Brett Dobson attended St. Bonaventure University, a college located just over an hour away from Buffalo, New York. The youngster and his team, the Georgia Swarm, walked into KeyBank Center on Friday night and put on a show. In front of 16,763 fans, Georgia used only three goal scorers, and Dobson completely shut down the high-powered Bandits offense, walking out with a 9-8 win.
Buffalo did win the faceoff battle and went an impressive 3-4 on the powerplay, but it just wasn’t enough. Oh, and if you haven’t seen it already, Kyle Buchanan submitted his ballot for goal of the year, and boy was it a doozy. Let’s get to it.
Stop Scrolling
Kyle Buchanan just hit us with the , a ridiculous one-handed, behind-the-back, on-the-run finish. #SCtop10 pic.twitter.com/QLCxZoWO0O
— NLL (@NLL) December 30, 2023
The first quarter seemed as though there was a feeling out process between both teams. With only two goals scored, one by each team, the story was the goaltenders. Matt Vinc was sensational, and Dobson matched him every step of the way. Georgia’s goal was from Shayne Jackon and Buffalo’s was courtesy of Chase Fraser on the power play. 1-1 after one.
The scoring picked up in the second quarter. Before we get to all that, excuse me while we phone SportsCenter to make sure they saw Bucky’s insane goal. Dhane Smith had the ball in the Georgia zone. Buchanan was in the middle in between two Swarm defenders when he broke to the crease. Buchanan caught the pass, and his momentum brought him to the front right of the net. Bucky fired a behind-the-back shot that beat Dobson. But wait. After seeing the close-up, Buchanan actually shot the ball behind-the-back, one-handed. Nasty stuff from 91. The celebration from that goal was short-lived as Andrew Kew tied the game back up just 30 seconds later. Lyle Thompson and Fraser traded goals, Fraser’s second on the power play, and Jackson also got his second to make it 4-3 Swarm going into the break.
Don’t let the second quarter fool you, Vinc and Dobson continued to shine all the way through. Vinc in the first half, stopped 18 of 22, while Dobson stopped an absurd 25 of 28.
The third quarter very much resembled the first. Defensive stops and stout goaltending were the story. Oh, and the game remained deadlocked. Chris Cloutier tallied his first on the power play to knot the game back up, but less than two minutes later Jackson got his hat trick on the power play as well. Josh Byrne finally found the back of the net to end the quarter, to make it 5-5 after three.
Cue the track meet. The fourth quarter was an emotional roller coaster, especially if you’re a Bandits fan. Cloutier and Byrne rattled off two straight for Buffalo, each their second, in just 24 seconds. Color us shocked that Buffalo comes out late in a game with guns blazing. However, what we don’t normally see is the opposition pushing Buffalo back to the point where they don’t know how to respond, all the while, a goaltender (Dobson) that is beyond stifling. Georgia proceeded to rattle off four straight, three of which were in a span of 2:54. Thompson got his second and third and Jackson got his fourth. The fourth goal of that run was from Kew, his second, and was almost six minutes after the third goal. That is the definition of shutting the game down. Tehoka Nanticoke scored in the waning seconds, but it wasn’t enough. Your final from Buffalo, 9-8 Swarm.
Players of the game for Buffalo were Byrne (2+2), Fraser (2+2), and Cloutier (two goals). Another goalless night for Dhane Smith, however he did have seven assists. Vinc was sensational all night, slipping up a bit there in the fourth. He made 33 saves on 42 shots in total. For Georgia, Jackson (4+2), Thompson (3+1), and Kew (2+3) led the way. There isn’t much more we can say about Dobson. The kid played unbelievable, stopping 46 of 54.
“He (Dobson) was the difference in the game,” said John Tavares. “I’m talking about the quality of the opportunities that we missed. We don’t care how they go in, we just want them to.”
“It’s pretty cliche, but it’s true, lacrosse is a game of runs,” said Ian MacKay. “That’s why I take pride in taking faceoffs when we score. It’s definitely frustrating when you finally get a run going.” MacKay added, “Every game from here becomes more important, we’re going to learn from this one.”
Buffalo (1-2) has the full week to learn from this and try and get back into the win column. They welcome the Colorado Mammoth (1-2) this Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Keep your eyes on that game as it’s a rematch from the last two NLL Finals. Georgia (3-1) looks to continue their hot streak after their bye week. They host Albany (3-0)* January 13th at 7:30 p.m.
