Buffalo, NY (WGR Sports Radio 550/WBEN) - Despite finding themselves playing catch up in a back-and-forth affair on Friday in the opening game of the NLL Finals, the Buffalo Bandits managed to clamp down on a lead in the fourth quarter to defeat the Saskatchewan Rush, 12-10, at KeyBank Center.
The game did not get off to the start Buffalo was looking for, as Saskatchewan got a goal from forward Brock Haley just 22 seconds into the opening quarter for a 1-0 lead. Less than two minutes later, the Rush were up 2-0 when forward Levi Anderson fired home a shot to silence "Banditland" early.
Buffalo finally found its legs just past the five-minute mark of the first quarter with a pair of quick goals from forwards Josh Byrne and Kyle Buchanan to tie the game. Byrne's goal from distance was followed by Buchanan's goal in front of the Rush net by just 38 seconds.
Saskatchewan was able to re-gain its two-goal lead by the early moments of the second quarter. Forward Austin Shanks was able to give the Rush a 3-2 lead with just under four minutes left in the first quarter, while Haley netted his second of the game just 41 seconds into the second frame.
With just under nine minutes left in the second quarter, Saskatchewan thought they had take a three-goal lead with another goal from Anderson. However, the forward ended up landing in the crease as the ball pinballed around before crossing the goal line.
Buffalo took advantage of the called back goal with a run of their own to take its first lead of the night.
Bandits transition player Ian MacKay got the run started with a pair of goals over a 90-second span to tie the game at 4-4, with his first goal coming just 20 seconds after the disallowed Rush tally. The second of his goals was an acrobatic rush to the net, taking flight in order to beat NLL Goalie of the Year, Frank Scigliano.
On MacKay's first goal, Bandits forward Dhane Smith made some history by picking up the primary assist. That marked his 201st career playoff point, moving into No. 1 all-time in NLL playoff scoring past Bandits head coach and lacrosse legend John Tavares.
Less than a minute after MacKay tied the game, forward Chase Fraser found twine to give Buffalo its 5-4 lead with 6:25 remaining in the half.
The lead lasted about four minutes, as Saskatchewan found the net again not once, but twice to take a 6-5 lead with time dwindling down in the second quarter.
However, with 35 seconds left to spare in the first half, MacKay broke in off the bench on Scigliano and beat the Rush netminder through the five-hole to even the score again, 6-6 heading into halftime.
Saskatchewan wasted no time to the start of the third quarter, as forward Zach Manns scored two goals in 55 seconds to give the Rush the early momentum.
Buffalo continued to keep it close, though, as MacKay responded with a power play goal for his fourth goal of the contest to cut the deficit to one.
After the Rush scored once more to go back up by a pair, Smith took full flight for the Bandits, and started to swing the tide in favor of the home team. He's factor into four of the last five goals for Buffalo to help get the job done in Game 1 of the NLL Finals.
With Buffalo trailing 10-8 with 6:43 to go in the third quarter, Smith responded 31 seconds later with his second goal of the quarter to bring the score back to within one.
90 seconds after Smith's second goal of the quarter, Buchanan was in the right spot at the right time to clean up a Byrne rebound and tie the game at 10-10 with 4:52 left in the third frame.
Nearly a minute-and-a-half after that, Smith gave the Bandits control again with his hat-trick goal, using a bit of a screen on Scigliano to put Buffalo up 11-10 heading into the fourth quarter.
While the third quarter was a scoring fest with nine combined goals by the Bandits and Rush, the fourth quarter saw both teams lock things down defensively, as Saskatchewan battled to find a response, while Buffalo looked to weather the storm.
Neither team was able to find the back of the net for a little more than 18 minutes, as the Bandits held a death grip on the lead. In the end, the final goal came with 12 seconds remaining on the clock with Buchanan redirecting a toss down the field from Smith towards an empty Rush goal.
With the Bandits now leading the best-of-three series, 1-0, Game 2 of the NLL Finals will take stage Saskatchewan at the SaskTel Centre on Sunday at 8 p.m. With a win, the Bandits will be just the second team in league history to secure a string of three-straight titles, and become the winningest franchise in NLL history with their seventh championship.
Game 3 of the NLL Finals, if necessary, is slated for Saturday, May 24 at 4:30 p.m. back at KeyBank Center in Buffalo.