Georgia Swarm 9 – Buffalo Bandits 8

Chase Fraser’s opening possession goal was called off with his foot being in the crease, and that ended up setting the early tone of what became a defensive battle of first half. 14 shots on goal apiece resulted in only two goals. Georgia’s came halfway through the quarter with Shayne Jackson finishing off a three-shot possession. Buffalo killed off a penalty and then drew one of their own with a John Ranagan holding call, and Fraser buried the first shot of the possession to tie the game at 1 with 6:02 left in the quarter.

Buffalo got the first handful of chances in the second quarter, but Brett Dobson robbed Josh Byrne on a breakaway and then Chase Fraser hit the crossbar on a point-blank roll in the third minute of the quarter. Fortunately, they managed to break through a handful of possessions later. Bryan Cole broke up a Tehoka Nanticoke pass and sprung a transition, but a pass to Kason Tarbell went over his head and into the far corner, where an unlikely Bandit found himself in the corner to recover the loose ball:

The Swarm was able to win the ensuing faceoff and were able to neutralize the crowd factor following the last goal with a goal of their own on a step-back bouncer from Andrew Kew. Defense led to offense once again, but this time on the other end of the floor, as a transition pass from Nick Weiss to Josh Bryne was broken up, and Lyle Thompson was able to beat Brandon Robinson to get to the net and get a shot past Matt Vinc before the help defense could get in the shot lane. The Bandits got a powerplay and tied the game back up at 3 courtesy of Fraser with 5:17 left in the half, but the Swarm was able to take a lead into the half courtesy of a second first half goal on Shayne Jackson’s quick stick from Seth Oakes and then a pair of point-blank saves from Dobson in the final two minutes. including a save on a Nick Weiss breakaway in the final 10 seconds.

Chris Cloutier evened the game up at 4 on the powerplay to open up the second half. Georgia hit a pair in a row as the third quarter progressed, but they were able to draw a penalty on the same possession, and they wasted no time taking the lead back courtesy of Shayne Jackson’s third with 8:11 left in the quarter. The Bandits killed off two penalties in the final third of the quarter, including forcing two shot clock violations amidst being down 5-on-3. It was another shot clock violation after the game returned to even strength that gave the Bandits the ball back, where Josh Byrne ripped a laser from the outside to tie the game back up at 5 with 1:37 left in the third. Chris Cloutier was able to get net-front in the final seconds of the quarter, but Brett Dobson was there again to make another big save.

Cloutier scored to open the scoring in the fourth quarter and give the Bandits the 6-5 lead, and then after the Swarm turned the ball over on an eight-second violation after winning the ensuing faceoff, Dhane Smith fed a cutting Josh Byrne cross-floor to bury another goal and ensure the first multiple-goal lead of the game with 12:10 remaining. However, that multiple-goal lead would not be expanded upon. After two minutes of solid back-and-forth play, Lyle Thompson sent a shot that Matt Vinc got a piece of, but the ball slowly trickled into the net behind him to make it 7-6, and then 47 seconds later, it was Thompson again sending a changeup-speed bounce shot past Vinc, tying the game at 7 with 9:09 left to play. Then after an Emerson Clark turnover, Shayne Jackson was able to use a partial Jeff Henrick goalie screen to give the Swarm the lead. Brandon Robinson drew a slashing penalty against Jeremy Thompson off the ensuing faceoff, but the Bandits were unable to capitalize on the two-minute advantage after a 3/3 start to the game. The final five minutes played on with the Bandits still unable to beat Dobson and tie the game up, only for Andrew Kew to rip an outside shot off the post and in to make it 9-7 with 1:42 to play. Nanticoke was able to get the game within one with 22 seconds to play, and the Bandits were able to get the ball back off the ensuing faceoff before calling a timeout to draw up a final play, but Dobson was able to go side-to-side in the crease to make a save on Kyle Buchanan’s quick stick and the Swarm defense stalled out the loose ball battle until the horn sounded on a 9-8 road victory for Georgia.

Brett Dobson’s save total reached 46 when the final horn sounded, allowing the Swarm to keep the pace of the game script in their favor throughout. Shayne Jackson finished with 4 goals and 3 assists to lead the way for the Swarm offense, with Andrew Kew adding 2 goals and 5 assists for a strong lefty production game. Lyle Thompson had 3 goals and an assist as well.

For Buffalo, Dhane Smith was left out of the goal column but had 7 assists in a heavy distribution game for the reigning MVP. Josh Byrne and Chase Fraser each had 2 goals and 2 assists.

San Diego Seals 17 – Rochester Knighthawks 14

The first five minutes they offered a glimpse into how this game would end up going. Ryan Smith put the first goal of the game in a minute into play before the Seals rattled off three straight – first with two goals through traffic from Austin Staats and then another with Curtis Dickson attacking the net to make it 3-1 with 11:36 left in the quarter. Staats nearly finished off the first quarter hat trick minutes later, but a shot Riley Hutchcraft got a piece of trickled wide of the net, and Pent Eistrat scooped up the rebound and sent the ball up the floor to Matt Gilray who finished the playoff in transition to make it 3-2. The assist was the 2021 4th round pick and RIT grad’s first NLL point; he entered the lineup for his professional debut with Dan Coates being placed on the PUP list earlier in the week. Danny Logan appeared to have made it 4-2 with 6:38 left in the quarter, but the Seals were called for an illegal substitution, and the Knighthawks capitalized on the ensuing powerplay courtesy of Thomas McConvey. Wes Berg scored during the first Seals possession out of the under-5 timeout, but Connor Fields was able to tie the game up from deep before the first quarter came to a close.

The scoring didn’t slow down in the second quarter, with Curtis Dickson scoring 65 seconds in. Austin Hasen fed Ryan Smith to tie the game with 11:56 left in the half, but the Seals were able to take over across the middle of the quarter, starting with Chris Origlieri standing tall and denying Ryan Lanchbury alone in front in transition about a minute after the Smith goal. Curtis Dickson scored out of the under-10 timeout. After another net-front save from Origlieri on Smith, Wes Berg fed a trailing Kyle Jackson, who sent a low-to-low shot past Riley Hutchcraft with 6:28 left. Then after Tre Leclaire reached out to deflect a rebound attempt to Dane Dobbie to maintain possession, Berg drove to the net and beat Hutchcraft to make it 8-5. He was given a penalty for goaltender interference, but the officials maintained that the interference took place after the shot had taken place. Rochester capitalized unconventionally, as Thomas McConvey had a shot stopped by Origlieri who accidentally ricocheted the ball into his net, making it 8-6. The Seals won the ensuing faceoff and got a transition goal to go right back up 3. Lanchbury got it back to a two-goal deficit right away on a quick stick from Dan Lomas, but the scoring continued on the next possession for the Seals with a runner from Berg. Connor Fields and McConvey played a pick-and-roll to give the former number one overall pick the first-half hat trick with 1:02 left and make the score 10-8 San Diego going into the half.

A Tre Leclaire dunk opened scoring 55 seconds into the third quarter with a little help from a successful Patrick Merrill challenge. Then Graydon Bradley made it 12-8 with 11:50 left in the quarter on a transition powerplay tally after a Ryland Rees penalty for holding the stick. Kyle Waters got on the board with 9:12 left in the quarter, but the Seals were once again able to respond with two straight, which gave the Seals their largest lead of the night courtesy of Leclaire and Austin Staats. Ryan Lanchbury scored a powerplay goal in the final 3 seconds to make the score 14-10 after three.

Into the fourth, Mitch Ogilvie scored in transition to start the efforts at a comeback, but Kyle Jackson was able to erase that on an offensive rebound. Connor Fields made it 15-12 towards the middle of the quarter after taking a stopped shot by Chris Origlieri out of his control, and the Knighthawks were able to draw a penalty with 8:55 to play, but the Seals were able to kill the penalty off. Shots continued throughout the fourth from both offenses, but the goalies stood tall. But the Seals were able to end the dreams of a comeback for good as Dane Dobbie improvised until he got an open lane on his opposite side for a crease dive that he buried in the top corner of the net, and then he scored again from mid-range 31 seconds later to make it 17-12 with 3:22 left. Goals from Fields and Smith in the final 1:30 made it 17-14, and that would be the final score as Rochester dropped their first game of the season, while the Seals improved to 2-1.

Wes Berg’s 3 goals and 6 assists led the way for the Seals, while Austin Staats had 3 goals and 5 assists and Dane Dobbie had 2 goals and 6 assists. Tre Leclarie added 2 goals and 5 assists, and Curtis Dickson had 3 goals and an assist. The Seals have this weekend off before taking in a back-to-back on the 12th and 13th.

For the fourth straight game, Ryan Smith had 3 goals and added 4 assists to lead the Knighthawks with 7 points. Connor Fields had 3 goals and 2 assists, while Ryan Lanchbury flipped it with 2 goals and 3 assists. Thomas McConvey had 3 goals and 2 assists as well, although he was not credited for one of them. Like the Seals, the Knighthawks are on bye this week. They only have two games in January, with the first of those seeing the Bandits coming to town on January 13th.

Week 5 Around the NLL

Philadelphia Wings 16 – Halifax Thunderbirds 15 F/OT

The hobbled Wings went into the Thunderbirds’s nest and did something that had only been done 7 times in the previous 26 Halifax home games, walking away with an overtime victory. Halifax led 10-6 at the half, but the Wings stayed persistent in the second half and got two goals in the final 5 minutes to tie the game up at 15. In his NLL debut, it was Jack Jasinski, who initially joined the Wings via an open tryout, firing home the game-winner. Despite the 15 goals allowed, Zach Higgins made 53 saves for the victorious wings. Mitch Jones had 4 goals and 4 assists, while Joe Resetarits had 7 points, passing Casey Powell to become the all-time leading American in career points. The Hamburg native has put up 110+ points in each of his last two seasons and has 21 through 4 games this year. Ryan Benesch had a sock trick as part of an 8-point effort to lead the Thunderbirds, while Randy Staats had 2 goals and 4 assists and Cody Jamieson had 6 assists.

Toronto Rock 14 – New York Riptide 8

The Rock led as much as 8-1 4 minutes into the second half on their way to their third win of the early season, downing the winless Riptide in Hamilton. Dan Craig was the top point-getter for the Rock with 4 goals and 2 assists. Chris Boushy had 5 assists. Corey Small had 3 goals and an assist, and Dan Lintner added 2 goals and 2 assists. Nick Rose made 41 saves in the winning effort. Jeff Teat had a season-high 3 goals and 3 assists to lead the Riptide, while Connor Kearnan had a goal and 4 assists. And also Stephen Keogh did this in his debut with the Riptide.

Colorado Mammoth 12 – Vancouver Warriors 11 F/OT

Things started nightmarishly for the home Mammoth, as Vancouver put five goals past Dillon Ward in the first five minutes and then scored 4 of the 5 goals in the second quarter to take an 11-5 lead into the locker room for halftime. But the shots weren’t falling to start the third quarter, and the Mammoth rattled off four goals in 1:17 to cut the deficit to 11-9. And then the shots continued not to fall for Vancouver, and continued some more while Tim Edwards scored 10 seconds into the fourth, and then Eli McLaughlin tied the game with 5:52 left, which forced overtime. And then once in overtime, Connor Robinson sent the fans at Ball Arena home ecstatic. Tyler Carlson managed to only allow 6 goals on 31 shots faced after relieving Dillon Ward, including the second-half shutout to anchor the comeback effort, including stopping a breakaway two minutes into overtime to prolong the game. Robinson finished with 4 goals and 3 assists to lead the Mammoth in scoring, while Zed Williams had 2 goals and 4 assists. Adam Charalambides led Vancouver with 3 goals and 4 assists, while Kevin Crowley had 5 goals.

Calgary Roughnecks 17 – Las Vegas Desert Dogs 11

Roughneck fans had to wait the longest for their first home game of the season, and the hometown team did not disappoint on their way to a steady 17-11 victory. Captain Jesse King had 3 goals and 6 assists for Calgary, while Tyler Pace had a goal and 5 assists and Haiden Dickson had 4 goals. Both Jack Hannah and Rob Hellyer had 2 goals and 3 assists for the Desert Dogs.

Albany FireWolves 11 – Saskatchewan Rush 10 F/OT

The dream December for the FireWolves continued into the final hours of the month and they overcame relinquishing a 10-6 lead to the Rush with Ethan Walker burying the overtime winner 55 seconds into the extra frame. Walker and Alex Simmons continued to play at their best with matching 3 goal efforts, with Simmons contributing 4 assists and Walker having 3. Tye Kurtz added a goal and 4 assists. Doug Jamieson made 44 saves in the win as he continues to show early goaltender-of-the-year nominee form, outdueling Frank Scigliano’s 46 saves. Zach Manns had 3 goals and 3 assists to lead the Rush’s offense.

Week 6 Preview

Colorado Mammoth (1-2) @ Buffalo Bandits (1-2) – Saturday, January 6 – 7:30 pm

The Mammoth and Bandits will face off for the ninth time since April 2022, although neither team’s record will suggest a team that is satisfied with how December went following their finals rematch this past summer. Colorado is slowly getting healthier, with Joey Cupido returning to the lineup last week following the Achilles injury that shortened his 2022-23. From a Bandits perspective, getting to Dillon Ward early the way that Vancouver did with the full 60-minute effort that Georgia brought in the two Mammoth losses to start the season. The arena will be hosting Wing Night, and the game will once again be available to watch on WNLO, ESPN+, and TSN+.

Halifax Thunderbirds (2-1) @ Albany FireWolves (4-0) – Saturday January 6 – 7:00 pm

The Capital Region will see their FireWolves returning home for the first time since going from a nice story upsetting the defending champs to the 4-0 team atop the early standings, but this will be the start of a tough Prove It stretch of the Thunderbirds, Swarm, and Seals in January. The FireWolves are 3-1 against the Thunderbirds since relocating to Albany, splitting the season series last year, although that win was their last before a 10-game losing streak.

Panther City (1-2) @ Georgia Swarm (2-1) – Saturday, January 6 – 7:30 pm

The Swarm welcomed Panther City to Duluth for the first time as they looked to build on their win over the Bandits and improve to 3-1, while Panther City aims to even their record at 2-2 after back-to-back losses to the Desert Dogs and Rock. Panther City won the lone previous matchup on April 23, 2022, by a 12-9 score.

New York Riptide (0-3) @ Philadelphia Wings (2-2) – Sunday January 7 – 3:00 pm

Philly returns home looking for their first home win of the season to kick off a four-game homestand, while the Riptide are looking to start 2024 in the win column for the first time this season. The Wings are 6-2 all-time against the Riptide and won their first of two matchups on the year 13-10 on December 2, but New York won the game in Philadelphia last year from that same 13-10 score. The Wings added Jordan Stouros to the team via a trade with the Mammoth following Mitchell Armstrong’s Upper Body Injury that will sideline him for at least a month.

Photo Credit: Mike Hetzel/NLL