The Buffalo Bandits were able to easily handle the Las Vegas Desert Dogs, winning 13-10 on Friday night to clinch a playoff spot.
With an Ottawa loss on Friday night as well, we now know that, along with Buffalo, Saskatchewan will also be joining them in the postseason.
In reality, the scoreboard really flattered Las Vegas. Buffalo jumped out to a quick 8-0 lead in the first quarter and led 11-2 at halftime.
What made the score close was a late five-goal run in the fourth quarter, when the Desert Dogs were already down by eight.
Connor Farrell dominated at the faceoff dot, winning 19 of 27 draws as part of the Bandits’ victory.
Bandits Jump Out to Huge Lead
Buffalo opened the game with an eight-goal run and really put away any doubt in this game. Lukas Nielsen scored his first NLL goal to open the game 1:07 into the first.
Also scoring for the Bandits during the massive run were Chris Cloutier with a pair, Dhane Smith with a pair, and single markers from Josh Byrne, Justin Martin, and Kyle Buchanan.
Las Vegas finally got on the board with 1:45 left in the first, as Casey Jackson found the back of the net to make it 8-1.
Buffalo Continues to Dominate
Holden Cattoni scored on the power play for the Desert Dogs at 6:46, but Las Vegas’ offense would go quiet once again.
Byrne scored at 10:06 to start a three-goal run for Buffalo. Cloutier scored his hat trick goal with 3:52 remaining, and Buchanan added a marker 40 seconds later as the Bandits led 11-2 at the half.
Desert Dogs Punch Back in the Second Half
Las Vegas started to make a comeback in the second half. However, it was Ian MacKay who opened the scoring in the third at 2:45 on the power play to put Buffalo up 12-2.
Vegas ended the quarter on a two-goal run. Kyle Killen scored at 6:44, followed by Jonathan Donville on the power play with 3:23 remaining to make the score 12-4 heading into the fourth.
Las Vegas Comeback Falls Short
The Desert Dogs opened the fourth-quarter scoring at 1:42, with Donville burying a feed from Brandon Goodwin. However, MacKay replied on the power play at 2:06 to make it 13-5 for the Bandits.
Then Las Vegas went on their big five-goal run to at least make the score look respectable.
Jackson scored at the 3:26 mark, followed by Killen at 4:22. Luke Pilcher scored his first NLL goal at 8:29 to make it a five-goal game. Jackson Webster, who has shown a lot of promise for Vegas, scored with 2:25 remaining, and Donville rounded out the scoring with eight seconds left. However, Buffalo came away with the 13-10 victory to clinch a playoff spot.
Top Scorers
Buffalo Bandits
Josh Byrne, 2g 6a
Dhane Smith, 2g 5a
Chris Cloutier, 3g 2a
Las Vegas Desert Dogs
Jonathan Donville, 3g 3a
Casey Jackson, 2g 4a
Kyle Killen, 2g 3a
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