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MacKay scores five in Bandits win

By: Joseph Keyser


Ian MacKay winding up for a shot during the fourth quarter on Jan. 10, 2025. Photo: Buffalo Bandits

BUFFALO, N.Y. - In a back-and-forth game where emotions and fists flew, the Buffalo Bandits were able to edge out a 15-13 win against the Toronto Rock to remain undefeated. Buffalo came back after being down 13-12 with 5:31 left in the final quarter to score three unanswered goals to seal the victory.


The comeback began thanks to Bandits forward Chase Fraser with almost a minute left in the contest. He leaped in front of the crease and buried the ball in the top right corner of the cage. Less than a minute later, transition player Nick Weiss snuck a shot through the five-hole to give Buffalo a one goal advantage. Forward Dhane Smith finally put the cherry on top with eight seconds left in the quarter with an empty net goal.

 

“It was like the ultimate trap game,” MacKay said. “You’ve got an 0-4 Toronto team that probably shouldn’t be 0-4, and obviously we started the season pretty well. So, we knew coming in that we couldn’t take them lightly. And we knew we were going to get their best effort.”


MacKay had a career high in points in a game with eight (five + three). It is the second time this season he has scored five goals in a game, with the last time being on Dec. 13 in a 18-7 win over the Ottawa Black Bears. MacKay also is still the leader on the Bandits in goals with 13 on the season.


Smith led Buffalo in points with 10 (two + eight) on the night. With his performance, he extended his goal streak to 40 games.


Smith (92) tries to avoid a stick check from transition player Tyler Hendrycks (11) on Jan. 10, 2025. Photo Credit: Buffalo Bandits

Matt Vinc got the start in between the pipes for the Bandits. He recorded 24 saves on 37 shots to give him a 64.9 save percentage.


With as close of a contest as the game was, Buffalo outshot the Rock 57-to-37. The numerous scoring chances came thanks to transition player Connor Farrell, who won 22 of the 31 face-offs he took in the game. Toronto's goalies didn't make anything easy, as the starter Nick Rose made 31 saves on 43 shots to give him a 72.1 save percentage. His backup, Troy Holowchuk, replaced Rose early in the fourth quarter and made 11 saves on 13 shots for a 84.6 save percentage.


It was no surprise how tense the game was due to the rivalry between Buffalo and the Rock. Toronto is the Bandits' second most faced opponent in team history, as both sides went at it in 68 games. After tonight, the Rock still have the advantage in the all-time record as they are 36-32 against Buffalo.

 

“We know, regardless of what records are, it’s always going to be a tough game with us and Toronto,” Bandits transition Nick Weiss said. “So, we knew it was going to be a battle tonight. Nothing was going to come easy.”

 

Toronto drew first blood to start the first quarter with two unanswered goals to go up 2-0. A little after five minutes into the frame, the Bandits responded with two of their own goals to tie things up. The second one came from forward Kyle Buchanan, who extended his scoring streak to 26 games.


Weiss loads up to fire his tie-breaking goal in the fourth quarter on Jan. 10, 2025. Photo Credit: Buffalo Bandits

It was back-and-forth action the rest of the way in the quarter, as both sides took advantage of miscommunication on defense. Forward Josh Dawick got the Rock the lead again with 6:30 left in the frame. Not even a minute later, Buffalo froward Tehoka Nanticoke spun his way to the front of the crease and buried a shot in the top right corner of the cage while falling to tie the game at three apiece. Toronto proceeded to score two unanswered goals.

 

With 29 seconds left in the first, a brawl broke out between both squads after Toronto defenseman Brad Kri rugby tackled Bandits forward Josh Byrne. Many other players got involved in the fight, including Weiss and Rock defenseman Billy Hostrawser, who exchanged blows and continued to jaw at each other in the sin bin.


Nanticoke (1) looks for an open lane to move through with the ball on Jan. 10, 2025. Photo Credit: Buffalo Bandits

The Bandits snuck in two more goals before the end of the frame to knot the game up at 5-5.

 

Buffalo opened up the second quarter of play with Smith's first goal of the game to give the team their first lead of the night. Again, the Rock got the lead back with back-to-back goals from forward Corey Small.

 

With a little under four minutes left to go in the half, Byrne tied the game back up. While on the run, he painted the bottom left corner of the net on a left-handed sidearm shot. However, the Rock snapped the tie again with two straight goals to go into halftime up 8-7.


Byrne celebrates his first goal of the game on Jan. 10, 2025. Photo Credit: Buffalo Bandits

Emotions were still high to open up the third quarter with another fight breaking out five minutes into the frame. Toronto defenseman Josh Jubenville cross-checked Buchanan in the face, which caused Byrne to grab ahold of him and pin him to the ground. Jubenville was given a five-minute penalty for high sticking, putting the Bandits on the power play.

 

Buffalo took advantage of the non-releasable penalty, as MacKay scored twice on the man advantage to put the Bandits up 9-8. Toronto quickly responded with two unanswered goals to take back the lead.

 

Just 34 seconds after the Rock's second goal of the half, a third fight broke out. Buffalo transition player Thomas Whitty fed Fraser a suicide pass in which Toronto defenseman Elijah Gash, son of former Buffalo Bills fullback Sam Gash, leveled him. Bandits defenseman Zack Belter did not take a liking to the hit, and him and Elijah Gash dropped their gloves. The fight quickly ended on a knockout overhand right from Gash. After receiving penalties for fighting and an unsportsmanlike conduct, Belter received a two-minute minor for instigating, giving the Rock a man advantage going into the fourth quarter.

 

Toronto made good use of their power play 42 seconds into the final frame. Forward Dan Craig did a right-handed toe drag to make his way towards the crease and found the top left corner of the cage to give the Rock a two goal lead.

 

20 seconds after Craig's goal, the momentum shifted towards Buffalo's side as they scored three consecutive goals in a span of a minute and six seconds. It was the most unanswered goals any team has scored in the game at that point.


Fraser (95) looks to create separation from Toronto forward Zach Kearney (5) and get open on Jan. 10, 2025. Photo Credit: Buffalo Bandits

The Rock regained some hope of recording their first win of the season with two straight goals. The last one came from former Bandit defenseman Mitch De Snoo on a shot through the five-hole with 3:51 left. From there, Buffalo racked up three straight goals to get the 15-13 win.


With the win, the Bandits improved to 4-0 and are still on top of the NLL standings while also being the last undefeated team remaining in the league. As for Toronto, they remain winless at 0-5 and sit in last in the NLL.


The Bandits will host the Philadelphia Wings next Saturday, Jan. 18. Face-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

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