It was Marvel Superhero Night in Buffalo, New York Friday night, and there were plenty of superheroes to choose from. No, not Marvel characters, actual lacrosse players that took the floor. The Bandits played host to the Saskatchewan Rush, the first meeting of these two teams in over 2000 days. If you didn’t see this game, you need to rewatch it. Highlight-reel goals, tit-for-tat scoring, a Matt Vinc return, and a new faceoff specialist for Buffalo were the headlines.
It took an extra period for this game to be decided, and even OT was action packed. After a fast and furious opening five minutes, Tehoka Nanticoke finally put the game to bed, as Buffalo took it, 15-14. A new NLL record was set, as 14 game-tying goals were scored in the game, breaking the previous record of 12, also a contest involving the Bandits in 2022. Let’s get to it!
Just a quick preface to touch on the new faceoff specialist for Buffalo. If you have any sort of social media (or like me, having season tickets for the Bandits) you can see Buffalo has had serious issues at the faceoff dot this season. They addressed that on Wednesday this week as they signed Connor Farrell to a two-year deal. Boy, did he make an immediate impact in this game. Stay tuned for his final stats.
I’ll say it once, and only once, the “lacrosse is a game of runs” did not apply here, rather, it was quite literally a tit-for-tat game throughout. Nanticoke started it off with his first a few minutes in. After a five-or-so minute lull, Saskatchewan rattled off two straight, one from Clark Walter, and the other from Ryan Keenan. 2-1 Rush after one. Yes, it was a slow-ish start, but believe me, business picked up.
The second quarter scoring was in perfect “every-other” harmony. Here we go. Dhane Smith on the power play, answered by Robert Church. Josh Byrne, then Keenan, his second. Smith again, then Church again, and ending with Chris Cloutier. Can’t say I didn’t warn ya. Deadlocked at five at the half.
As we said, Vinc returned from injury and was sparkling in the first half. He stopped 23 of 28. On the other side, Frank Scigliano matched him every step of the way, as he made 16 saves on 21 shots.
Byrne commented on the addition of Farrell at halftime saying, “you can hear it in the building. Every time Farrell is getting a win, these fans are on their feet and that’s a pretty cool thing for us.” Take it from me, who was at the game, you would’ve thought Buffalo won the championship anytime Farrell won a draw. Pretty cool stuff.
The third quarter was a monster, with 12 total goals scored, and yep you guessed it, six a side. It was a trick shot convention as well, one of which being number one on SportsCenter’s Top 10. Zach Manns got the scoring started, but was answered by Cloutier, which happened to be the goal of the game and the first of two highlight reel goals from #2. Clooch swung all the way around the zone and jumped in front of the crease while firing a shot one-handed through his legs. If you remember, Clooch did almost the exact same move a few weeks back. Disgusting. Patrick Dodds answered that, but Byrne rattled off two in a row to follow, the first a power play marker, and the second another highlight reel goal. Byrnzy jumped at the crease, spun in the air, and shoveled a shot past Scigliano. Gross. Church and Keenan answered to give the Rush the lead back. The rest of the way were as follows: Ian MacKay, Dodds, Nanticoke, Nathaniel Kozevnikov, and Cloutier. Clooch’s was as smooth as a behind-the-back goal as we’ve seen. 11-11 after three.
No surprise here, but the fourth was every other scoring again. Church kicked it off, then Nanticoke. Smith got his hat trick on the power play, answered by Church, again. Byrne got his fourth and guess who answered? Church, you got it. If there was ever a game for free lacrosse, this was the one. To overtime we go.
As previously said, the first few minutes of OT were fast and furious. There were tons of chances, but both goaltenders were as stout as could be. Buffalo broke out of their timeout and Nanticoke used a quick-stick one-timer to bury the winner. Your final from raucous Banditland, 15-14 Buffalo.
Players of the game for Buffalo were Byrne (4+7), Smith (3+7), and Nanticoke (4+2). Vinc was outstanding, stopping 47 of 61. Farrell was even more outstanding, winning 27 of 33 at the dot. For Saskatchewan, Church (6+2), Keenan (3+4), and Dodds (2+4) led the way. Scigliano would love to have that overtime shot back, but he stopped 40 of 55 in total.
“We just couldn’t seem to pull away,” said John Tavares. “We stuck in there and battled, it was nice to see a full, 60 minute game.”
Smith was all laughs after the game commented on the circus shots in the third quarter. “That was awesome to see, some nights the ball is going to go in.”
And of course the man of the hour, the Milkman, or Thor if you prefer, Farrell was a bit bewildered and all smiles nonetheless. “I always wanted to come play for an organization like this, with a fan base that’s unreal. I was cleared in early February and I started emailing Chugger (Steve Dietrich) and said, I’m your man. This is the only team I wanted to play for.”
Buffalo (6-6) looks to string some wins together. Their next chance is at home this Saturday for the second time against the Toronto Rock (11-2). Faceoff in that one is 7 p.m. Saskatchewan (4-6) needs to win a few in a row to increase their playoff chances. Their next game is at home against New York (6-7) this Saturday at 8:30 p.m.
