Whenever the playoffs come around, teams tend to take their game to a new level. Saturday night’s contest was a wild ride, so please, fasten your seatbelts, keep your arms and legs in at all times, and enjoy.
17,865 fans piled into KeyBank Center to watch the Georgia Swarm take on the hometown Buffalo Bandits in this one-and-done first round playoff game. Everything about this game made a fan’s heart rate go through the roof. There’s a wear mark on the edge of my seat in section 101. The game was tied at one, two, three, four, and five, so yes, it was that type of game. Buffalo had a three-goal lead in the third quarter that quickly vanished in the fourth, and they trailed with six minutes to play. After a massive effort from Kyle Buchanan to tie it, and an even bigger effort from Matt Vinc, the Buffalo defense and Josh Byrne in overtime, the Bandits walked out with a thrilling 10-9 win.
“Chris (Cloutier) was telling me where to go,” said Byrne, of the overtime winner. “He had a huge caused turnover to prevent them from breaking down the floor. He set a massive pick and did all the work. I don’t think he gets enough credit.”
One way to silence a raucous crowd such as Banditland, is to open the scoring just 26 seconds into the game, which is exactly what Brendan Bomberry did. Ian MacKay answered shortly thereafter with a beaut in transition, but Andrew Kew gave the Swarm the lead back. Kew’s goal was at the 10:40 mark, so the rest of the first was a defensive battle. 2-1 Swarm after one.
As you saw before, there were quite a few ties in the beginning. Nick Weiss tied it at two with another transition goal, but Lyle Thompson had the answer. Byrne buried two straight to tie it and give Buffalo their first lead, but it was short lived as Jeff Henrick answered to tie it at four not even a minute later. Byrne completed the hat trick on the power play, but Bomberry answered to tie it at five. Deadlocked at five at the break.
The goaltending battle in this game was something to watch. Vinc was starting his 46th career playoff game, and he looked like he hadn’t lost a step. He stopped 25 of 30 in the first half. On the other side, Brett Dobson was starting his first career playoff game, and he was just as stout as the veteran, stopping 18 of 23.
The wheels fell off a bit for the Swarm in the third, as Buffalo came out hot on the offensive side. Who am I kidding, that should surprise no one. Three straight for Buffalo really turned this game on its head, as Byrne notched his fourth, and Tehoka Nanticoke and Chris Cloutier each got their first, all of which were on the power play. Kew got his second on the power play to close out the third, making it 8-6 Bandits.
Credit where it’s due, the Swarm didn’t roll over when Buffalo was on their run. Instead, they took the game back over in the fourth with a three-goal run of their own, to eventually take the lead. (Technically a four-goal run dating back to the third quarter) Those three goals were scored by Bomberry, Kew on the power play and Thompson. Just like that, Georgia led with 6:34 to play. The effort from Buchanan we touched on earlier came into play now, as Bucky scooped up a loose ball right on the crease and ever so gently, flicked a shot into the net to tie it back up. As the clock literally expired, Dhane Smith and the city of Buffalo thought they won the game as Dhaner fired a shot from the restraining line in the waning seconds that beat Dobson. A tenth of a second too late, unfortunately. In an insane game, who would be upset about some extra lacrosse? Me, I was the one who was very upset, along with about 17,000 others (and our editor, watching from home).
Overtime is nerve-racking as it is, let alone in a one-and-done playoff game. Quite literally, it would be the biggest quarter of your team’s season to date. It took almost four full minutes for this game to end, and it felt like an eternity. Buffalo’s defense and Vinc were downright stifling in the extra period. What doesn’t show up on the scoresheet is the effort from Cloutier in setting up the eventual winner. Clooch caused a massive turnover at midfield, set a massive pick, and Byrne buried the winner. Check the roof at KeyBank for cracks. Your final from Buffalo, 10-9 Bandits. Someone get my inhaler.
Players of the game for Buffalo were Byrne (5+1), Nanticoke (1+2) and Smith (six assists, shocker right?) Vinc was silly late in the fourth and in overtime, stopping 46 of 55 in total. For Georgia, Kew (3+2), Bomberry (3+1) and Thompson (2+3) led the way. Dobson had a phenomenal showing, unfortunately giving up the biggest goal in OT. He stopped 49 of 59.
“Earlier in the year, we were finding ways to lose these games,” said John Tavares. “Now we’re finding a way to win. It’s giving me a heart attack, it’s very fun, especially when you play in this building.”
“It’s always fun,” said MacKay about their second round matchup with Toronto. “It’s probably the best rivalry in lacrosse. We’ve had the better end of it recently, and hopefully that continues.”
Buffalo and Toronto are on a collision course once again. This year, Toronto has the home-floor advantage, but lest we forget, Buffalo swept them last year in the second round and both regular season games this year. Game one is in Hamilton on Saturday, May 3rd at 7:30 p.m. Game two is back in Buffalo on Sunday, May 5th at 5 p.m. Game three, if necessary, is Saturday, May 11th in Hamilton at 7 p.m. Buckle the heck up.
