the head-to-head and get their first win in Halifax.

Connor Fields led the way for Rochester with 4 goals and 2 assists. Ryan Smith had 2 goals and an assist, and while held without a goal for a second straight game, Ryan Lanchbury had 4 assists. The late pressure from the Thunderbirds led them to 16 shots on goal in the fourth quarter, but Riley Hutchcraft made 15 saves to put his game total at 43 in the win. Rochester outshot the Thunderbirds 82-71, 57-52 on goal. A 3-5 records allows the Knighthawks to continue to keep pace in the standings with two more games before their first bye on the season, starting this weekend back home for a Knight of Beer.

For the Thunderbirds, Randy Staats had 3 goals and 2 assists, with Clarke Petterson and Mike Robinson each scoring twice and adding an assist, and Thomas Hoggarth chipping in with 3 assists. Warren Hill returned between the pipes with 47 saves despite the loss, including 16 in the fourth quarter.

Week 8 Around The League

Ottawa Black Bears 9 – Vancouver Warriors 8

The matchup between two of the best defenses in the NLL through 8 weeks lived up to the expectations with a 5-5 tie at the half. Four straight goals from Ottawa in the third and early fourth were enough to hold off three straight Vancouver as the Black Bears held on for their fourth win of the season. Larson Sundown had his best game of the early season with 4 goals, while Jeff Teat had two goals and 4 assists and Kiel Matisz added a goal and 4 assists, and Zach Higgins got the win with 41 saves. For the Warriors, each of Riley Loewen (3G), Keegan Bal (1G 2A), Owen Grant (1G 2A), and Adam Charalambides (3A) had 3 point nights.

Toronto Rock 11 – Saskatchewan Rush 8

The return of Tom Schreiber and TD Ierlan to the lineup did the home Rock wonders as they pulled ahead in the third quarter on their way to their first win of the season. Schreiber led the team in points with 3 goals and 4 assists, while Chris Boushy (2G 3A) and Josh Dawick (2G 2A) also had strong games in further support from the right side. Ierlan snapped Jake Naso’s five game FO battle win streak with a 14/23 night at the dot. Ryan Keenan led the Rush with 2 goals and 4 assists, while Robert Church had 2 goals and 2 assists.

Albany FireWolves 13 – Colorado Mammoth 10

A resilient FireWolves group didn’t take their first lead of the game until the final 8 minutes of the game, but two straight goals from John Piatelli gave Albany a lead that they held onto the rest of the way with a 13-10 win to snap a 4 game losing streak. Alex Simmons, who scored to tie the game at 9-9 before Piatelli’s pair, had 4 goals and 4 assists to lead Albany, with Ethan Walker also reaching 8 points with 2 goals and 6 assists. Tye Kurtz and Dyson Williams each had a goal and 4 assists. The Mammoth offense was led by 3 goals and 4 assists from Ryan Lee and 4 goals and 2 assists from Will Malcom.

Calgary Roughnecks 12 – Georgia Swarm 11 F/OT

The game of the weekend took place at the Saddledome, as Haiden Dickson scored the game winner 3:26 into the extra frame to get the Roughnecks back above .500 in their red-clad Marvel Superhero Night jerseys. Each of Curtis Dickson (3G 2A), Jesse King (2G 3A), and Brayden Mayea (1G 4A) led the Roughnecks offense, with Dane Dobbie adding 3 goals and an assist. Their defense forced 4 turnovers in overtime and didn’t allow the Swarm to register a shot on goal. Despite dropping their third game in a row after starting 4-0, Andrew Kew had a goal and 6 assists, and Lyle Thompson had 3 goals and 3 assists.

Las Vegas Desert Dogs 12 – San Diego Seals 10

The Desert Dogs sold out Lee’s Family Forum for the first time and rewarded the home fans with their first home win of the season over the rival Seals. Justin Geddie got his first start of the season for Vegas and made 43 saves, including 16 in the second quarter. Jack Hannah was in his bag with 3 goals and 5 assists, while Jonathan Donville had a goal and 4 assists. For San Diego, who dropped under .500 at 3-4, got 2 goals and 3 assists from Rob Hellyer and 3 goals and an assist from Ryan Benesch.

Philadelphia Wings 14 – Vancouver Warriors 13

A six goal run in the late-third early-fourth propelled the Wings to a 3 goal lead, and despite some late pressure from Vancouver to get back within one, they held on with a Monday Night win to avenge their two game weekend following the loss in Buffalo, while dropping the Warriors in their second game of the weekend. Mitch Jones dominated against his former team with 5 goals and 6 assists for player of the week honors in the league. Joe Resetarits continued his strong start to the season with 3 goals and 6 assists. Holden Cattoni had a goal and 4 assists, while Brennan O’Neill had a hat trick, and Nick Damude made 43 saves in a bounce-back of his own. Adam Charalambides had 5 goals and 4 assists for the Warriors, with Keegan Bal scoring twice and adding 6 assists and Kevin Crowley chipping in with 5 assists against his former team.

Week 9 Preview

Colorado Mammoth (4-3) @ Rochester Knighthawks (3-5) – Saturday January 25, 7:00 pm

After being defeated in Albany last week, the Mammoth once again head to New York State, this time taking on the Knighthawks, who are still looking for their first home win since the opener. In last season’s matchup, Rochester got out to a 4-1 start in the first quarter but fell victim to Ball Arena’s second half magic, giving up 10 of the 12 goals in the final 30 minutes of the game. This time at a lower altitude, the quick start will still be important, but they will need to finish the job the full way if they want to get back to 4-5 on the season instead of falling to the same 3-6 they found themselves last season.

The Mammoth have only faced the Expansion Era Knighthawks twice in five seasons, and their last trip to Blue Cross Arena came all the way back on March 31, 2018, where they lost 16-14. The game was long enough ago that their GM, Brad Self, scored in that game.

Toronto Rock (1-5) @ Calgary Roughnecks (3-2) – Friday January 24, 9:00 pm, NLL on TSN

The Rock look to get another notch in the win column while the Roughnecks aim for a second consecutive home win. The road team won each of the two games last season, with the Rock winning 9-7 at the Saddledome on February 3 before the Roughnecks got revenge a week later in Hamilton with an 11-10 win.

The Murphy’s Law season looked to be clearing up last week with the return of Tom Schreiber and TD Ierlan last week, but this week, Jamie Dawick mentioned on Lacrosse Classified this week that Mark Matthews will miss the remainder of the season.

Ottawa Black Bears (4-2) @ Vancouver Warriors (3-3) – Friday January 24, 10:00 pm

Vancouver aims to avoid dropping below .500 back at home for the second leg of their home-and-home with the Black Bears, putting their 2-0 home record on the line in the meantime.

Albany FireWolves (2-5) @ Saskatchewan Rush (4-2) – Saturday January 25, 8:00 pm

After finally returning to the win column last weekend, Albany could improve to 3-5 with a win against the Rush this weekend in a blustery Saskatoon, hoping to avenge the season opening overtime loss to the Rush that the faced in the home leg of the season series. It was Albany winning in overtime last season when the two teams battled at Sasktel Centre.