Do you smell that? No, it isn’t the lovely smell of Cheerios in downtown Buffalo or the smell of the ocean off the piers of SoCal. It’s a beautiful, budding rivalry between the Buffalo Bandits and the San Diego Seals. Just a week ago, the Seals handed the Bandits their first loss in an overtime thriller. That game was so nice, we are going to do it twice in as many weeks.
The game between these two clubs last weekend was as back-and-forth as they come. You might be asking yourself; how does it get better? Allow me. Apart from this game being at Pechanga Arena instead of KeyBank Center, it was even more back-and-forth than last week. With ten ties throughout, we saw these two teams deadlocked at 12 with 4:49 to go in the game. Just 24 seconds later, the former Seal, Kyle Buchanan, buried the dagger. Matt Vinc stood tall the rest of the way, and just like the Seals a week ago, the Bandits snuck out of enemy territory with a win, this time by the score of 13-12. (last week was 14-13) If you are from the East Coast, it was time for some lacrosse after dark. Let’s boogie.
The two sides wasted no time getting into the goal column in bunches, as there were nine total goals scored in the first quarter. The first five were every other, so the back-and-forth was evident right from the first whistle. Jake Govett opened it up for the Seals, but Dhane Smith had the answer. Tre Leclaire, who facilitated the game-winner last weekend, came right back with his first of quite a few, but Chase Fraser tied it right back up. The next goal by Leclaire was pure filth. He picked up a loose ball, put on a swim move, was spun a bit by a defender and shoveled a one-handed side shot that went in. Gross Tre, really gross. The next two goals belonged to Buffalo, the first from Buchanan on the power play and the other from Steve Priolo. The Buffalo captain lived up to his nickname “coast to coast” as he picked up a loose ball, went the entirety of the floor and fired a shot that lit the lamp. San Diego swung the momentum back their way with two-straight of their own, one from last week’s hero, Wesley Berg and the other from Kyle Jackson. Deep breath everyone, we were in for a doozy. 5-4 Seals after one.
The teeter-totter continued to fluctuate for the majority of the second quarter. For every goal San Diego scored, Buffalo answered back with two. Dylan Watson kicked it off with his first on the power play but was answered by Josh Byrne and Fraser. Those two Bandit goals were a mere 12 seconds apart. Watson tried the scoring on the power play thing again and was successful. However, here came the Bandits again, this time courtesy of Buchanan and Chris Cloutier. Someone get SportsCenter on the horn again, because these two goals were Top 10 worthy. First, Bucky received a pass right on the doorstep and fired a behind-the-back bouncer that ever so gently went in. Next, Clooch was being manhandled by almost every Seals defender, turned and fired a sidearm shovel shot that trickled in. Where do these guys come up with this stuff? Danny Logan answered with his first and that’s how the first half would end. 8-8 at the break. Are we shocked?
“We’ve got a team offense and I’m just trying to create some space for some guys”, said Buchanan. “I think it’s kind of getting back to basics, working hard, and letting the goals come to us.”
Clearly the game has been back-and-forth, and the two teams and the two games have been mirror images. But what about the goaltenders? Guess what? Mirror. Images. Matt Vinc stopped 19 of 27, while Christopher Origlieri stopped 18 of 26. Something freaky is going on here.
San Diego came out in the third quarter and accomplished a feat that we hadn’t seen yet in this game, which was going ahead by two goals. Watson completed the hat trick, and Berg got his second on the power play to swing the momentum, or so the Seals thought. Buffalo, in the ever so Buffalo way, answered back with three-straight. Those goals were scored by Smith on the power play, Ian MacKay, and Tehoka Nanticoke on the power play. MacKay’s goal was an amazing individual effort as he bounced off Seals defenders like a pinball before firing a little twister past Origlieri. Nanticoke’s was a sick dunk from behind the net from what appeared to be an arid pass from Byrne. Spoiler, it probably wasn’t as that is a designed play. Leclaire completed the hat trick in the waning seconds to tie it right back up. 11-11 after three.
The fourth quarter finally allowed us to catch our breath. Some. Three total goals were scored, the first by Clay Scanlan to give Buffalo the lead back. That goal was at the 10:06 mark. Leclaire got his fourth at the 4:49 mark, so there was plenty of up-and-down the floor in between. As we saw at the beginning, just 24 seconds after Leclaire’s, Buchanan buried the dagger, giving him the hat trick. Talk about scoring your 250th career goal with a bang. Vinc and the Buffalo defense were stout in the final minutes and the clock struck zero. Your final from Pechanga, 13-12 Buffalo in another instant classic.
Players of the game for Buffalo were Buchanan (3+1), Smith (2+2), and Fraser (2+1). Vinc was a stud down the stretch, stopping 38 of 50 in total. For San Diego, Leclaire (4+1), Watson (3+3), and Berg (2+4) led the way. Origlieri has nothing to hang his head about, as he made 39 saves on 52 shots.
“Just sticking to the little things”, said Smith after the game. “They’re a great team over there and it comes down to the little battles, fortunate to pick up some loose balls at the end and Vno played unbelievable tonight. It feels awesome, it’s not easy to win on the road, especially in beautiful San Diego, it’s hard to reset from Buffalo. It was a great win; we have to reset now and go to Saskatchewan next week and it’s not going to get any easier.”
Buffalo (8-1) got their revenge and continue to sit atop the standings. Dhane was right, it doesn’t get any easier next week as they travel to Saskatchewan to take on the second place Rush (9-2). That game is this Saturday at 8pm. San Diego (5-6) looks to have a short memory and get back into the win column. They have a bye week before they welcome in Vancouver (5-6) on Friday March 7th at 10:30pm.
