Since losing the 2019 NLL Finals to Calgary in that unforgettable overtime game, the Buffalo Bandits have dominated their western rivals going 4-1 in the regular season and outscoring Calgary 65 to 46. Included in those totals was another resounding win on Sunday night at Westjet Field as the Bandits took care of business defeating the Roughnecks 13-7.
The Bandits stuck to a familiar recipe with their two superstars Dhane Smith and Josh Byrne leading the attack with a combined 17 points. Kyle Buchanan, Ian MacKay, Tehoka Nanticoke, Ryan Benesch and Clay Scanlan added ample secondary scoring reminding us how talented this roster still is. The veteran defensive squad back-stopped by Matt Vinc was in midseason form frustrating the Roughnecks offense for most of the night and only surrendering seven goals.
Buffalo jumped out to a 4-1 first quarter lead with two goals from Nick Weiss. Calgary’s lone goal came in transition from defender Harrison Matsuoka. After struggling to find quality looks, Calgary started to find their range in the second scoring three times. New Roughnecks goaltender Aden Walsh was solid and made a number of big stops. However, a late goal from Chase Scanlan gave the visitors a 5-4 lead at the half.
This was as close as the Roughnecks would get. The champs put their foot on the pedal and pumped in eight second half goals while only surrendering three. Fourteen-year veteran Kyle Buchanan slammed home the goal of the night with a leaping dunk from behind the net late in the third quarter. The ageless wonder has a sneaky 661 regular season points in 201 games.
The loss moves Calgary to 0-3 and they now sit last place in the NLL standings. While their first two games could have ended differently, there was no doubt they were badly outplayed in their home opener.
“We are supposed to be real physical and fast. And we were slow and soft,” said a clearly upset Head Coach Josh Sanderson after the game. “We are not going to make excuses. We know we’re a bit younger, but we could have played a lot better than that. I think we deserved some better results maybe in the first two, but not tonight,” Sanderson told Roughneck TV.
Tyler Pace had a five-point night for the red and black as both he and Tanner Cook scored two goals. Aden Walsh stopped 39 of 52 shots. Perhaps the top performance came from face-off specialist Justin Inacio who won 16 of 24 against a tough opponent in Connor Farrell.
In Week 6 action, the Buffalo Bandits (2-1) will host the Las Vegas Desert Dogs (2-1) and welcome back some familiar faces in Chase Fraser and Chris Cloutier. That game goes Saturday, January 3rd at 7:00pm eastern. Later that night, the Roughnecks (0-3) fly down to the golden state for a game against the San Diego Seals (1-1).
