NLL Week 14: Bandits Win Heavyweight Bout
The Buffalo Bandits won the most anticipated matchup of the season thus far, beating the Saskatchewan Rush 9-7 in front of more than 7,000 fans at the Sasktel Center.
While Buffalo and Saskatchewan have certainly separated themselves, the standings behind them remain as muddy as ever. Let’s get right into the weekend recap.
Rochester Knighthawks 14 – Albany Firewolves 7
Rochester continued their hot streak, winning their second in row and third in four tries. Ryan Smith and Connor Fields had 7 points each to lead the Knighthawks, while Ryan Lanchbury added 2 goals and 4 assists.
Dyson Williams had a hat-trick, all scored on the power play, and Alex Simmons had a goal and 3 helpers to lead the Firewolves.
Stat of the Game: Rylan Hartley’s 83.7% save percentage was his best game of the season, narrowly beating the 82.4% mark he posted the week before.
Attendance: 5,881
Georgia Swarm 15 – Ottawa Black Bears 9
Georgia went on the road to the Canadian Tire Center and handed the Black Bears their second straight loss and fourth in five games.
Lyle Thompson and Andrew Kew each had 3 goals and 3 assists, while Shayne Jackson had 2 goals and 4 assists for the Swarm.
Jeff Teat unsurprisingly led the Black Bears in scoring with 4 goals and 3 assists.
Stat of the Game: On the 8th goal from the Swarm, Miles Thompson scored, assisted by Lyle Thompson and Jeremy Thompson. That was the first time Jeremy has ever assisted on a Miles goal, compared to 38 times that Lyle has fed Miles. It was also the first time that the three brothers have connected on the same goal.
Attendance: 5,044
Colorado Mammoth 11 – Calgary Roughnecks 8
Colorado spoiled the debut of Nick Rose in a Roughnecks uniform, taking the game 11-8. Ryan Lee had 2 goals and 5 assists while Eli McLaughlin had 4 goals and an assists for the Mammoth. Connor Robinson was also sharp, adding 5 helpers.
Tanner Cook had 3 goals and 2 assists to lead Calgary, who has now lost twice in a row.
Stat of the Game: The game marked Nick Rose’s first appearance for Calgary since playing 6:50 in relief on Feb 24, 2012.
Attendance: 9,876
Halifax Thunderbirds 9 – Vegas Desert Dogs 5
Halifax won the defensive battle in this one, coming out with a 9-5 victory on the road. Clarke Petterson, Cole Kirst, and Randy Staats each had 3 points to lead the scoring for the Thunderbirds.
New addition Holden Cattoni had 2 goals and an assist to lead the Desert Dogs.
Stat of the Game: The total of 14 goals was the third lowest in the NLL this season.
Attendance: 5,949
Buffalo Bandits 9 – Saskatchewan Rush 7
Last but not least, the Bandits won the biggest game of the NLL calendar so far, as Josh Byrne (2 goals, 4 assists) and Dhane Smith (5 assists) led the way for the defending champions.
Zach Manns had 4 goals for the Rush, while no other Rush player had multiple goals. Robert Church did not play.
Stat of the Game: The 7,029 people in attendance marked a season high for the Rush.
Attendance: 7,029
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