We’ll reiterate, you aren’t having deja vu. Last year, Buffalo won game one of the NLL Finals and proceeded to lose games two and three to the Colorado Mammoth. This year, Buffalo won game one this past Saturday, and walked into Ball Arena in Denver, Colorado with a chance to lock up their fifth NLL Championship in franchise history. Well, the Mammoth had something to say about it.
A raucous Loud House was full of energy as the Mammoth took the floor and took it to the Bandits, beating up the Buffalo kids, 16-10. The wheels fell off for Buffalo in this one, who couldn’t get close after leading early. Plenty of penalties, no Josh Byrne, and presumably the nerves of the moment seemed to have gotten in the way.
“We just gotta reset and it’s a one-game series now,” said Bandits’ head coach John Tavares. “It’s the same predicament we were in 365 days ago. We have to reset and come out and play some disciplined lacrosse.”
As we said, Buffalo got off to an early lead with goals from Ian MacKay and Kyle Buchanan on the power play. Chris Wardle tallied the first Mammoth goal, but was quickly answered by Dhane Smith’s first on the power play. Colorado rattled off the next two to even it up, one from Tim Edwards off the ensuing faceoff and the other from Connor Robinson. 3-3 after one.
Ryan Lee was a missing piece for Colorado in last year’s title run, however he made his presence known in this game, specifically the second quarter. “Flyin” Ryan wasted no time as he tallied the first two goals of the frame and lived up to his nickname as he dove across the crease in both of them. Smith tallied his second, but was answered by guess who? Lee again, giving him a hat trick, this one being on the power play. Robinson scored his second of the game on the power play, but was answered by Chris Cloutier’s first. The Buffalo momentum after the first few minutes of the game was stifled, as Colorado seemed to always have an answer to every goal Buffalo scored. To close out the half, Zed Williams scored his first of the game and continued the Colorado onslaught. 8-5 Mammoth at the break.
Once again, we have to give a shout-out to the goaltenders. Matt Vinc has been here many times before, however it seemed as though he couldn’t get comfortable in the first half. The veteran netminder made 24 saves on 32 shots. On the other side, Dillon “The Wall” Ward was exactly that, the wall. Ward stopped 22 of 27.
“It’s been great, we have to keep our composure,” said Lee at halftime. “We know it’s going to be tight, we know it’s going to be a close game at the end. If we keep doing what we’re doing, we’ll be in good shape.”
Colorado continued their momentum to begin the third quarter as Eli McLaughlin scored his first of the game on the power play. Tehoka Nanticoke had the answer with his first, but as previously stated, Colorado didn’t let Buffalo breathe. Lee notched his fourth and McLaughlin got his second, and the Mammoth were in control. Nanticoke got his second, but guess what? Colorado tallied two in a row once again, this time Williams got his second and McLaughlin got his hat trick on the power play. 13-7 Colorado after three.
For the third straight quarter, Colorado opened the scoring here in the fourth. Tyson Gibson got his first on the power play, and as you can see and tell, the penalties were accumulating quickly for the Bandits. Nanticoke got his third and Fraser got his first, but once again Colorado answered, with Robinson getting his hat trick. Nanticoke got his fourth on the power play, but after is when the wheels fell off for Buffalo. After numerous penalties, Colorado found themselves with a penalty shot opportunity. Dylan Kinnear lined up and buried it, and that’d be all she wrote from Denver. Your final from the Loud House, 16-10 Colorado.
Players of the game for Buffalo were Nanticoke (four goals), Smith (2+6), and Cloutier (1+4). Vinc just did not get settled in this one, stopping 42 of 57 for the game. Devlin Shanahan saw a little action towards the end of the game and stopped one of two. For Colorado, Lee (4+3), McLaughlin (3+4), and Robinson (3+2), led the way. Ward lived up to his nickname as well, as he was a brick wall all game. Ward made 38 saves on 48 shots. Tyler Carlson saw some action for the final thirty seconds, but did not see a shot.
“It’s difficult to keep your composure when they’re landing on Matt’s (Vinc’s) feet every single time,” said Steve Priolo after the game. “Whether we try to drag them out, or pull them out, or whatever it is, they land at his feet and we get a penalty.”
“I thought we started strong, in the middle we were strong, and we finished strong,” said Pat Coyle. “Maybe the urgency, if we lose we wouldn’t be playing again, playing at home really helps. We have some really big game players.”
“I think we have a great locker room with a lot of trust,” said Ward. “Defense played big and they were suffocating. Buffalo got a lot of looks inside on Saturday night and we did a really good job of taking away their space.”
The comparisons between last year’s finals and this year’s are uncanny. It once again, comes down to a decisive game three. Clear your calendars, because you won’t want to miss it. Game three is Saturday June 3rd at 7:30 p.m. from KeyBank Center in Buffalo. A champion will be crowned, it’s been a wild ride to say the least.
