The Buffalo Bandits (5-3) used a fourth quarter rally to defeat the Toronto Rock (6-3) by a score of 15-13 last night at the Air Canada Centre. The win leaves the Bandits trailing the Rock by only half a game for first place in the eastern division.
Despite trailing 11-8 heading into the fourth quarter, the Bandits clawed back with five unanswered goals to start the final frame. Buffalo ultimately outscored Toronto 7-2 in the fourth quarter to secure the come from behind road win.
Shawn Williams led Bandits to victory with a 4 goal and 3 assist performance. Williams has averaged 3 points per game since joining Buffalo this season and leads the team in assists (27) and points (37). After missing the previous three games due to a calf injury, Buffalo captain John Tavares was back in the line-up versus the Rock. Tavares notched 6 points in his return including an empty net goal to clinch the game for the Bandits. Aaron Wilson also tallied 5 points for Buffalo and currently ranks first on the Bandits in goals scored.
Jay Thorimbert played a crucial role in the Bandits victory. Thorimbert was dominant in the face-off department winning 81% of his draws in addition to registering 2 goals and 17 ground balls.
Rock forward Garrett Billings led all scorers with 8 points. Billings leads the Rock in all major scoring categories with 19 goals and 40 assists for 59 points on the season. Josh Sanderson had six points including five helpers on the night. Colin Doyle, Blaine Manning and Stephan Leblanc mirrored each other’s stats, each finishing with 2 goals and 2 assists.
Reigning defensive player of the week Bandits goaltender Anthony Cosmo continued his strong play stopping 34 of 47 shots faced. Nick Rose turned aside 38 of 52 shots for Toronto. Despite the loss, Rose still leads all NLL goaltenders in both wins (6) and saves (371) heading into the weekend.
The Bandits will return home to Buffalo where they will host the Philadelphia Wings Friday night at 7:30 p.m. The Rock will look to bounce back Friday March 8th at 7:30 p.m. when the Colorado Mammoth travel to Toronto.
