Justin Ivey, Co-Editor
Lacrosse is Awesome©
The Buffalo Bandits (9-6) travelled to play the Saskatchewan Rush (11-5) Saturday night at the Sasktel Centre, the second regular season matchup between the two. The Rush are fighting for first place headed into the NLL Playoffs, and the three-time reigning champion Bandits are fighting for a spot. Buffalo came in having won four straight contests, a streak that started with an overtime victory against the Rush on February 27. The Rush in that time frame have been just 1-3. Saskatchewan jumped out to a first half lead in front of their excellent goaltender Frank Scigliano (8GA, 35SV) and a balanced offensive attack. Playing from behind late for the second game in a row, the Bandits were led by Josh Byrne (2G, 5A) for another come-from-behind victory. In the final ten minutes of play, the Bandits erased a three-goal deficit, and in the final minute Joe Resetarits (1G, 1A) scored the game winner. Final Score: Buffalo Bandits – 8, Saskatchewan Rush – 7.
The Bandits struck first at the Sasktel Centre. Almost four minutes into the game, Buffalo captain Steve Priolo (1G) scooped up a rebound from an Ian MacKay (1G, 2A) attempt in transition. After looking up, he found himself alone in front of the net and buried a bounce shot. Saskatchewan answered on their next possession as Robert Church (2G) lasered a shot to the high glove side corner of Matt Vinc (7GA, 44SV) after some smooth offensive motion. A couple minutes of back-and-forth action followed before Saskatchewan grabbed the lead as Zach Manns (1G, 3A) was the open man in transition for the streaking Rush and scored off a Jake Boudreau (2A) assist. The first quarter would end with neither team able to score again. At the end of the first, Saskatchewan led Buffalo 2-1.
The Rush got things going in the second quarter. Josh Zawada (1G, 1A) snuck a ball past Vinc in another transition breakout 2:30 into the quarter. Just 24 seconds later, Clark Walter (1G) quick-sticked in a cross-turf pass from Austin Shanks (1G, 1A) to put Saskatchewan up three. The Bandits went over 16 minutes between goals before Chase Scanlan (1G, 1A) broke the drought. With 9:29 to go in the half, Byrne flipped the ball behind his back to Scanlan after a pick and roll, and he stepped to the net and jumped through the crease while pushing the ball five hole. Both teams fought to a stalemate for the next few minutes before Ryan Keenan (1G, 1A) scored for the Rush, pushing the ball to the stick side high corner at the end of another Saskatchewan transition breakout. Buffalo got one back before half as Byrne found his first goal with 2:13 left, stepping into a powerful overhand shot that Scigliano got most of but eventually dribbled into the net. At the half, Saskatchewan led Buffalo 5-3.
The third quarter was a defensive slugfest. Vinc and Scigliano, supported by hard-hitting defenses, controlled the game. It almost looked like the whole quarter would pass without a goal, but MacKay and the Bandits found an opening late. With 1:23 to play, MacKay faked his way all the way to the front of the net and scored on a bounce shot. At the end of the third quarter, Saskatchewan led Buffalo 5-4.
The Rush seemingly took control of the game with two straight power play goals to start the fourth quarter. Shanks put the Rush up two with the first on a quick-stick goal, and Church stretched the lead to three with the second. With 10 minutes remaining in the game, Saskatchewan led 7-4. Kyle Buchanon (1G) started the comeback as, with a delayed penalty on the Rush, Buffalo had an extra attacker on and Buchanon was left alone behind the net where Byrne found him with a crisp pass. In one motion, he caught it and dove around the net for the dunk. Under a minute later, Dhane Smith (1G, 1A) found space and scored on an overhand shot. The Rush stopped the momentum temporarily, but with just under three minutes to play Byrne tied the game with a laser sidearm shot from outside. With just under a minute to play, Smith cut down the same alley he used to score earlier, but this time flipped the ball to a cutting Resetarits, who caught it and twisted it into the net as he fell into the crease for the game winner. Final Score: Buffalo Bandits – 8, Saskatchewan Rush – 7.
Up Next:
The Buffalo Bandits (9-6) host the Vancouver Warriors on Saturday, April 4 at 7:00 PM EDT.
The Saskatchewan Rush (11-5) have a week off before hosting the Colorado Mammoth on Saturday, April 11 at 9:00 PM EDT.