The Ottawa Black Bears gave their best effort but the defending champions were too much to handle as the Buffalo Bandits won the game 18-7.
Game breakdown
It was the Black Bears who opened the scoring just 2:10 into the first quarter, when Jacob Dunbar scored his fourth of the season to give Ottawa an early lead over Buffalo. Reilly O’Connor and Reed Kurtz each picked up assists on the opening goal.
Continuing his stellar performance from opening night, goalie Zach Higgins made numerous impressive saves, but the Bandits struck back to tie the game 1-1 three minutes later. It was Chris Cloutier that scored for the Bandits.
Doubling down, the Bandits took the lead three minutes later when Ian MacKay scored to make it 2-1 Bandits.
At 13:19, Josh Byrne scored for the Bandits on the power play to double their lead to 3-1 late in the first quarter.
With just 5.8 seconds left in the first quarter, the Bandits scored to make it 4-1. It was Ian MacKay with his second goal of the game that extended Buffalo’s lead.
The Bandits took a 5-1 lead early into the second quarter when Chris Cloutier scored his second of the game 43 seconds into the quarter.
Ron John scored his first goal of the season at 8:00 into the second quarter to make it rain bears as the game’s Teddy Bear Toss goal. Hundreds of stuffed bears and animals poured onto the field thanks to John’s first as a Black Bear. The lone assist on the goal went to Kevin Brownell.
A minute later, the Bandits struck back with Ian MacKay’s third of the game as he completed the hat trick, making it 6-2.
With 5:19 remaining in the quarter, captain Jeff Teat scored his second of the season and first of the game as he rifled a shot past Bandits’ goalie Matt Vinc. The goal cut the Bandits’ lead to 6-3 and was assisted by Taggart Clark and Jake Stevens.
Just over a minute later, scored for the Bandits on the power play to regain their four-goal lead at 7-3. The goal came from Chase Fraser, his first of the game.
The Bandits struck again with 2:53 remaining in the quarter to extend their lead to 8-3. It was Dhane Smith with the goal for Buffalo.
With 1:05 remaining before half, Nick Weiss scored his first of the season for the Bandits to give them a 9-3 lead late in the quarter.
The Bandits opened the scoring in the second half just over a minute into the third quarter to make it 10-3 off a goal by Kyle Buchanan, his first of the game.
Jeff Teat scored his second of the game 9:31 into the third quarter when he sniped a shot into the back of the net to cut the Bandits’ lead to 10-4. Connor Kearnan and Reilly O’Connor both picked up assists on Teat’s goal.
The Bandits were quick to get one back a minute later, with Ian MacKay’s fourth of the night to put the score at 11-4.
The Bandits scored again with 7:16 to play in the third quarter. A lengthy review ensued, but ultimately the goal stood, giving the Bandits a 12-4 lead. It was Ian MacKay again that scored for the Bandits, his fifth of the outing.
Less than a minute later, the Black Bears got one back on the power play. It was Jacob Dunbar with his fifth of the season and second of the game to cut the score to 12-5. Jeff Teat earned his third point of the night with an assist on the goal, alongside Kiel Matisz who earned his first point of the night.
Wasting no time, Jeff Teat scored his third of the game to complete the hat trick and make it a four-point night with his fourth goal of the season. Cutting the deficit to 12-6, the goal was assisted by Connor Kearnan and Taggart Clark, both their second assists of the night.
It was the Black Bears that opened the scoring in the final quarter, with Larson Sundown scoring his first of the season and first as a Black Bear less than two minutes in. Connor Kearnan picked up his third assist of the game on Sundown’s goal, alongside Jeff Teat with his second assist and fifth point of the game.
The Bandits went on to score four unanswered to extend their lead to 16-7, and there was a goaltender change for the Black Bears. Goalie Cameron Dunkerly entered the net, making his season debut.
The Bandits scored two more to close out the game, as they won by a score of 18-7.
The Black Bears are on the road in two weeks’ time as they take on the Toronto Rock for the second time this season. They will be looking to win their second against the Rock following the team’s 11-5 home opener win two weeks ago. Ottawa will return home next on January 17 when they take on the Vancouver Warriors for the first time. Grab your tickets to the game HERE!
