The Links: Buffalo & San Diego secure spot in semis after hard-fought wins at home
San Diego Seals (Photo: Mike McGinnis)
The Lax Mag collected all the major-media hits after night two of the National Lacrosse League Playoffs - Buffalo 10-5 over Albany and San Diego 9-8 over Philadelphia. Here’s what various media is saying…
In both games, the goaltenders glowed. The Bandits got a 45-save effort from Matt Vinc, while the FireWolves received equally strong stopping from Doug Jamieson, whose 49-save performance ended in a rare loss.
Buffalo’s Josh Byrne, the game’s second star behind Vinc, graciously admitted that Jamieson was difficult to beat in last night’s relatively low-scoring affair. “Dougie played unreal the entire game. To keep us to I think nine without the empty netter, he played unreal, so hats off to Dougie.” Byrne’s full post-game interview via Buffalo’s YouTube page.
Josh Byrne, Buffalo Bandits (Photo: Michael Hetzel)
“Their defense made it tough to get space. I think we had looks and, unfortunately, they just didn't drop. It was a grinder of a game. A couple of those go in ... and you're in a different position.” - Albany FireWolves Head Coach & General Manager, Glenn Clark (Times Union)
Speaking of Buffalo’s suffocating defense, team captain Steve Priolo easily had one of his best games of 2022 (1G, 1A, 14LB, 3BLK, 1CT). The Bandits put the belt on him…
The Buffalo News made room for a straightforward 345-word game recap, referring to former Bandit Ryan Benesch as “Kyle Benesch”.
KeyBank Centre, Buffalo, New York (Photo: Michael Hetzel)
The crowd at Buffalo’s KeyBank Center saw easily the highest attendance over the weekend, a reported 12,535 booming in Banditland on Saturday night. There were a reported 6,726 at San Diego’s Pechanga Arena.
Although The San Diego Union-Tribune didn’t have any post-game coverage after the Seals’ thrilling victory from last night, they did feature the team’s starting stopper Frank Scigliano on Friday. “He’s been our backbone all year.” - San Diego Seals Head Coach & General Manager, Pat Merrill (The San Diego Union-Tribune)
Scigliano, last night’s first star, made 44 stops (his third highest single-game save total this year), while Wings goalie Zach Higgins made a weekend-leading 52 in the loss.
Frank Scigliano, San Diego Seals (Photo: Mike McGinnis)
San Diego Fox 5 shared a 19-word sentence about the Seals’ W, “The San Diego Seals defeated the Philadelphia Wings Saturday, 9-8, to clinch the first playoff victory in franchise history.” The end.
The Seals received spread-out scoring on Saturday, but were largely led by Austin’s Staats 2 goals, 3 assists and 9 loose balls on the offensive side.
Maybe the most clutch play of the entire game came courtesy or Brodie Merrill, who stripped Kevin Crowley of the ball in the dying seconds to prevent Philadelphia from getting one last look to tie things up. Merrill led the Seals with 11LB and 2CTO, one of which was incredibly critical…
“That was your typical NLL playoff game…” - Pat Merrill
The Seals will see the Colorado Mammoth in the second round, while the Bandits will go up against the red-hot Toronto Rock in the East Finals.