Calendar? Cleared. Popcorn? Popped. Plans? None, watching this stacked matchup between the Buffalo Bandits and Las Vegas Desert Dogs is the only thing on the itinerary. A sellout crowd at KeyBank Center in the 716 was ready to pop as it was an emotional evening. First and foremost, it was Tucker Out Lymphoma Night. For those that don’t know, Tucker Williams is the late son of former Bandit and current Desert Dogs head coach, Shawn Williams. As a child, he tragically passed away due to Burkitt’s Lymphoma. Every year, Buffalo plays a game to honor him. Now that Shawn Williams is a coach and Dyson Williams (Tucker’s older brother) plays for Oshawa, the Tucker Out Lymphoma Cup was created. Buffalo, Las Vegas, and Oshawa all play each other and the team with the most points at the end of those games wins the Tucker Cup. Plus, each team sports some slick uniforms in their games to honor Tucker.
To add to the emotion, it was the return to Banditland for Chris Cloutier and Chase Fraser. If you remember, both signed contracts in free agency with Las Vegas, and were pivotal in Buffalo’s success the last three seasons. Now, they stand across the floor with Desert Dogs across their chests. Talk about a big game vibe, and we’re only in Week 6. Now let’s get to the game.
Buffalo controlled a vast majority of the game. Las Vegas didn’t roll over however, as they rattled off five-straight in the fourth quarter to narrow the deficit to two, but that’d be as close as they’d come. Buffalo, despite being down two defensemen (Mitch de Snoo and Zack Belter got injured during the game) snuck away with a 15-13 win.
The start of the game was perfect for the Bandits. Their defense was stifling, Matt Vinc was a wall, and they opened it up with a three-goal run. Those goals were scored by Tehoka Nanticoke and Kyle Buchanan twice. Former Bandit, Chris Cloutier, didn’t take long to light the lamp as he notched the first goal for Las Vegas. All four of those goals were scored within the first 3:15 of the first quarter, and the scoring stopped the rest of the way. 3-1 Bandits after one.
Buffalo controlled the second quarter as well, outscoring Las Vegas 4-2. Mitch Jones scored the first of his five on the night to open it up but was quickly answered by Josh Byrne. Jones buried his second, but Buffalo answered right back with three-in-a-row. Those were scored by, well, Ian MacKay. Mickey’s goals deserve some love, as they got increasingly more impressive. The first was a nice little give-and-go with Byrne. The second was a quick stick where it almost seemed like the ball wasn’t fully in his stick before it was in the back of the net. The third featured him behind the net, coming to the front of the crease, and firing a side-armed behind-the-back bouncer. Quite an impressive way to complete the natural hat-trick. 7-3 Bandits at the break.
Jones started the third quarter the same way he began the second, registering his third of the night. I’ll give you one guess as to what Buffalo’s response was. If you guessed three-straight, you’d be correct. Those three for the Bandits were scored by Byrne, Dhane Smith, and Buchanan. Tyrell Hamer-Jackson and Dylan Robinson traded goals to close out the frame, and it looked like the route was on. 11-5 Buffalo after three.
Buchanan buried his fourth of the game to begin the fourth and final frame, but Vegas answered back with two of their own, one from Jonathan Donville and the other from the other former Bandit, Chase Fraser. Fraser’s goal had to be reviewed because it went through the net. Dude scores one-handed, freakshow goals and can also send lasers through the back of the net. Buffalo answered back with two of their own, one from Clay Scanlan and the other from Byrne. Look away Buffalo faithful, as this was when things got REAL dicey. The Desert Dogs proceeded to rattle off five-straight in just about a five-minute span. Those five goals were scored by Cloutier three times and Jones twice. Blink your eyes and the score was 14-12 Buffalo with 4:01 to play. Smith and Josh Jackson traded goals, and that’d be all she wrote in this one. Hear that? That’s the sigh of relief oozing from Banditland.
Players of the game for Buffalo were Buchanan (4+1), Byrne (3+6), and MacKay (3+4). Vinc was stellar apart from that run in the fourth quarter, stopping 33 of 46 in total. For Las Vegas, Jones (5+3), Cloutier (four goals), and Donville (1+4) led the way. Landon Kells was given a breather in the third quarter. He made 24 saves on 33 shots in 34:15 of game play. Alex Buque came on in relief, and he made 12 saves on 17 shots.
“I thought we played pretty well at times”, said Buchanan. “We were showing what we could do, and other times we were taking lapses. The league is too good to do that now, but a win is a win.”
“They were a big part of our team”, said John Tavares regarding Cloutier and Fraser. “I did get worried when they cut it to two, because Fraser could take over at that point. I’m happy they are in a good place, but I’m a lot happier that we won the game.”
Buffalo looks to ride the momentum into this weekend. They hit the road for about an hour-long road trip, as they head to Rochester. The I-90 rivalry games are always fun. That one is Saturday January 10th at 7pm. Las Vegas will look to get back into the win column. Their next crack at it is back on their home floor as they welcome in Saskatchewan. That game is Friday January 9th at 10:30pm.
