The biggest story line of the game was squashed before the opening faceoff, as the Buffalo Bandits scratched goaltender Anthony Cosmo. That wouldn’t make things any easy of the Swarm, however. This game would go from being out of hand, to close, to just far enough of of reach to close the gap.
Things looked bad for the Swarm as the Bandits went of two four goal runs in the first half, and the Swarm defense just had no answer for John Tavares or the Bandits offense. By the time the half was over, the Swarm were in a 9-3 hole they would never come out of.
A different Swarm team emerged for the second half, as they shutout the Bandits in the third quarter, and pulled themselves within two, but that is close as they would get. The fourth quarter saw the two teams trade goals, and the Bandits add the empty netter to cap it all off at a 13-10 win for the Bandits.
After starting the season 0-6, the Bandits have found their game, and are now a team that cannot be overlooked. The Swarm, meanwhile, fall to 5-4 on the year and slide to third place in the West. The is, of course, still plenty of season left, with seven games remaining on the regular season schedule.
Five point nights from Ryan Benesch and Jordan MacIntosh coupled with a four point night from Callum Crawford were just not enough to over come the early lead of the Bandits. Evan Kirk was good in the second half, but by then it was too late, and the Bandits would hold on for the win. There were just too many penalties for the Swarm and too much Tavares (who scored his 1600th NLL point tonight) for the Swarm to pull this one out.
Next up for the Swarm are the Washington Stealth on March 25th. Stay tuned to SBNation Minnesota for all the best in Minnesota Swarm coverage.