Justin Ivey, Co-Editor
Lacrosse is Awesome©
The “I-90” rivalry has long been a two-team race. The upstate New York Interstate is a major thruway that has had two mainstay teams on it for years. Player three has entered the chat. The newest addition on the route Albany Firewolves (8-2) drove west to play the Buffalo Bandits (5-5) and if it wasn’t apparent enough in the first meeting of the season, an Albany win in Albany, this rivalry is becoming something special. Almost 18,000 fans walked into KeyBank Center on Saturday night to watch the hometown Bandits on Native American Heritage Night against the Firewolves. They stayed in a close game behind Josh Byrne (3G, 3A), but Tye Kurtz (6G, 1A) and the Firewolves continued to grind and left on the busses home victorious. Final Score: Albany – 13, Buffalo – 10
With stand-out goaltender Matt Vinc recently put on Injured Reserve, Devlin Shanahan (46SV) got the nod to start for Buffalo. His team supported him early, notching the first two goals of the contest. Kyle Buchanan (2G) struck first, catching an assist from Byrne right in the middle of the floor. His textbook bounce shot beat Albany goalie Doug Jamieson (46SV) 2:03 in. Chase Fraser (1G, 1A) made it 2-0 just over a minute and a half later with a rocket from the side. Finally, the Firewolves broke the goose egg on the scoreboard when Ethan Walker (1G, 3A) released a sidearm laser after running around a high screen. Off the ensuing faceoff, tensions boiled over and a scrum developed between multiple players in between the benches after a loose ball push was called on Buffalo. Buffalo was the clear instigator in the scrums, and Albany came out of the chaos with a five on three opportunity. Kurtz scored from in close to knot the score 2-2. Still on the man advantage, Kurtz made it two in a row, this time scoring with a nifty no look behind the back shovel shot into the net from the middle of the zone. The lead did not last long, as 49 seconds later Byrne notched his first goal of the game. With 5:43 left on the clock, Ian MacKay (1G) put the Bandits ahead. Not to be outdone, a late powerplay opportunity gave Sam Firth (1G) the opening to score the equalizer for Albany with 41 seconds on the clock. At the end of the first quarter, Albany and Buffalo were tied 4-4.
Albany flipped the script in the second quarter, scoring the first two goals. Both were netted by Travis Longboat (2G, 2A). The first came just 1:04 in. In an unsettled offense situation, Longboat caught the ball coming out of the bench and the ball trickled into the net after hitting Shanahan’s foot. 4:47 in, and on another power play, Longboat took a behind the back pass from Marshall Powless (2A) from behind the net. The trickery caused Shanahan to leave the net wide open in front of Longboat for the easy goal. Byrne stopped the onslaught, albeit temporarily. On Buffalo’s third offensive opportunity in a long possession, Byrne took it all the way to the cage himself from near the benches. With 8:17 remaining, rookie sensation Alex Simmons (1G, 5A) brought the lead back to two, but a goal from Chris Cloutier (2G, 3A) just over 30 seconds later kept the Bandits close. Buchanan notched the next score, with only 43 seconds left in the half to tie the game 7-7. With time dwindling, Kurtz wasted none of it to put the Firewolves ahead again with 23 seconds left. At the half, Albany led Buffalo 8-7.
The halftime locker room talks must have been about stout on ball defense. The third quarter was the equivalent to a European football game; one score and one penalty. The penalty on Buffalo’s captain Steve Priolo (1A) was called with 6:18 left on the clock, but the Firewolves could not capitalize on the advantage. Kurtz scored the lone goal on a dunk from behind the net with 2:39 remaining. At the end of the third quarter, Albany led Buffalo 9-7.
The defensive battle continued into the fourth quarter. Again, it was Kurtz to break through. Colton Watkinson (2A) took the ball on the clear and found Kurtz across the turf to the side of the net. After stepping up two hops, he unloaded for his third straight goal. With a healthy 10-7 lead, the Firewolves were happy to take their time in the offensive zone. It was nearly five minutes before the next score, a quick stick goal from Nathan Grenon (1G, 1A) with 8:46 remaining. Byrne made it interesting for a minute, scoring his hat trick goal with 6:29 left, but just over a minute later Kurtz completed his sock trick to bring the lead back to four with 5:09 remaining. Never a team to give up, Cloutier found the net with 2:35 left, and Tehoka Nanticoke (1G) scored with 2:02 remaining to give the building some life, but the magic ended there. Jamieson gathered a save with just under 10 seconds remaining and threw it the length of the field for the final score of the night. Final Score: Albany – 13, Buffalo – 10.
Up Next:
The Buffalo Bandits (5-5) travel to play the Vancouver Warriors (2-8) on Friday, March 1 at 10:00 PM EST.
The Albany Firewolves (8-2) host the New York Riptide (5-6) on Saturday, March 2 at 7:00 PM EST.