(Photo courtesy of David Pickering – Pick’s Pics/NLL)
The Oshawa FireWolves (6-12) hosted the Buffalo Bandits (11-7) in their Tucker Out Lymphoma Night this at the Tribute Communities Centre.
Buffalo’s season has completely turned around. They have gone from a 6-6 record to an 11-6 record and are currently on a seven game win streak. If the Bandits win, they’ll secure third place at a minimum but other results around the league could have them finishing in the top spot. Goaltender Matt Vinc has climbed to sixth in the NLL in goals-against average (9.72) among qualified goaltenders.
The FireWolves have won three of their last five games, Alex Simmons reached a career high in points last week, surpassing 100 in a season for the first time. Simmons and Tye Kurtz have been a formidable duo for Oshawa as Kurtz also has 78 points with a career high 37 goals.
The goaltending match-up had Matt Vinc in net for the Bandits facing Doug Jamieson in net for Oshawa.
The Oshawa FireWolves stormed out to a dominant start and never looked back, defeating the Buffalo Bandits 12–8 behind a massive second-quarter outburst. After opening the scoring late in the first, Oshawa exploded for six unanswered goals in just over seven minutes of the second quarter, fueled by standout performances from Alex Simmons and Dawson Theede, who were involved in multiple goals during the run. Tye Kurtz also played a key role, contributing both as a scorer and playmaker as the FireWolves built a commanding 7–0 lead before Buffalo could respond.
The Bandits showed resilience late in the second quarter, rattling off four straight goals to cut the deficit to 7–4 heading into halftime, with Josh Byrne and Dhane Smith leading the charge. However, Oshawa quickly regained control in the third, extending the lead to 10–5 with contributions from Ethan Walker, Taggert Clark, and another from Theede. While Buffalo pushed back again in the fourth, Oshawa capitalized on key power play opportunities and maintained their cushion. A physical final frame saw multiple penalties and misconducts on both sides, but the FireWolves’ early dominance proved decisive in securing the victory.
To The Game:
The FireWolves opened the scoring on the power-play when Dawson Theede hit a high to low shot off a Tye Kurtz pass at 8:02.
Both teams had many opportunities as the quarter drew on, but both goalies stood tall.
After one quarter, Oshawa 1 Buffalo 0.
Second Quarter:
Oshawa increased their lead with a great individual effort from Ryan Benesch scoring with a bounced shot at 2:02, followed by Patrick Kaschalk going coast to coast 0:29 seconds later.
The FireWolves kept pouring it on with a blast from Alex Simmons off a Tye Kurtz pass at 3:51, followed by Dawson Theede with his second of the game off an Ethan Walker pass at 7:27.
Tye Kurtz then joined the party with a pair. The first came off a Dawson Theede feed from in close at 8:29, followed by a power-play marker off an Alex Simmons pass at 9:30.
Buffalo finally got on the board on the power-play when Joe Resetarits blasted a shot past Doug Jamieson at 10:17, followed by a pair from Josh Byrne.
The first was a great individual effort scoring from the top of the crease at 12:10, followed by converting a Dhane Smith pass at 13:11. Buffalo added a late power-play goal from Smith himself scoring at 14:29 to tighten the game.
At the half, Oshawa 7 Buffalo 4.
Third Quarter:
The FireWolves got back on track shorthanded to start the third quarter with a dribbler off an Ethan Walker shot at 4:08, followed by Taggert Clark from the top of the crease at 4:53.
Buffalo got one back when Kyle Buchanan scored from the side of the net on the power-play at 7:30, but Oshawa responded with Dawson Theede scoring his third of the night from the top of the crease at 13:34.
After three quarters, Oshawa 10 Buffalo 5.
Fourth Quarter:
The Bandits opened the fourth quarter with Joe Resetarits firing a high to low shot to the corner off a Kyle Buchanan pass at 0:13 seconds, followed by a shorthanded marker from Dhane Smith going coast to coast off a Nick Weiss pass at 7:00.
The FireWolves stormed back with Dyson Williams finishing a pass from Tye Kurtz from the side of the net with a quick stick 0:15 seconds later, followed by Will Johansen with a great individual effort going coast to coast unassisted, beating Matt Vinc over his shoulder at 9:56.
The Bandits kept working with Joe Resetarits beating Jamieson from in close off a Dhane Smith feed at 11:09, but Doug Jamieson shut the door after that.
Final score, Oshawa 12 Oshawa 8.
The Three Stars:
1. Doug Jamieson
2. Dawson Theede
3. Joe Resetarits
Game Stats:
- Shots on goal favored Buffalo 52-48.
- The faceoff battle went to the Bandits 18-7.
- The loose ball battle was won by the Bandits 78-66.
- Buffalo went 3 for 6 on the power-play, also scoring a shorthanded goal.
- Oshawa went 4 for 6 on the power-play, also scoring a shorthanded goal.
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