Minnesota Swarm vs Buffalo Bandits: Game Recap

If you are a lacrosse fan, or even a sports fan, and missed this game, you missed a gem. Of course, from the Buffalo side, it probably didn't look that way. Even with the loss, the Bandits participated in one of the most exciting lacrosse games I have personally been witness to.

This game had it all. Rookies taking their home opener by storm, a bench clearing brawl that resulted in ten ejections, a seeming rally by a team getting blown out, a huge game from a rookie goaltender, and a shuffled Swarm team that declared, with purpose, that this was their house. The sting to Bandits fans will be understandable, but for any lacrosse fan, this was an impressive event.

With the heat the Arlottas took for their moves this summer, everything they said directed back to giving the fans at the Xcel Energy Center an entertaining, and winning, on field product. For the first look, the fans certainly went home happy.

It was clear from the very beginning that this was no ordinary game. The Swarm scratched All-Star goaltender Nick Patterson, saying that Tyler Carlson "deserved a shot." The Bandits scratched star player Kevin Buchanan due to what coach Darris Kilgour said was "not his type of game," referring to the physical nature of the game. Having two players scratched that were potential story lines could have made for its own story line. not tonight.

In his first start for the Swarm, Tyler Carlson shut the door on the Bandits for long periods of time. Along with an undisciplined game from the Bandits that allowed the Swarm to get multiple looks on the power play, the play of Carlson kept the Swarm in the game until they could build an insurmountable lead. In addition to 38 saves, Carlson also proved he can move the ball up-field with five assists on the night.

Not to be out done, Swarm rookies Jordan MacIntosh and Corbin Tao had their own home coming parties, MacIntosh with four points (1G, 3A) and 19 loose balls and Tao with a hat trick and two apples. MacIntosh was impressive, several times with simply smart play such as cutting a may be break away short to maintain control of the ball and control the pace of the game.

When asked how he felt about the Arlottas moves in the offseason, some meant to secure the services of MacIntosh himself, he was humble, saying he was glad to be a part of building the Swarm for the future and that no one really gives them a chance with the number of rookies they have. Teams in the NLL will certainly need to take notice after the Swarm put up 19 on the second best team in the league.

The story of the game, however, will likely be the bench clearing brawl to end the first half. Swarm captain Andrew Suitor said the brawl started when he saw one of his guys go down, and things spiraled from there. He said the Bandits feel they can intimidate other teams, and that wasn't going to happen tonight. Suitor was one of the ten players ejected from the brawl, which cut short a brilliant night of his own. At the end of the half, he had a hat trick coming on a power play goal, a short handed goal, and a goal that literally was scored from as far away as possible on an NLL field.

That final goal better be on a high light real somewhere. A defiant Suitor called it "dumb luck" and said his stick actually caught a Bandit stick or the arc wouldn't have been right. The play was reviewed, but not over turned.

Here's the video:

The ten players ejected in the brawl were:

For the Swarm: Andrew Suitor, Greg Downing, Rich Morgan, Jeff Gilbert, and Mitch Belisle.
For the Bandits: Billy Dee Smith, Jon Harasym, Mark Steenhuis, Steve Priolo, and Brandon Francis.

When all is said and done, there were 149 penalty minutes between the two teams, 83 for the Bandits and 66 for the Swarm. For any hockey fans, it was reminiscent of the old Norris Division matchups before the rules about leaving the bench were instituted in the NHL. The entire brawl was old school to the max.

The Swarm would capitalize early and often on Bandits mistakes, several times the Bandits would let up on a stifling defensive play and allow a Swarm player in for a scoring chance. Kilgour said his team could take "nothing, absolutely nothing" from a weekend that gave them two losses. After losing 19-11 to the Swarm, Kilgour was clearly angered, but was gracious saying "If I were to say how I feel, I would get fined."

Again, Bandits fans, players and staff are clearly not going to be pleased with the result tonight, but the game the Swarm put forward was a truly impressive display. It won't comfort those on the receiving end at all, yet from a purely entertainment value, this game was all there.

Both teams are back in action next week. The Swarm head to Rochester for a match up with the Knighthawks, while the Bandits return home for a meeting with the Washington Stealth. As always, stay tuned to In Lax We Trust for coverage of those games.