Food for thought: Is it really that uncharacteristic if a team loses to the same opponent eight straight times and suffers three straight eliminations from the playoffs? Regardless of that, game two of the semifinal round was set from KeyBank Center in Buffalo, New York. Buffalo won game one Friday night in Hamilton, so they set their sights on punching their ticket to their third straight Finals appearance. Banditland was rocking, so it was going to be a tough task for Toronto.
Toronto led a majority of this game and definitely controlled the pace for approximately the first 47 minutes. For the remaining 13 minutes, Buffalo used the backing of their home crowd to score six unanswered in the fourth quarter en route to a come-from-behind 10-8 victory. You know, they are the defending champs for a reason.
“We just had to keep our composure and truck on a little bit harder,” said Fraser. “It’s the fans, we score, score another one, the energy picked up and we just ride that wave. We don’t quit, it’s one of those rivalries that I say we’re going to war.”
The first quarter had the intensity that we saw Friday night in Hamilton, so we were in for a doozy. Dhane Smith got the party started as he opened the scoring. What Toronto needed to correct was getting through Matt Vinc in the first half, which is what they did, and then some. Chris Boushy buried his first in response and was followed up by a sick dunk by Dan Craig from behind the net. Buffalo answered with two of their own, one from Tehoka Nanticoke and the other from Kyle Buchanan on the power play. 3-2 Bandits after one.
The “and then some” comes in here as Toronto blanked the Bandits in the second quarter, scoring four goals on top of it. Huge credit to Matt Sawyer and the boys for making whatever adjustments were needed after a horrid first half of game one. Scorers for Toronto were Corey Small twice, Mark Matthews, and Tom Schreiber. Three of those four goals were also on the power play, which is another improvement from their game one numbers. Banditland was shocked, and the Rock led 6-3 at the break.
The goaltender situation was a bit opposite in the first half as well. Vinc was outstanding in game one, but Toronto got through to him in the first half of game two. Vno stopped 22 of 28. Rose struggled in game one, but was outstanding in the first half in this one, stopping 15 of 18.
“We’ve had to have a gameplan for them blocking all the shots,” said Schreiber at half. “Thankfully a couple of them trickled in, we have to keep it rolling. Coming off a tough loss the other night, you have to respond. That’s what mental toughness is all about and that’s what this team is all about.”
We’ve seen it all year, that the Bandits are cardiac kids in the second half when trailing. Toronto shut the door on any attempt at a comeback with more stifling defense and great play from Rose. Smith did bury his second of the game, but that’d be it for the Buffalo scoring in the third. Chris Weier matched it with his first and that’s how the frame would end. 7-4 Rock after three.
Okay, now we can talk about cardiac kids. The fourth quarter in this game was the loudest I have ever heard KeyBank Center, and for good reason. Matthews scored his second to begin the quarter and that was all for Toronto the rest of the way. Cue the six straight for Buffalo. Scorers for Buffalo in that run were Chase Fraser thrice, Josh Byrne twice, and Nanticoke. The building got louder after every goal, because you could genuinely feel the comeback brewing. Also, thanks to Matthew Caruk (Toronto beat reporter for ILWT) for calling out Chase Fraser in our sitdown, it clearly helped. Love ya buddy. The Buffalo Bandits are headed back to the Finals, after this 10-8 win.
Players of the game for Buffalo were Fraser (three goals), Byrne (2+5), and Smith (2+4). Vinc was ridiculous in the second half, making 52 saves on 60 shots. In the series he stopped 105 of 117. Aging like a fine wine. For Toronto, Matthews (2+3), Small (2+1), and Schreiber (1+4) led the way. Rose would love to have that fourth quarter back, as he stopped 35 of 45 in total.
“No one lost doubt that we could come back,” said John Tavares. “That’s what championship teams do. Fraser and Tehoka picked it up there with two quick ones, guys starting believing and it was contagious after that.”
“Once we got to 8-6, the crowd was unbelievable,” said Smith. “It gave me goosebumps, it was the weirdest shift of events I’ve ever been a part of. It honestly felt like a movie.
Smith added on the Albany matchup, “I think it’s focusing on ourselves. Albany’s a great team, they’ve had our number this year. It’s different than what we’re used to, we just have to stick to our gameplan, we need to dictate and make them adjust to us.”
The Finals are set, and they could not feature more opposite teams. The Bandits have been the pinnacle in recent years, reaching their third straight (fourth counting the pandemic years) and Albany reaching their first after a three win season last year. Game one is in Albany on Friday May 17th at 7pm. Game two is in Buffalo on Saturday May 18th at 7:30pm. Game three, if necessary, is in Albany on Friday May 24th at 7pm. Buckle up.
