In the NLL, there are many rivalries, some new, some old. It appears as though a new one is blooming right before our very eyes. The Buffalo Bandits took their home floor on Saturday night and welcomed in the Albany FireWolves. The first time these two clubs played in Albany to open the season, it was extremely physical and high scoring. This game in Buffalo followed suit.
In front of 17,953, these two did battle on one of the more special nights in the league. It was Native American Heritage Night and Buffalo donned some slick new uniforms to honor that. Now to the game. Pick what you like because I’m positive that this game had it. Tye Kurtz had a sock trick, there were 46 total penalty minutes, a wrestling match in the second quarter and it capped off with a goalie-goal. Albany used all of those factors and snuck out of Buffalo with a 13-10 win to complete the season sweep.
Buffalo used the momentum of the special night and the raucous crowd behind them to go out to a two-goal lead to start it. Kyle Buchanan and Chase Fraser notched the first two. Albany wasted little time tying and retaking the lead. Three-in-a-row scored by Ethan Walker and Kurtz twice on the power play, completely flipped the momentum. Buffalo surged back with two, one from Josh Byrne and the other from Ian MacKay. Sam Firth nodded it back up on the power play to close out the quarter and we were tied at four. The physicality started right away as at the 9:54 mark there was 10 minutes worth of cross-checking and dead ball fouls called on both teams.
First, grab your helmet because the second quarter was ugly. The intensity and physicality quadrupled and for a moment, it turned into a WWE match, which we’ll get to shortly. Secondly, don’t let the back-and-forth of the first quarter fool you, Albany did a very good job of containing this game, eventually putting it to bed in the second half. Travis Longboat scored the first two goals of the quarter, one on the power play, to give Albany a two-goal lead. Byrne and Alex Simmons traded goals before Buffalo rattled off two-straight, one from Chris Cloutier and the other from Buchanan. Kurtz’s third closed out the quarter to make it 8-7 going into the break. The quarter as a whole was extremely physical, but at the 6:04 mark, things boiled over. Ring the bell, because there were three separate scrums at one point, resulting in 26 penalty minutes and a couple not-so niceties exchanged between the two teams.
“We know our system, we know our plays,” said Kurtz about the team’s success on the power play in the first half. “We’re just thinking a bit too much, but it’s good to see the ball dropping. We knew what we were getting ourselves into, these guys bring it every game, every shift, we just have to keep our heads straight and play our game.”
The goaltenders were quite a spectacle in the first half, that may have been a bit overshadowed with all the extracurriculars that went on. Doug Jamieson was outstanding, giving Albany the edge, while making 21 saves on 28 shots. On the other side, Devlin Shanahan was stout in his first career start. Yes, if you haven’t seen or heard, Matt Vinc was put on IR just before the game. Shanny did his part, stopping 25 of 33.
Hopefully you got your excitement in the first two quarters because the third was, well, a snoozefest. Both defenses shut down the opposition and both goalies were stingy. One goal was scored in the frame and it was by Kurtz, his fourth. 9-7 Albany after three.
The FireWolves increased their lead and put this game to bed in the fourth. Two-straight to begin the quarter pretty much put a nail in it. Kurtz tallied his fifth and Nathan Grenon got his first and Buffalo was in shambles. Their team was off and inaccurate and Albany was right there to reap the benefits of it. Byrne’s third and Kurtz’s sixth were traded, and a few minutes later Cloutier tallied his second and Tehoka Nanticoke got his fourth. That was with 2:02 to play, but it’d be too late for Buffalo. Jamieson tallied the ever elusive goalie-goal in the waning seconds, and that’d be it. Your final from Banditland, 13-10 FireWolves.
Players of the game for Buffalo were Byrne (3+3), Cloutier (2+3), and Buchanan (two goals). Shanahan played very well considering the start on short news, as well as facing a potent Albany offense. He made 46 saves on 59 shots in total. For Albany, Kurtz (6+1), Longboat (2+2), and Simmons (1+5) led the way. Jamieson was outstanding with his one goal and 46 saves on 56 shots.
“We’ve been playing good for the most part,” said Jamieson after the game. “I think playing against these guys, we always elevate a bit, especially in this building.”
Buffalo (5-5) seems a bit out of sorts. They have a short week to try and figure it out as they travel to Vancouver (2-8) this Friday at 10 p.m. Albany (8-2) sits atop the standings. They look to increase their league-lead in a Saturday night clash with New York (5-6) at 7 p.m.
