Justin Ivey, Co-Editor
Lacrosse is Awesome©
The Saskatchewan Rush hosted the Buffalo Bandits for Game 2 of the NLL Finals after dropping Game 1 10-12 in Buffalo, NY. The Bandits are seeking their third straight championship, and their chances for winning a close road game were there, but Austin Shanks (3G, 5A) continued his strong postseason play, leading the Rush to victory. Holden Garlent (1A) entered hero lore in the waning moments, selling out his body for a blocked shot to keep the one-goal difference as time expired. The Bandits were led by a balanced attack with no players scoring more than two goals, but newly crowned NLL postseason points leader Dhane Smith (2G, 3A) led the team in points. Final Score: Buffalo-10, Saskatchewan-11.
Saskatchewan, much to the delight of the 8,216 fans in attendance, started the game on a roll. Jake Boudreau (2G) scored the game’s opening goal unassisted 1:07 into play. Shanks doubled that lead with his first score of the game, and Ryan Keenan (2G, 1A) scored with 5:52 left for three straight Rush goals. The Bandis finally got on the board when Smith scored his first goal of the night with 3:40 remaining. At the end of the first quarter, Saskatchewan led Buffalo 3-1.
The Bandits wasted almost no time getting even to start the second quarter. Before five minutes had passed, Ian MacKay (2G, 1A) and Smith beat Rush netminder Frank Scigliano (10GA, 40SV) and the game was tied 3-3. After coming up empty on their first power play opportunity, Saskatchewan capitalized on their second attempt to retake the lead. Keenan scored the extra man marker with 8:53 remaining. Zach Manns (2G,4A) followed it up with his first goal of the game, and with 7:11 remaining, the Rush led by two again. Buffalo responded with a three-goal run to take their first lead of the night. Two goals from Clay Scanlan (2G, 1A) sandwiched MacKay’s second goal of the quarter. In the closing moments of the first half, Boudreau scored his second goal of the game, tying the game going into the second half. At the half, Saskatchewan and Buffalo were tied 6-6.
Chase Fraser (2G, 1A) started the scoring in the second half with a filthy one-hand, behind-the-back shovel score 4:11 in. Neither team could find an opening to put together a multi-goal run, and instead, they traded goals throughout. Brock Haley (1G, 1A) scored next, over five minutes later, tying the game 7-7. Josh Byrne (1G, 3A) put Buffalo ahead again, but Clark Walter (1G) answered for the Rush. Finally, with 32 seconds remaining, Fraser scored again. Despite the back and forth, Buffalo’s goaltender Matt Vinc (11GA, 41SV) made big saves in the second and third quarters while the Bandits’ offense outscored the Rush 8-5. At the end of the third quarter, Buffalo led Saskatchewan 9-8.
Tense defensive minutes started the fourth quarter, and the breakthrough came out on the lone powerplay for Saskatchewan in the fourth. With 8:54 left, Manns tied the game with a man up score. Buffalo struggled to find good shots, and Shanks scored two in a row. With 3:08 remaining, Saskatchewan now led 11-9. With 1:05 on the clock, Kyle Buchanan (1G, 2A) brought Buffalo to within one goal, but a huge defensive stand in the final minute dismissed the crowd with a home Saskatchewan win. Final Score: Buffalo-10, Saskatchewan-11.
Up Next:
The Buffalo Bandits will host the Saskatchewan Rush in a winner-takes-all Game 3 on Saturday, May 24 at 4:30 PM ET.