The Vancouver Warriors hosted the Buffalo Bandits Friday night in the first of two meetings this season. The Warriors looked to rebound from last week’s OT loss to Saskatchewan, and get payback for a playoff semifinal loss to Buffalo last season. Buffalo ended a four-game losing streak last week, but are heading into the toughest part of the schedule. Eleven different players recorded a point as the Warriors used a pair of big runs in the first and third quarters to emerge with an 11-9 win over the Bandits.
Six-goal burst from Buffalo leaves Warriors trailing at halftime
Ryan Benesch opened the scoring for Buffalo (2:41), but Jesse King responded ten seconds later to start a five-goal run for Vancouver into the second quarter. Owen Grant scored in transition (6:38), Curtis Dickson followed (7:00), and King’s second goal (9:03) gave the Warriors a 4-1 lead after 15 minutes. Adam Charalambides (3:24 second quarter) extended the Warriors lead to 5-1 before the Bandits put together a six-goal run in a span of four and a half minutes. Nick Weiss (6:10) scored in transition, then Josh Byrne went back-to-back (7:08; 7:41) to make it 5-4. Kyle Buchanan (8:38) tied the game, a one-handed goal from Tehoka Nanticoke (9:10) put the Bandits in front, and Dhane Smith (10:24) gave Buffalo a 7-5 lead. A power play goal from Dickson (14:40) broke the run, but the Warriors trailed at halftime 7-6.
Warriors shut Buffalo out in third quarter, hold on for the win
The third quarter was all Warriors, as they outscored Buffalo 4-0 to retake the lead. Back-to-back goals from Keegan Bal (2:49; 6:48) put Vancouver on top 8-7. Dickson (11:47) ripped a low-to-high shot past Bandits goaltender Matt Vinc for his hat trick and a 9-7 lead. Then King scored his hat trick, going five-hole on Vinc with two seconds left to extend Vancouver’s lead to 10-7 entering the fourth quarter.
The third quarter run made just enough of a difference, as the Warriors rank dead last in the NLL in fourth quarter scoring. Two fourth quarter markers form Buchanan (6:23 power play; 10:31) cut Buffalo’s deficit to 10-9. However, Dickson netted his fourth of the night with 13 seconds left in the game, and the Warriors held on for the victory, improving to 7-3 on the season.
The Bandits drop to 4-6 with the loss, and realistically appear to be in danger of missing the playoffs based on the difficulty of their remaining schedule. Both teams have doubleheaders in Week 14. Buffalo hosts league-leading Saskatchewan in the first of a two-game series, then travels to Toronto for their lone meeting with the Rock this season. Vancouver makes a Southwest road trip, playing at Las Vegas and at San Diego.
Other Stats Of Note
Bandits: Buchanan (3g); Byrne (2g, 3a); Smith (1g, 3a); Benesch (1g); Nanticoke (1g); Weiss (1g); Ian MacKay (4a); Mitch de Snoo (2a); Taylor Dooley (1a); Cam Wyers (1a)
Warriors: Dickson (4g, 2a); King (3g, 2a); Bal (2g, 4a); Charalambides (1g, 2a); Grant (1g, 1a); Steph Charbonneau (2a); Reid Bowering (2a); Jeff Cornwall (1a); Ryan Dilks (1a); Shane Simpson (1a); Ryan Sheridan (1a)
Power Play: BUF 1 for 2; VAN 1 for 4
Connor Farrell (BUF) outdueled Max Adler (VAN) at the faceoff dot, winning 15 of 24 draws
Christian Del Bianco made 38 saves in the win, while Vinc turned aside 28 of 39 Vancouver shots in the loss
