April 24, 2010
Blazers advance to NLL playoffs
by Staff Report/
The Buffalo Bandits defeated the Boston Blazers, 13-10, at HSBC Arena on Saturday night.
Still, despite the loss, the Blazers got some help from the Washington Stealth later on Saturday night and earned the fourth and final National Lacrosse League Eastern Division playoff spot when the Stealth defeated the Rochester Knighthawks, 14-9.
A Blazers win over Buffalo would have given them the No. 3 playoff spot, but the Knighthawks' loss puts Boston into the playoffs as the No. 4 seed in the East, eliminating Rochester from playoff contention.
Buffalo secured the No. 3 seed with its win over Boston.
The Stealth clinched the top seed in the Western Division and the top overall seed in the NLL with its win over Rochester, giving it home field advantage throughout the playoffs.
The playoff pairings are now set:
Eastern Division
►No. 4 Boston Blazers (8-8) at No. 1 Orlando Titans (11-5), Saturday, May 1, 7:35 p.m. ET
►No. 3 Buffalo Bandits (8-8) at No. 2 Toronto Rock (9-7), Saturday, May 1, 7:30 p.m. ET
Western Division
►No. 3 Edmonton Rush (10-6) at No. 2 Calgary Roughnecks (10-6), Saturday, May 1, 3 p.m. ET
►No. 4 Minnesota Swarm (5-11) at No. 1 Washington Stealth (11-5), Saturday, May 1, 10:30 p.m. ET
In the Blazers’ loss against Buffalo, the Bandits jumped out to a 7-4 lead after the first quarter and led 9-7 at the half.
The Bandits took control by holding Boston scoreless in the third quarter and led 12-7 entering the final frame.
Boston outscored Buffalo 3-1 in the fourth but didn’t have enough firepower to rally past the Bandits.
Boston’s Dan Dawson was held without a goal, but the Blazers’ leading scorer had seven assists.
Gary Bining and Nick Cotter scored three goals apiece for Boston, while goaltender Anthony Cosmo made 31 saves on 44 shots.
For Buffalo, John Tavares, Mike Accursi and Roger Vyse had three goals apiece, with Mark Steenhuis adding eight assists.
Bandits goaltender Mike Thompson made 46 saves on 56 shots.
