KeyBank Center was a madhouse on Saturday night for a St Patrick’s Day celebration and more importantly, a rivalry renewed, 18,463 to be exact. The Buffalo Bandits, sporting some sweet St Patty’s Day jerseys, played host to their biggest rivals, the Toronto Rock. Toronto came in as the league’s number one team, with only two losses. One of those was early in the year against the Bandits up in Hamilton. Historically, Toronto does not play well in the 716, only winning one game in eight chances over the course of the last five years.
Excuse me, make that one game in nine chances, as the Buffalo Bandits used a surge late in the fourth quarter mixed with the backing of their raucous home crowd, to take this one, 14-12. These types of games are why we love this sport.
Toronto started the best way a team could on the road, especially in Buffalo, as they scored the first two goals of the game, and quickly. Chris Boushy buried his first only 25 seconds in, and a minute later was followed up by Tom Schreiber. Ian MacKay finally got Buffalo on the board with a short handed beauty in transition, but was quickly answered by Josh Dawick. Buffalo responded with a sick floater from Chase Fraser, but Corey Small had the answer. The next goal was a little strange as Dhane Smith drove in and crashed the net. Dhaner ended up scoring, but also received a penalty for goalie interference. Boushy wasted no time making Buffalo pay for that with his second of the game. To this point, it was evident Toronto wanted to keep that two-goal edge, but a three-goal run for the Bandits to close out the quarter said otherwise. Scorers were Tehoka Nanticoke, Dylan Robinson and Smith again. Shockingly to some, Buffalo was up 6-5 after one.
Throw everything we learned in the first out the window, because Toronto flipped this game on its head in the second. A dominant quarter from the Rock featured four goals to Buffalo’s zero and outstanding goaltending from Nick Rose. Scorers for Toronto were Small thrice and Boushy for his hat trick. Boushy’s and Smalls’s third were power play markers. In just 15 short minutes, this game felt so different. 9-6 Rock going into the break.
“Our defense is doing a good job shutting them down,” said Small at the half. “This is a team that scores in bunches, and the reason we’re getting on runs is we’re keeping them out of our net.”
We always love a good goaltending battle, and this game definitely had that. Rosey was as stout as could be, stopping 17 of 23. On the other side, Matt Vinc was stout in the first, but struggled in the second, making 17 saves on 23 shots in total.
Cue more of the defensive battle in the third, with Buffalo outscoring Toronto 2-1 in the frame. Josh Byrne finally lit the lamp for Buffalo, was answered by Mark Matthews on the power play, and Nanticoke finished the quarter out with his second, also on the power play. 10-8 Rock after three.
The final 15 was a roller coaster of emotions no matter what side you were rooting for. Buffalo thought they got the edge at the beginning as they rattled off two straight and tied the game up. The first was from Fraser and the other from Smith. Key word in that first sentence is “thought.” There’s a reason Toronto is atop the standings. Seemably without blinking an eye, Toronto answered back with two of their own, one from Boushy and the other from Matthews, to regain that two-goal advantage. Those two goals from the Rock could have been the deciders, but the ever resilient Bandits said otherwise. Buffalo shut down Toronto in the final 7:29 and stunned them with four goals in a row. Scorers were MacKay, Chris Cloutier, Byrne, and Nick Weiss into an empty net. When Clooch tied it and Byrne buried the go-ahead, KeyBank Center was as loud as I’ve ever heard it. Your final from Banditland, 14-12 Buffalo.
Players of the game for Buffalo were Smith (3+4), Byrne (2+5), and MacKay (2+1). Vinc was outstanding down the stretch, stopping 47 of 59. For Toronto, Small (4+2), Boushy (four goals), and Matthews (2+4) led the way. Rose was nothing to scoff at either, ultimately faltering late in the fourth. He made 40 saves on 53 shots.
“The guys played a full 60 minutes tonight,” said John Tavares. “From Matty, the defense, transition, offense, I thought it was one of our best games. Great teams never think they are out of a game.”
Buffalo addressed a big hole in their defense at the trade deadline by acquiring long time veteran Paul Dawson. Dawson had his worries about playing for Buffalo, but ultimately just wanted to win. “Usually there’s booze and other stuff being thrown at me, so it was nice to be on the other side hearing cheers. I didn’t know what it was going to be like. It was nice to get welcomed with open arms.”
Buffalo (7-6) looks to continue their momentum and climb a bit more in the standings. They play four of their remaining five games on the road, this Friday being the first of three in a row. They travel down to Texas to take on PCLC (6-7) at 8 p.m. Toronto (11-3) still sits in first place. They look to get back into the win column this Saturday at home against Halifax (8-6) at 7 p.m.
