Shawn Palmer, Toronto Rock Correspondent
Lacrosse is Awesome©
Featured Image Photo Credit: Christian Bender
The Buffalo Bandits (1-1) visited the Toronto Rock (1-2) at First Ontario Centre on Saturday night December 17, 2022 in a game where both teams were coming in after suffering their first losses of the season. On a night where the Rock were inviting the 7,730 fans to bring Teddy Bears to toss on the floor after they scored their first goal in the second quarter the Bandits ruined the party with a hard fought 11 – 8 victory.
Buffalo came out strong in the first quarter as Dhane Smith (1G, 5A) cut around his defender and beat Nick Rose (40 saves) with a bounce shot to the short side to open the scoring. They followed it up just over a minute later when Tahoka Nanticoke (3G, 1A) bull charged his way through his defender and deposited the ball over the shoulder increasing the Bandit lead 2 – 0. Buffalo continued their scoring ways as Josh Byrne (2G, 2A) received a pass from Smith making it 3 – 0. Toronto would halt the Buffalo streak when Corey Small (3G, 3A) got the pass from Tom Schreiber (3G, 2A) and his outside shot beat Matt Vinc (52 saves) through the legs cutting the lead 3 – 1. Five minutes later while on the power-play Schreiber fired a high to low shot from the top through the legs and it was 3 – 2 for the Bandits. The Rock were on another power play and Dan Craig (2G, 2A) got the dish from Small at the side of the net and beat Vinc to the top corner for a power-play marker with less than two seconds left in the quarter to tie it up. Score at the end of one: Rock 3—Bandits 3.
The Bandits started the scoring in the second and would go on a three-goal run just over two minutes in when Kyle Buchanan (1G, 3A) passed to Byrne and he went far side restoring the Bandits lead 4 – 3. Thirty seconds later Dalton Sulver (1G) fired a hard over hand shot beating Rose to the far side to make it 5 – 3. Nanticoke continued the run as he dove across the crease and beat Rose with another far side shot to increase the lead to 6 – 3. The Rock would finally stop the run when Schreiber beat Vinc to the short side while short-handed cutting the lead to two making it 6 – 4 Buffalo. This goal started the Teddy Bear toss as fans threw stuffed Teddy Bears onto the floor that were being donated to needy children. That was the only bright spot in the second quarter for Toronto as a minute later while on a two man advantage the Bandits moved the ball around and Chris Cloutier (2G, 2A) put in the quick stick to the open side and it was 7 – 4. Buffalo finished the scoring in the first half when Buchanan came down the floor, fired a shot that Rose saved but Nanticoke picked up the rebound and bounced a shot through the legs and just over the line to give Buffalo a four-goal lead after one half. Oddly enough the shots on goal after two quarters favored Toronto 31—Buffalo 29. Score at the end of two: Bandits 8—Rock 4.
The third quarter was a back-and-forth affair with both defenses standing strong and not allowing the offenses to get on track. Halfway through the quarter Brandon Robinson (1G) fired a bounce shot from the outside that beat Rose to the short side giving Buffalo a five-goal lead 9 – 4 and the only tally in the frame. The Bandits were standing in the shooting lanes a lot in this quarter blocking many of the Rock shots and the ones that did make it through Vinc was able to make the saves. The shots at the end of the third quarter were Toronto 40—Buffalo 37. Score at the end of three: Bandits 9—Rock 4.
The Rock would finally score their first goal in 26 minutes to start off the fourth when Small took an outside bounce shot that beat Vinc to the top corner making it 9 – 5 for Buffalo. Three minutes later Craig went around his defender, cut down the middle and went glove side cutting the Bandits lead to 9 – 6. Buffalo got that one back when Smith backed his defender to the crease and passed to Buchanan who put it over Rose’s shoulder to extend the lead to 10 – 6. Toronto would go on the power play and with less than five minutes in the game, Schreiber with a side arm shot beat Vinc low to the stick side for his second power-play tally of the game making it 10 – 7. While on transition Nanticoke passed the ball to Cloutier who jumped at the crease and beat Rose over the shoulder putting Buffalo back up by four and it was now 11 – 7. With Rose on the bench for the extra attacker, Small got the pass on the crease and his quick stick went short side for the final goal of the game. The final shots on goal were Toronto 60—Buffalo 51. Final Score: Bandits 11—Rock 8.
The Three stars of the game were:
Matt Vinc—Buffalo: 52 saves
Corey Small—Toronto: 3G, 3A
Dhane Smith—Buffalo: 1G, 5A
STATS:
Toronto Rock: SOG 60; Saves 40; GA 11; SV% .784; FO 19-23; PP 3-5
Buffalo Bandits: SOG 51; Saves 52; GA 8; SV% .866; FO 4-23; PP 1-1
NEXT UP:
The Toronto Rock (1-2) will head to Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum on Saturday January 7, 2023 to face the New York Riptide (0-2), game time 7:30 p.m. EST. Fans in the USA can catch the game on ESPN+. Fans in Canada can see the action on TSN.ca or the TSN app.
The Buffalo Bandits (1-1) will play host to the Halifax Thunderbirds (2-0) at KeyBank Center on Friday December 30, 2022, game time 7:30 p.m. EST. EST. Fans in the USA can catch the game on ESPN+. Fans in Canada can see the action on TSN.ca or the TSN app.
Shawn Palmer, Toronto Rock Correspondent
Lacrosse is Awesome©