Ian MacKay was one-on-one with a Las Vegas Desert Dogs defender as he circled the net. He shielded the ball with his body and fired a no-look rocket over his left shoulder with his back turned to the goal to complete a natural hat trick.
MacKay accomplished an incredible feat during a 4:33 span in the second quarter with three consecutive goals. His hat trick proved pivotal as the Buffalo Bandits fended off a fierce eight-goal fourth-quarter comeback from the Desert Dogs and won 15-13 at KeyBank Center on Saturday.
The Bandits doubled up Las Vegas in the fourth quarter with a 14-7 lead before five unanswered Desert Dogs goals brought the lead to 14-12. MacKay had a secondary assist on Dhane Smith’s goal in the final 90 seconds to ice the game, and the former reached a single-game season-high seven points.
MacKay’s goals were anything but ordinary, with his first coming as a Superman-style sprawl across the crease to put Buffalo ahead 5-3 in the second quarter. He scored with a quick stick on a pass from Smith 37 seconds later and finished it off with the highlight-reel behind-the-back goal.
“The first dive one, Josh [Byrne] and I were working on that hook pick and we were able to get it,” MacKay said. “Josh baited the defense into thinking he was shooting and dumped it in. They were closing in on me so I just figured dive and try to make something happen there. I think it surprised the goalie a little bit. The backhand one, it’s one of those ‘no, no, no, yes’ kind of ones. Everybody on the bench is probably panicking seeing that and probably not the smartest shot so thank god it went in or it’d be on the bad clips in film next week.”
MacKay’s three straight tallies pushed a 4-3 lead into a 7-3 halftime score, and head coach John Tavares said MacKay’s third goal is one that “demoralizes the other team.”
MacKay has taken an unconventional journey during his seven-year NLL career that began as a defenseman. The Port Elgin, Ontario, product then moved to transition and is now a full-fledged offensive weapon for Tavares, who called MacKay a “phenomenal” player with an intelligent 200-foot game
It was a memorable night for MacKay, who came one point shy of matching his single-game career high. He had the primary assist on Kyle Buchanan’s goal to open the fourth quarter, and the former eclipsed the 200-point mark.
“Honestly I had no idea that was coming up,” MacKay said. “Just to get one point in this league is pretty cool, and to get to 200 is pretty special. You don’t get there without your teammates and the guys around you. And for a guy playing defense the majority of my career, coming up and playing offense, and this team and all the guys having trust in me is a pretty cool feeling.”
The aforementioned goal by Buchanan was his fourth of the game, which was a team-high. Buchanan was part of a Bandits blistering start by scoring two of the first three goals in the opening 2:40.
Vegas entered the contest giving up only four first-quarter goals in their first three games and were able to silence the Bandits for the next 14:34 before Byrne ended the drought and MacKay further cemented the Bandits lead.
Buchanan finished with five points and seven loose-ball recoveries. The veteran missed time during training camp with a sore leg and has utilized the opening games of the season to immerse himself in the synergy of the offense. Saturday, he looked fully comfortable.
“When you don’t play in the summer, and then you miss a bit of camp, you got to get back into the flow of things,” Buchanan said. “I think we’ve been continuing to work with that. Just cutting, moving my feet, moving the ball as an offense. I was just on the other end of some nice passes tonight, so I was able to put a few in.”
Aside from MacKay and Buchanan’s stellar performances, the entirety of the Bandits offense clicked as Byrne had a game-high nine points with three goals and six assists.
Smith – who was held scoreless until the third quarter for the second consecutive game – had two goals and six assists. Clay Scanlan and Tehoka Nanticoke each recorded a goal while Lukas Nielsen – who returned to the lineup after Ryan Benesch was placed on injured reserve – recorded a point.
Every offensive player recording a point was crucial for Buffalo, which allowed nine of the final 14 goals. MacKay said Smith’s and Byrne’s ability to play selfless lacrosse through facilitating plays and setting screens is what allowed the offense to find its success, and Tavares echoed his talented forward.
“I think Dhane (Smith) took a while to get going, but he scored some big goals, especially the last one at the end there,” Tavares said. “It’s tough to defend when we attack by committee. When it’s just Josh and Dhane… it’s easier for them to double them, make them move the ball. When you have Tehoka scoring, you got Bucky (Buchanan) scoring, you got Mickey (MacKay) scoring, you forget about Dhane and it’s like the last play, he’s wide open. It takes five on the offensive end to be successful, not one, not two.”
Bandits defense grinds out finish amidst injuries
Defenseman Mitch de Snoo was injured during the first quarter and did not return to the game. Additionally, fellow defenseman Zack Belter – who made his season debut after being activated from injured reserve – was involved in a scrum following a Desert Dogs goal with 10 minutes to play in the fourth quarter and did not return to the game after being injured and walking down the tunnel with the Bandits training staff.
Tavares did not have an update on the status of either player.
Not having de Snoo and Belter for the rest of the contest is a key reason for the Desert Dogs’ fourth-quarter surge, which included three goals from former Bandit Chris Cloutier and two from Mitch Jones, who had a game-high five goals.
Cloutier and Chase Fraser finished with four and one goal, respectively, in their returns to Buffalo, with the Bandits having to play with seven defenseman the final 10 minutes.
One of those defensemen who shined on short rest was Dylan Robinson, who sent the sold out KeyBank Center crowd of 19,070 into a frenzy with an empty-net goal with .01 on the clock in the third quarter. Robinson had a game-high nine loose-ball recoveries, which matches his single game career-high.
“Dylan is (a) hard working guy for us,” Tavares said. “Doesn’t get much credit. He’s slowly becoming our unsung hero like Justin Martin was. He gives it his all, all the time. I love watching him play. I think he brings some energy, he plays with emotion, and he’s physical and aggressive on loose balls and he has ability to put the ball in the net as well.”
The 10-goal second half from Las Vegas overshadowed a dominant first half defensively by Buffalo, which allowed one goal in the first quarter and two in the second quarter.
The Bandits held the Desert Dogs scoreless for 13:03 from the 11:47 mark of the second quarter to the 13:22 point of the third quarter. They also kept Las Vegas from scoring for 11:39 during the third quarter that ended 11-5.
Matt Vinc – who passed Tavares for second all-time in games played with 307 – made two critical saves in the final 2:30 to keep the lead at two. Defenseman Paul Dawson captured history of his own as he surpassed 1,000 career loose-ball recoveries, and captain Steve Priolo added eight loose-ball recoveries and three created turnovers.
“Controlled most of it,” Tavares said. “It’s a 60-minute game, and did well for 50 of them… We asked a lot of our defense, and we got a lot of minutes, and when you when you get a little bit tired, you tend to sit, and that’s probably why they have a lot of good opportunities shooting from the outside. Chris (Cloutier) and Jones in particular.”
Up next
The Bandits will travel up Interstate 90 to Rochester to take on the Knighthawks in an Empire State clash on Saturday, Jan. 10 at Blue Cross Arena at 7 p.m.