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Will championship zed8/13/2023 “The defense, they played big,” Ward said. Frustration clearly set in for the Bandits as the second half progressed, resulting in 30 penalty minutes in the final 20 minutes of play. The Mammoth defense did well to keep Buffalo’s shots to the outside, with Ward only needing to make 38 saves. Colorado tied the score by the end of the first quarter as part of a 6-1 run and never trailed again. The offense, playing without injured Josh Byrne for a second consecutive game, only strung together back-to-back goals one time over the rest of the contest. It comes down to the little things.”īuffalo looked poised to keep the good vibes rolling at the start of Game 2, taking an early 3-1 lead fueled by power-play tallies by Kyle Buchanan and Smith. “I knew it was going to be a dogfight,” Buffalo’s Dhane Smith said after Game 1. He leaped from behind the cage but faced a trio of negative factors. Williams stepped in the crease, got his shot off just late and Vinc stood tall. After Buffalo failed to run out the final seconds, Colorado connected on a desperation full-floor pass to Williams. That set the stage for one final heart-pounding moment for the Bandits faithful. Chris Wardle beat Matt Vinc less than 20 seconds later, and McLaughlin cut the deficit to one on the team’s fourth power-play goal of the evening with 5:18 remaining. Tehoka Nanticoke notched three goals in the spurt, including the final tally of the frame to put his squad up 12-9.Ĭolorado did not back down, even after Chase Fraser responded to an initial Zed Williams tally to extend the lead back to three. After entering the second half down a goal, Buffalo rode a 5-1 run in the third quarter to take command. While Game 2 was nearly all Colorado, Game 1 on Saturday was reminiscent of Buffalo’s down-to-the wire semifinal contests with Toronto last year. “We’re not done,” Mammoth coach Pat Coyle said. Buffalo failed to cut the deficit under three the entire second half, as Colorado cruised to tie the series. The Mammoth muscled their way into control with 10 goals in the middle frames, helping extend their lead to as large as seven goals early in the fourth quarter. Now the group hopes history repeats itself on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Eli McLaughlin and Ryan Lee each notched seven points, as the Mammoth continued mirroring last year’s script. With these teams, could we really expect anything less?Ĭolorado staved off elimination Monday, stymieing the Bandits attack in a 16-10 win inside a loud Ball Arena in Denver occupied by more than 11,000 fans. Dylan Kinnear capped the scoring for Colorado.For the second straight year, the Colorado Mammoth and Buffalo Bandits will play a winner-take-all Game 3 in Buffalo for a National Lacrosse League title. The Bandits scored three times in the quarter – two from Nanticoke and another from Chase Fraser – but the Mammoth held off their comeback attempt. Tyson Gibson added his name to the score sheet for Colorado early in the period. Nanticoke’s second goal of the quarter cut the deficit to 13-7 heading into the final fourth. Lee, McLaughlin, and Williams strung together the next three goals for the Mammoth. Nanticoke answered for Buffalo 29 seconds later after a silky dish from Smith. McLaughlin scored for Colorado to open the quarter. With 45.9 seconds left in the half, Williams snuck one in the net to restore the three-goal lead heading into halftime. Robinson’s tally on the power play gave the Mammoth a three-goal edge, but Chris Cloutier flew down the left wing with 3:17 remaining to lessen the home team’s momentum. Smith answered for the Bandits, but Lee capped off his three-goal quarter just over a minute later. Lee opened the quarter with a pair of goals, granting Colorado its first lead of the game. Smith returned the two-goal advantage to Buffalo with 2:37 on the clock after a double-clutch move, but Josh Sullivan and Connor Robinson scored to the game at 3-3 as the first quarter ended. The Bandits’ early lead was stunted by Chris Wardle, who put the first tally on the board for Colorado. Kyle Buchanan followed with a goal of his own to make it 2-0. Ian MacKay opened the scoring for the Bandits with 11:00 left to play in the first quarter. Reigning Finals MVP Dillon Ward stood tall in net with 38 saves on 48 shots. Zed Williams had six (2+4), while Connor Robinson scored a hat trick as part of a five-point outing. Ryan Lee (4+3) and Eli McLaughlin (3+4) led Colorado with seven points each. Goaltender Matt Vinc made 42 saves on 57 shots. The game will air live on The CW 23 in Buffalo.ĭhane Smith led the Bandits with six points (2+4) while Tehoka Nanticoke scored four goals. Game 3 will be played at KeyBank Center on Saturday, June at 7:30 p.m. The Buffalo Bandits will have to wait another week for a chance to capture a fifth NLL championship for the franchise, as the Colorado Mammoth stayed alive with a 16-10 win in Game 2 of the NLL Finals at Ball Arena on Monday.
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