Justin Ivey, Co-Editor
Lacrosse is Awesome©
The Albany Firewolves (6-9) hosted the Buffalo Bandits (11-3) on Saturday night at MVP Arena. Bandit land travelled in droves down I-90 following the team after their 13-10 win over the visiting Las Vegas Desert Dogs on Friday night. Despite the reported 1,000+ Bandit fans waving “Bandit Land East” banners, Albany goalie Doug Jamieson (10GA, 57SV) was locked in. The spectacular night in goal gave the offense the opportunities it needed to find ways past Buffalo’s counterpart Matt Vinc (11GA, 44SV). In a low scoring game, both teams had their time to control the flow and speed for portions of the contest. With neither team able to get more than a three-goal lead in regulation, Albany and Buffalo needed overtime to determine a winner. Rookie sensation Dyson Williams (3G, 1A) scored his second game winning goal in as many weeks, sending the local 518 supporters into a frenzy with a behind-the-back score 8:07 into extra time. Final Score: Albany-11, Buffalo-10
Chase Fraser (2G, 2A) scored the opening goal of the game just 47 seconds in. As the Buffalo offense entered on the change, he ignored the setup and just fired on the unsuspecting Jamieson. Ty Kurtz (2G, 4A) answered to tie the game just 10 seconds later though with a grounder in transition. Kurtz made it two in a row just over a minute later, gathering a Johnathan Peshko (2G, 1A) rebound in close before quickly putting it in the net. The Firewolves could not maintain the lead in the first quarter. Ian MacKay (2G) tied the game just over two minutes later and Dhane Smith (2G, 4A) gave Buffalo the lead with 6:38 left. At the end of the first quarter, Buffalo led Albany 3-2.
Shut out in the first quarter, Peshko started the scoring in the second. 2:27 in, he snuck to the front of the crease and finished the pass from Alex Simmons (2G, 2A). Smith gave Buffalo back the lead on their only powerplay goal of the game with 11:00 on the clock. 33 seconds later, Simmons tied the game once again. Just like in the first quarter, Buffalo was able to end the quarter with a two-goal run. Nick Weiss (1G, 1A) and Chris Cloutier (1G, 1A) both scored before the half and Albany fell behind two again. At the half, Buffalo led Albany 6-4.
Albany came out of the half with a renewed sense of determination. The defenses turned everything away until Peshko danced along the crease, scoring on the assist from Simmons 4:15 in. Just over a minute later, on a set play out of the under 10 TV timeout, Simmons flashed his range with a laser from outside, tying the game 6-6. Ethan Walker (2G, 2A) gave the home team the lead with an unassisted goal and 6:30 on the clock. Buffalo was unable to score in the third and saw their two-goal lead flipped to a one goal deficit in the 15 minutes of play. With just under 30 seconds left in the quarter, Simmons fell to the turf and was helped off by captain Colton Watkinson. He would not return to the game. At the end of the third quarter, Albany led Buffalo 7-6.
Albany would need to lean on others to replace the scoring output from Simmons, and Williams didn’t need long to show he was up to the task. On a power play opportunity, he launched a laser from the top middle 1:09 in. Kyle Buchanan (1G) answered, falling into the crease and twisting the ball around Jamieson just over two minutes later. Walker scored his second of the game 32 seconds later and after winning the ensuing faceoff, Albany got another goal from a hard Williams dodge. Albany now led Buffalo 10-7 with 10:51 left. In a tense second half of the fourth quarter, Buffalo dug deep and fought back. MacKay scored with 8:42 left, Fraser made it a one goal game with 6:45 remaining, and Josh Byrne (1G, 6A) tied the game with 1:44 remaining. At the end of the fourth quarter, Albany and Buffalo were tied 10-10.
Overtime started and it became clear quickly that neither team was going to roll over. Both offenses took their time to catch their breath but couldn’t break through the defense for good opportunities. Shots from outside went high, and when a ball did get to the crease, Jamieson and Vinc were stellar. Rookie Williams, late in a shot clock with just under seven minutes remaining, fired a behind the back ball on the net that squeaked past a shifting Vinc for the game winning score. Final Score: Albany-11, Buffalo-10
Up Next:
The Buffalo Bandits (11-3) host the Vancouver Warriors (7-7) on Saturday, March 29 at 7:30 PM EDT.
The Albany Firewolves (6-9) enjoy a bye week before travelling to play the Vancouver Warriors on Friday, April 4 at 10:00 PM EDT.