Sports stats

NLL Buffalo Bandits

Bandits Mount Second-Half Comeback to Beat Rock 13-12

February 14, 2025 - National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Buffalo Bandits News Release


Chris Cloutier, Dhane Smith and Kyle Buchanan all had hat tricks in the win on Friday night

Despite not leading until 11:18 left in the game, the Buffalo Bandits beat the Toronto Rock 13-12 on Friday night at Paramount Fine Foods Centre, bringing the Bandits record on the season to 7-0.

A hat trick of hat tricks from Dhane Smith (3+5), Chris Cloutier (3+3) and Kyle Buchanan (3+0) propelled the Bandits to their comeback victory. Matt Vinc made 30 saves in the win.

Toronto put their stamp on the game within the first minute, scoring 48 seconds into the first quarter to take an early 1-0 lead. By the 8:58 mark of the quarter, the Rock increased their lead to 3-0 on goals from three different players.

Josh Dawick scored on the power play for Toronto and recorded a second goal a minute later to give the Rock a 5-0 lead at the end of the first quarter. Rock goaltender Nick Rose made 10 first quarter saves to hold the Bandits in check.

Buffalo answered back in the second quarter from the jump. Much like Toronto did at the beginning of the game, Buchanan scored in the first minute, getting the Bandits' on the board 25 seconds into the quarter.

Not even four minutes later, Smith picked off a Toronto pass in the defensive end, ran it into the offensive zone himself and found Cloutier streaking to the net to narrow the deficit to three.

At the 6:20 mark, Buchanan ripped a sidearm shot from the left side, beating Rose to score his second goal of the game and 10th of the season, to make it 5-3.

The second quarter saw eight penalties combined from both teams, resulting in the game having a 3-on-3, a 4-on-3, a 4-on-4 and a 5-on-4.

The Buffalo and Toronto defenses stepped up to hold each other's power play units scoreless, resulting in Rose and Matt Vinc having 19 and 18 saves, respectively at the end of the first half.

Seven seconds into the second half, Toronto scored off the faceoff to make it a three-goal game once again, capitalizing on a Buffalo penalty that carried over from the second quarter.

Buchanan answered back nearly two minutes later, cutting from behind the net and getting himself open for a pass from Smith to score his third goal of the game, and second hat trick of the season. His first coming during the season opener against Rochester on Dec. 7.

Following a Toronto goal to make 7-4, the Buffalo offense went to work. In a two-minute span, Buffalo tied the game at seven apiece with back-to-back goals from Chase Fraser and one more from Cloutier to set the stage for a big fourth quarter.

Toronto scored twice in eight seconds to open the fourth quarter and take a 9-7 lead.

Cloutier responded to the two Rock goals with his third of the game, and less than a minute later during 4-on-4 play, Smith spun around his defender and gave himself an open look at goal, scoring his first of the game. Thirty-two seconds later, Nanticoke caught the ball off the wall and scored, giving Buffalo their first lead of the game.

The Rock responded to tie the game up but a skip pass from Cloutier gave Smith his second goal of the game and gave the lead back once again to the Bandits.

Ian MacKay capitalized on Rose being loose with the ball in the crease, taking it from him and putting it in the back of the net to give the Bandits a multi-goal lead. Smith then scored his third goal of the game with just less than five minutes remaining, making it 13-10 Bandits.

Toronto attempted to mount a comeback, scoring two goals to bring it within one late in the game, but Vinc and the Bandits held on to win.

The Bandits return home tomorrow night at 7:30 p.m. to host the San Diego Seals at KeyBank Center. The game will be broadcast on CW23 as well as ESPN+, while Canadian viewers can watch the game live on either TSN+ or the new NLL+ streaming platform. You can listen to the game on the radio locally on 1520 AM.

Share

Tags, 2024-25, Buffalo Bandits, Chris Cloutier, Dhane Smith, Game Recap, Kyle Buchanan, Nick Rose, NLL, Toronto Rock

Check out the Buffalo Bandits Statistics



National Lacrosse League Stories from February 14, 2025


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

Other Recent Buffalo Bandits Stories



Sports Statistics from the Stats Crew
OurSports Central