It all seemed like a Cinderella story in the making at the WellsFargo Center in Philadelphia last night. Ending with a sudden death overtime score of 12-11, the Bandits were able to shoot down the Wings in their comeback attempts.
The 4:30pm game started off in Philadelphia’s favor. They led the first half of Period 1 in shots taken over Buffalo and seemed to come out strong. At the end of One, the Wings led 3-2.
Unfortunately for them the Bandits had other plans in mind. I was amazed to see some of the changes Troy Cordingley brought to the team live in action. At the conclusion of regulation, the Wings had the momentum, but Buffalo had the consistency and shots.
All afternoon, Buffalo forced Philly offensemen into tight situations that required diving shots, poor-angle attempts at goal, and frustration in creating a moving offense. Most Philadelphia shots from ideal field positions were disabled.
The Bandits’ offense on the other hand was in full motion and put the Wings to the test. Buffalo sniped three of their goals in right past goaltender Evan Kirk so quickly that a few of their goals seemed to pass Kirk without any effort on his behalf. He could only stand in amazement as to how fast the ball got past him.
Anthony Cosmo stepped up for the Bandits in his performance. At one point, he denied the Wings a shot which managed to rebound twice in the home team’s favor. Of those three rebound shots none got in.
Throughout the second half of third period and all of the final period, it seemed as though the Wings were going to fulfill their Cinderella story hopes. All 7,000 spectators in attendance were on their feet, and with 1:30 left to play, the Wings’ Kevin Ross tied it up. However, the referee called off the goal, claiming a crease violation. 62 seconds later, Wings answered again with a tying goal.
On the defensive side, Billy D. Smith was a huge advantage for the Bandits. He, along with all of the Buffalo team, played aggressive, solid defense. They forced Wings players into boards and corners, and fought until multiple whistles sounded.
The game was a tremendous event either way. Both teams exchanged multiple goals on numerous occasions, and the decision could have gone either way. It came down to overtime opportunities. Tavares completed the storybook ending for Buffalo when he flung a shot straight past Kirk to end the game after three-and-a-half minutes of sudden death overtime. As they say, a goal is a goal and a win is a win. Lucky or not, Tavares carried his team to victory.
I noticed Troy Cordingley has added much rejuvenated movement to the Buffalo offense. They were quick to sub and set up a scheme. The Wings had their best opportunities on fast breaks, whereas Buffalo set offenses and made great opportunities.
Buffalo was a great marker for Philadelphia, showing that the Wings may have made many offseason adjustments and changes, but in the end it will take more than a few team renovations to compete in the NLL this season. Congratulations to Buffalo on a fantastic, dramatic road win.
