Di Miller, NLL Correspondent
Lacrosse is Awesome
The Buffalo Bandits (1-2) hosted the Vancouver Stealth (2-2) at the Key Bank Center where the hungry 12,903 Bandits fans were hoping for a victory upon their return from the short road trip. Boy did they get a treat. Buffalo played like a completely different team in this contest and it paid off. Final Score: Bandits 21—Stealth 15.
The Stealth would come out gunning in the first and notch the opening goal in 13 seconds from Thomas Hoggarth with an underhand shot off a pick from Corey Small. Peter McFetridge would get his first goal of the 2017 season off a feed from Jordan Durston stick side putting the Stealth up 2-0. Buffalo would strike back on the breakaway with Brad Self getting the ground ball scoop and shot under hand low to high on Richards at 4:33. Andrew Watt (assist Kevin Brownell) would score his first of the season as well on another breakaway over the top two on one dropping it in behind David DiRuscio when he dropped to his knees. Game tied 2-2. But Small would break the tie at the 10:16 mark with a cross field pass from Rhys Duch and send it between the wickets on DiRuscio. Buffalo would answer back a little over two minutes later with a cross field high to low shot (assist Self). Vancouver would go on the power-play and Small (assist Duch) would shoot up top high to low inside the left pads of DiRuscio. Buffalo would close out the quarter on the power-play with the extra-attacker with only 16 seconds left when Benesch found the soft spot and shot through the screen (assist Steenhuis). Buffalo would have three transition goals in the first. Score at the end of the first: Buffalo 4—Vancouver 4.
Buffalo would open up the second with a four-goal run the first from Anthony Malcolm across the field with a twister past Richards; Benesch on the short-handed goal (assist Steve Priolo) high to high top corner; Priolo with his first of the game and another short-handed goal on a breakaway ground ball shooting high to high; and Daryl Veltman with a heavy left set off a behind the back feed from Benesch high to high at 6:50. It was after the Priolo goal at 2:16 that Richards would be pulled in favor of veteran net minder Ty Belanger. Vancouver would go on their own four goal run with Jordan Durston scoring back-to-back goals, his first at 6:56 high to low left side and the second a sick dive from behind the net on the right side of DiRuscio catching him off guard. Garrett Billings would score with a low under hand burner far side DiRuscio; and Duch would end the run with an east to west feed from Small cross diagonal over the left shoulder of DiRuscio. Buffalo would close out the half with Mitch Jones hitting from 25 feet out off the flip pass long bomb far side on Belanger. Craig England would net his first goal in the NLL off a Tic-Tac-Toe finding himself in front of the net with a head fake to the right and going left on Belanger. Score at the end of the second: Bandits 10—Stealth 8.
The third would have Buffalo continuing the scoring with Benesch getting the hat-trick 2:03 at the front door high to low far side on Belanger. The Stealth would see Durston net his hat-trick at 3:07 with a quick release cross field on the feed from Billings low to low. Buffalo would strike back again with goals from Priolo on another breakaway high to low on Belanger; and Jones who was all alone hitting net high to high far side. Logan Schuss would net back-to-back goals, with his first of the night for Vancouver burying it top side with a bullet past DiRuscio at 5:52 and another on the power-play at 7:48 (assist Duch). 
It would go back to Buffalo at 11:09 with Jones (assist to Brownell); and Steenhuis at 11:56. But Vancouver would go on the power-play off a five minute major for high-sticking called on Mitch Wilde and Schuss would get the hat-trick with 46 seconds left; followed by Small with another power-play goal to close out the quarter with 23 seconds left with a high to high left shoulder down the lane. Score at the end of three: Bandits 15—Stealth 14.
Schuss would start out the fourth for the Stealth giving him four on the night, and that would be the last time Vancouver would see the back of the net. The Bandits went on a six goal run with Priolo getting the hat-trick (2:02) on a quick hand top shelf shot into the open net with Belanger laid out from the previous shot; and Adam Will on the turnover picking off the pass, with a breakaway burying the ball in the net. The Stealth threw the challenge flag, but after the shot was reviewed, the ball although Belanger got a piece of it, still crossed the plane of the goal before Will’s foot touched down in the crease; Jones would get his fourth on the night when he rotated up and over the top and came straight down the middle with a one-time bouncer past Belanger; and Steenhuis
would get his second when he split the defenders and Belanger had no chance to set up and stop the shot. That’s when Vancouver pulled Belanger for the extra attacker and Alex Kedoh Hill would hit an empty-netter from the face-off circle at 12:12. The Stealth decided to stay with the EA in the hopes they could net a goal or two but Benesch would score his fourth of the night with a straight in shot underneath the defender. With only 1:34 left on the clock, all hopes of the Stealth going 3-1 on the season faded away. Final Score: Buffalo 21—Vancouver 15.
The Bandits played a better game all around. They hustled; got the ground balls; had very few unforced errors; strong passes; were good in transition; nine of the 21 goals would be on transition; and DiRuscio was like a brick wall in net setting back up quickly shot after shot.
Next week the Stealth have a double header weekend, where they will travel to Saskatchewan to face the Rush (1-2) on Friday January 27, 2017 and head back home to host the Swarm (3-0) on Saturday January 28, 2017. Buffalo (1-2) heads to New England to face the Black Wolves (0-3) on Saturday January 28, 2017.
Di Miller, NLL Correspondent
Lacrosse is Awesome