There is no gentle way to say this. The Buffalo Bandits have dominated the Toronto Rock over the past few seasons, no matter if it’s the regular season or the playoffs. The Bandits have won seven straight times and 10 of their last 11 meetings.
The last time Toronto beat Buffalo was April 1st 2023, which was over 600 days ago. Their rivalry is arguably the fiercest in the NLL and they are abundantly clear in speaking about their disdain for one another.
Friday night saw a rivalry renewed at the KeyBank Center in front of 18,000+. Toronto came in winless and Buffalo came in as the league’s only undefeated team left. With 79 penalty minutes, 28 total goals, fights, blood, and even a KO punch, the Bandits remained undefeated, sneaking out with a 15-13 win. Grab your popcorn, get comfy, you’re going to want to see this.
Toronto started the game exactly the way an away rival should, scoring the first two goals of the game. Brian Cameron and Challen Rogers (welcome back) rattled off two-in-a-row and silenced a raucous Banditland audience. Here came the Bandits, as Josh Byrne and Kyle Buchanan tied it right back up. Josh Dawick put Toronto ahead, and then Tehoka Nanticoke decided he wanted to be a human pinball. Tehoka found himself with the ball at the front of the net, bounced off everyone in a blue and white jersey, before burying his shot. Dawick and Chris Boushy gave Toronto the two-goal lead back, but Ian MacKay, the natural goal-scorer he is, tied it back up with two-straight to end the frame. 5-5 after one. Oh, so it’s going to be one of these games?
It should be mentioned that the physicality was very evident from the rip, as there were 34 penalty minutes in the first quarter alone, as Nick Weiss and Billy Hostrawser exchanged pleasantries as they do every season, as well as some roughing and dead ball fouls from some others.
The game calmed down a bit in the second as far as the physicality was concerned and the defenses both settled in. Dhane Smith opened the scoring in the quarter to give Buffalo the lead back, but it was short-lived as Corey Small buried two-straight to flip it back Toronto’s way. Byrne followed that up with his second, on what felt like a 300 mph stinger of a shot. Cameron notched his second to end the frame, and more importantly, gave Toronto the 8-7 lead going into the break.
“It feels good, it’s been a tough start”, said Small at halftime. “Coaches keep drawing up plays, giving me opportunities to shoot, sometimes you have to shoot your way out of a slump. We’re on opposite ends of the standings this year, but this is a good opportunity for us to come in and make a statement.” With three first half points, Small reached 900 in his brilliant career.
Remember what I said about the physicality taking a break in the second quarter? Nevermind. The third saw the teeter-totter score continue, but also increased physicality. MacKay continued his hot streak with the first two goals of the frame, the first being a bullet from the restraining line, and both being on the power play. Toronto came roaring right back, as Justin Martin and Boushy went back-to-back to give Toronto the 10-9 lead after three. There were 33 more penalty minutes in the third quarter, and a massive heavyweight fight at the 2:13 mark. Zach Belter came to the aid of his teammate after a big hit and locked horns with equally as big, Elijah Gash of Toronto. After some dancing and pad removal, Gash landed a monster right hand that put Belter down. Scary to see what looked like a KO punch, but kudos to Gash for having some moxy. Banditland definitely let him hear about it as he entered the penalty box.
Dan Craig buried the first goal of the fourth quarter and gave Toronto their two-goal lead back. Once again, here came Buffalo. Three-straight goals and the unwavering support of the home crowd, completely swung the momentum. Scorers of those three were Byrne, MacKay, and Buchanan. Bucky’s goal caused the exit of Nick Rose, and on came Troy Holowchuk. As we said, this was just one of those games, as Toronto fired back with two-straight to regain the lead, the first from Boushy and the other from Mitch de Snoo. The goal from Mitch was at the 5:31 mark, and that’d be the last one they’d score in this one. Chase Fraser tied it back up with about a minute to play. Only seconds later, Steve Priolo gathered a massive loose ball and hit another streaking Bandit. Who other than Nick Weiss. Weisser received the pass and buried the shot to give Buffalo the lead back with under a minute to play. Smith netted an empty-netter in the waning seconds and that was all she wrote. Your final from Banditland, 15-13 Buffalo.
Players of the game for Buffalo were MacKay (5+3), Byrne (3+4), and Smith (2+8). Matt Vinc had, what felt like, an uncharacteristic game considering his dominance to begin the season. He made 24 saves on 37 shots. For Toronto, Boushy (3+3), Small (2+2), and Rogers (1+6) led the way. Nick Rose was a bit shaky down the stretch, stopping 31 of 43 in 47:08. Holowchuk was sensational in relief, stopping 11 of 13 the rest of the way.
“These guys trust me to come up here and shoot the ball, and tonight luckily it was falling for me”, said MacKay after the game. “It’s been a tough holiday for our family, my mom is here in the crowd tonight, this one means a lot.” Ian’s step dad passed away earlier in the month, so a career-best eight point performance was only fitting. A special performance for a class-act human being. We all love you Ian.
“I’m glad I looked back when I did”, said Weiss about his goal. “The ball was already in the air, it would have been pretty awkward if it hit me in the head and I didn’t get a shot.”
“Their team is not indicative of their record”, said John Tavares. “The first three games, we played well. We are not expecting every game to go that way, we expect a dogfight every game.”
Buffalo (4-0) remains the league’s only undefeated team. They look to continue their phenomenal start this Saturday at 7:30pm as they welcome the Philadelphia Wings to Buffalo. Toronto’s (0-5) horrific start continues. They look to get healthy and get their first win of the season as they welcome in Saskatchewan this Saturday at 7pm.
