Everyone loves a nice matinee lacrosse game every now and again. That, plus the contest being between the top two teams in the East Division, smelled like a pretty decent Saturday afternoon in downtown Buffalo, New York. Or it could be the Cheerios factory down there.
Only one cheesy pun this week, this matchup between the Halifax Thunderbirds and Buffalo Bandits was all business. The last time these two teams faced off, Halifax beat Buffalo 11-9 on March 8th, 2020. Both teams have grown and changed in that two year span, but the rivalry only intensified. A win for Buffalo would also punch a ticket into the postseason.
Get ready for the postseason, Banditland. The Bandits got their revenge, beating Halifax 16-11. Buffalo remains undefeated at home and is the first team in the NLL this year to clinch a playoff berth.
“That’s great. It’s nice to get it out of the way”, said head coach John Tavares. JT also added that the team “wants to keep going” and “is trying to fill the win column and get first place.”
This game was everything you would expect between these two clubs. Physicality, scoring, tit-for-tat. Anything you can do, I can do better. Chris Cloutier opened the scoring for the Bandits just 33 seconds into the game, only to be answered by Eric Fannell a minute later. Newly acquired Dawson Theede tallied one for Halifax, only to be answered by a slick transition goal by Ian MacKay. Dhane Smith and Connor Fields tallied back-to-back goals, giving the Bandits a two-goal lead. Guess what? Halifax responded with a goal from Stephen Keogh. Smith added another to make it 5-3 Buffalo at the end of one. Round one to Buffalo.
The second quarter was all Halifax. Josh Byrne scored a quick goal on a short-side snipe, and that’s about it for Buffalo in the second. Halifax hammered the gas pedal. Keogh, Fannell, and Theede all got their second of the game. Tyson Bell and Cody Jamieson also notched a goal for the Thunderbirds. All of a sudden it was 8-6 Halifax going into the half. An eerie silence fell over the KeyBank Center.
Veteran forward for the Bandits, Kyle Buchanan was asked about the rare adversity they’d have to overcome and what the message at halftime was going to be.
“We got off to a good start, so we need to get back to that. It was a bit of a scramble, jungle ball at the end there. We play a good five-on-five in both ends, so we need to get back to that.”
The “jungle ball” that Buchanan was referring to was the number of transition opportunities Halifax had in the first half and the 12 penalty minutes Buffalo racked up. Matt Vinc stopped 24 of 32 shots. His opposition, Warren Hill, stopped 15 of 21.
Buffalo had to stop the bleeding going into the second half. On the other side, Theede presumably wanted the hat trick in his debut with Halifax. Advantage, Theede. The youngster buried a bullet of a shot just 16 seconds into the third, giving him the hatty and making the score 9-6 Halifax. Tavares must give some pretty quality halftime speeches however, because the Bandits’ offense started clicking. Four straight goals from MacKay, Buchanan, Byrne, and Tehoka Nanticoke gave Buffalo a 10-9 lead with 5:13 remaining in the frame. The wily vet Shawn Evans scored his first of the night just under a minute later to nod it up once again. Byrne got his hat trick and Nanticoke notched another to make it 12-10 Buffalo going into the fourth. Whew, catch your breath.
With a two-goal lead and a potential playoff berth on the line, the Bandits were buzzing. Very stout defense and unreal goaltending completely shut down any and all opportunities for Halifax for the beginning of the fourth quarter. Smith got his hat trick with 7:36 left and more importantly, increased that Buffalo cushion. Assistant captain Kevin Brownell buried a transition goal just under a minute later. Theede scored his fourth of the game, only to be answered by Cloutier and Chase Fraser. Your final, 16-11 Buffalo.
Players of the game for Buffalo were Smith (3+6), Byrne (3+4), and MacKay (2+1). Vinc really turned it on in the second half, stopping 54 of 65 on the night. For Halifax, it has to be Theede. Scoring four in your debut with the team is nothing to scoff at. Hill was stellar in the first half, but faltered late in the game.
“I didn’t think we had a bad first half,” said Tavares. “I thought we controlled the game, we gave up a shorthanded goal and they went on a five-goal run.”
After the game, MacKay commented on the adversity the team faced going into the second half.
“This season we’ve been pretty fortunate to not face a lot of adversity. When we do, we have to face it head-on and see what we’re made of.” He seemed pretty excited about the second half of the home-and-home against Halifax as well. “It’s very unique. We’re used to only one game a week. We’re kind of excited just being together, it’s only our second flight of the year.”
These two clubs gear up for the second half of a home-and-home Sunday afternoon at Scotiabank Centre. Buffalo sits at 11-1 and Halifax is 8-4. This one was beyond entertaining. With the scoring and physicality, buckle up for round two.
