A quick start led to the Rochester Knighthawks earning a 12-9 win over the Buffalo Bandits in a marquee matchup on Saturday night.
The Knighthawks held a 7-5 lead at the half and outscored the Bandits 5-4 in the second half. They completely shut down Buffalo in the third quarter and, more importantly, kept the Bandits from going on any significant run.
Both power plays were on point. Buffalo went three-for-three on the man advantage, while Rochester was two-for-two.
In goal, Matt Vinc and Rylan Hartley went toe-to-toe. Vinc stopped 37 of 49 shots, while Hartley saved 42 of 51 shots in the win.
First Quarter
Kyle Buchanan got the scoring started just one minute into the game on the power play to give Buffalo an early lead.
Connor Fields replied 3:30 later, also on the power play, to tie the game for Rochester.
Buffalo regained the lead at the 6:13 mark as Ian MacKay found Clay Scanlan, putting the Bandits ahead 2-1.
Rochester closed out the quarter with a three-goal run, starting with Zed Williams finding the back of the net at 8:20.
Williams scored again with 2:28 left on the clock and completed his natural hat trick with 57 seconds remaining, as the Knighthawks led 4-2 after the first quarter.
Second Quarter
Buffalo stayed within striking distance to start the second quarter. Dhane Smith scored at 2:25 to pull the Bandits back within one.
However, Rochester responded with another three-goal run. Kyle Waters beat Vinc off a feed from Ryan Lanchbury at 3:40.
Just under a minute later, Lanchbury scored off a pass from Fields to make it 6-3.
Ryan Smith capped the run at 5:05, giving the Knighthawks a four-goal lead.
The Bandits regained some momentum late in the half with a two-goal run. MacKay scored at 8:52, followed by a power-play goal from Buchanan, cutting the deficit to 7-5 at halftime.
Third Quarter
The third quarter turned into a defensive battle, with Rochester outscoring Buffalo 1-0.
The lone goal came from Thomas McConvey at 2:08, giving Rochester an 8-5 lead.
Fourth Quarter
In the fourth quarter, every time Buffalo threatened to swing the momentum, Rochester was quick to snatch it back.
Ryan Smith opened the scoring just 24 seconds into the frame to extend the Knighthawks’ lead to four.
Only 22 seconds later, Buchanan scored to start a two-goal run for Buffalo.
Tehoka Nanticoke added a marker at 1:23 to pull the Bandits within two at 9-7.
Rochester answered with a pair of goals from McConvey. He scored on the power play at 5:25 and added another at 6:44 to make it 11-7.
Buchanan scored again on the power play at 9:14, followed by a Josh Byrne goal with 1:21 left, once again making it a two-goal game.
Holding on to the lead built from their quick start in the first half, Fields put the game away with 1:07 remaining to seal the 12-9 win.
Top Scorers
Rochester Knighthawks
- Thomas McConvey, 3g 4a
- Connor Fields, 2g 3a
- Zed Williams, 3g 2a
- Ryan Smith, 2g 3a
Buffalo Bandits
- Dhane Smith, 1g 4a
- Kyle Buchanan, 4g
- Josh Byrne, 1g 3a
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