Christopher Crane, NLL Correspondent
Lacrosse is Awesome©
Featured Image Photo Credit: M. Hetzel
The National Lacrosse League action started a day early for the Buffalo Bandits (4-0) with their game that was originally scheduled for Saturday being moved to Friday night due to the Buffalo Bills NFL playoff game. They would play host to the Georgia Swarm (1-3) at the Key Bank Center in front of a crowd of 7,744. Though the game would be close throughout the Bandits would be able to hold off the Swarm and take a 12-10 victory.
First period would see Buffalo out scoring Georgia 4-2. Netting scores for the Bandits were Chris Cloutier (2g, 2a) notching his first of two tallies just one minute into the quarter. His first would come off a delayed penalty with a beautiful feed from Josh Byrne and Kyle Buchanan. Brad McCulley would net his only goal at the 3:11 mark with teammate Matt Spanger getting on the board with his only score on the night in the first quarter. Buffalo’s Dhane Smith (2g, 3a) would close out the Bandits scoring. Georgia’s only two scores in the frame would come from Lyle Thompson (2g, 2a) which would be his only tallies on the night including his 200th regular season goal, making him the 2nd player in Swarm history to do so. Score at the end of one: Buffalo 4—Georgia 2.
Second period action would have the Swarm trying to break into the Bandits lead early as Brendan Bomberry (2g, 2a) would tally his first of two on the night at the 3:20 mark to make it 4-3. Buffalo would in return net a short-handed score from Josh Byrne ( 2g, 5a) at the 5:29 mark increasing the gap back by two 5-3. The Swarm notched the next two in the frame off the hands of Jordan Hall (1g, 3a) and Shayne Jackson (1g, 2a) to tie it up 5-5 at 8:35 in the period. However, it would be the Bandits once again closing out the scoring in the period with Byrne netting his second short-handed goal at 12:35 and teammate Kyle Buchanan (1g, 2a) putting up one more to give Buffalo a 7-5 heading into the half.
Third period action would be very limited as both sides would only be able to tally one goal apiece. Buffalo’s only score would come from Smith on a power play goal at the 8:11 mark to make it 8-5. The Swarm’s only tally would come from Thomas Semple at the 12:58 mark to make it 8-6 at the end of the third.
In the fourth, the action would pick up as both teams would tally four apiece. Tallying scores for the Swarm were Bomberry; Tanner Buck (1g, 1a); and Jordan MacIntosh (2g, 1a) netting two. Scoring for the Bandits were Chase Fraser (1g, 1a), Cloutier, Ian MacKay (1g) and Tehoka Nanticoke (1g, 3a) with his only score of the night on a power play goal. Unfortunately for the Swarm they weren’t able to overcome that two goal deficit from the first period and the Bandits would hold on to take the victory. Final Score: Buffalo 12—Georgia 10.
STATS:
Buffalo Bandits—SOG 53; Saves 37; LB 77; FO 8-26; PP 2-4
Georgia Swarm—SOG 47; Saves 41; LB 64; FO 18-26; PP 0-3
NEXT UP:
The Buffalo Bandits were to play Halifax Thunderbirds (2-0) on January 22nd however COVID restrictions in Nova Scotia have postponed that matchup which would have been a battle for the top spot in the East Division.
So, the Bandits (4-0) won’t be back in action until Saturday January 29th when they head to Nassau Live Center to face the New York Riptide (0-2). Game time 7:30 p.m. EST. For fans in the USA the game can be seen on ESPN+. Fans in Canada can watch the game on TSN.ca or the TSN app.
The Georgia Swarm (1-3) will face off next on Friday January 21st when they head north to face the Rochester Knighthawks (2-1) at Blue Cross Arena. This is the Game of the Week on ESPN and the game can be seen in the USA on ESPNU. Fans in Canada can catch the action on TSN.ca and the TSN app.
Christopher Crane, NLL Correspondent
Lacrosse is Awesome©