Justin Ivey, Beat Writer New England Black Wolves
Lacrosse is Awesome
On Friday, February 9, 2018, The New England Black Wolves (4-3) hosted the Buffalo Bandits (5-3) in front of 5,357 fans. Buffalo, winners of two straight coming in, and playing the first game of their double header weekend, had the chance to take first place in the East Division with a win. New England, coming off a bye week break following their big loss to Toronto, was hoping to rebound with a home victory to keep pace with the division leaders. The Black Wolves got behind early and then fought back to take a third quarter lead, but Buffalo mounted a furious rally and got on the busses victorious in the end. Final Score: Buffalo-18, New England-13.
Off the opening faceoff, it was clear Buffalo came to play. Rookie Josh Byrne (3G, 2A), the first overall draft pick in the 2017 Entry Draft, ran in and scored just 13 seconds into the game. New England answered with a goal a minute later. Kevin Buchanan (1G, 3A) grabbed a loose ball from a scrum near the Buffalo bench and fired a pass to a streaking Reilly O’Connor (1G, 3A) who ran in and scored. Buffalo did not let the momentum change and came back with a three-goal run. Craig England (2G, 1A) scored first barreling towards the crease for an unassisted score. Callum Crawford (2G, 3A) netted his first of the night, quick sticking a pass from Jordan Durston (1G, 6A) on the power play. Byrne got the third as he dodged and jumped over the crease, stuffing the ball over Aaron Bold’s left shoulder. With 4:58 remaining in the opening quarter, Buffalo found themselves on top 4-1. Kevin Crowley (4G, 4A) halted the streak with his first goal of the night and 2:19 left on the clock. At the end of the first quarter, Buffalo led New England 4-2.
Crowley’s late goal in the first, did not translate into a hot second quarter start for New England. Buffalo, came out on fire, putting together another three-goal run. Dhane Smith (4G, 1A) started things off with his first of the night on a laser from outside. Byrne followed it up just over a minute later, pushing the ball over Bold’s shoulder again, and competing his hat trick just under five minutes into the second quarter. 24 seconds later, Crawford caught a pass cutting to the crease and buried it giving Buffalo a five-goal lead. At this point, Shawn Evans (5G, 2A) took matters into his own hands. 30 seconds after Crawford’s goal, Evans ripped a low shot from way outside. Buffalo goaltender Alex Buque didn’t even move as it hit the net low and away. New England found themselves two men down shortly after and desperately needed to make stops. Their prayers were answered, and just after the first penalty expired, Evans scored an unassisted shorthanded goal. Just over a minute and a half later, Crowley got his second of the game, cutting the lead back down to two. Liam Patten (1G, 1A) quickly got a goal back for Buffalo collecting a juicy rebound after a Bold save on a three on one break. With seven seconds left in the half, Crowley answered completing his first half hat trick. At halftime, Buffalo led New England 8-6
Photo Gallery-Credit Justin Ivey
A late penalty on the Buffalo coaches, allowed the Black Wolves to start the second half with a man advantage. It provided some momentum and Crowley scored his fourth of the game 1:17 in. 42 seconds later, Evans tied the game. Under a minute later, Stephan Leblanc (1G, 6A) gave New England their first lead of the game and the home crowd went wild. Kyle Buchanan (1G, 2A), the newly selected team captain, made it a four-goal run 18 seconds later. Just 3:10 into the third quarter, the Black Wolves turned a two-goal deficit into a two-goal lead. Smith quickly cut the lead back to one only 28 seconds after Buchanan’s goal, and then tied the game just over three minutes later. With the momentum back, Buffalo continued the roll. England regained the Buffalo lead just over half way through the third. Two goals from Vaugh Harris (2G), the second coming on a power play, made the run five goals and left Buffalo in control at the end of the third. At the end of three quarters, Buffalo led New England 13-10.
Evans blasted a shot from outside 45 seconds into the fourth quarter, trying to regain momentum. Just under three minutes later, Kevin Buchanan cut the lead to one with a short-handed goal, but Buffalo’s Mitch Jones (1G, 6A) capitalized on the man advantage on the next possession. After almost four tense scoreless minutes, Evans got his second of the quarter on the power play to again bring the Black Wolves within one. Thomas Hoggarth (1G), scored his first goal as a Bandit just 22 seconds later and New England was down two again. The next goal came after a special kind of confusion. The Black Wolves seemed to have scored as the house lights flashed and the players celebrated, but the officials did not agree. Buffalo quickly ran down and Durston scored much to the dismay of the entire arena. The challenge flag was thrown, but only the Buffalo goal was reviewed, and counted. With just under four minutes left, Buffalo now had a three-goal lead. New England could not recover. Smith scored on the powerplay with 1:50 remaining, and Kevin Brownell (1G, 2A) netted the empty netter just 27 seconds later, bringing us to our final score. With the win, Buffalo moved to first place in the East Division, while New England dropped to third. Final Score: Buffalo-18, New England-13.
Up Next:
The Buffalo Bandits (5-3) host the Georgia Swarm (3-3) on Saturday, February 10 at 7:30 PM EST.
The New England Black Wolves (4-3) host the Colorado Mammoth (4-2) on Sunday, February 18 at 2:00 PM EST.