It appeared Panther City Lacrosse Club was poised to cruise to its first-ever victory. Then the New York Riptide found new life.

But even after sweating it out, Patrick Dodds secured history for the National Lacrosse League’s latest expansion franchise with an overtime winner.

Panther City went up 9-3 when Jack Jasinski, wearing Connor Kelly’s jersey because of a late arrival, opened the second half’s scoring. A Dodds goal to open the fourth quarter pushed the Panther City lead to 10-6.

That’s when New York responded with four straight scores, getting the tying tally from Jeff Teat midway through the final period of regulation. Extra time was necessary after the teams traded a pair of goals each down the stretch.

Dodds appeared to score early in overtime, but the goal was called back on a crease violation. He made the most of another stellar look at the cage later on for a 13-12 win.

PATRICK DODDS WAS BUILT FOR THE NLL SEND TWEET pic.twitter.com/sZlucjZ12x

— Panther City Lacrosse Club (@PantherCityLax) January 16, 2022

“I got a close one called back a couple possessions before,” said Dodds, last week’s Rookie of the Week. “Had almost the same shot that I missed the possession before. … Here we are with this first W.”

SHORTHANDED SEALS WIN AGAIN

The San Diego Seals were not content with excuses. And they certainly could have used them.

Six players from the team were put into COVID-19 protocols prior to the squad’s Friday night road trip to Saskatchewan. Among that group was Chris Origlieri, the 19-year-old goaltender who became the talk of the league last week by securing his first career victory.

Regular starter Frank Scigliano remained in protocols as well, meaning the team had to roll out a goalie making his first career start for the second straight week.

This time Justin Geddie was the star, making 42 saves to back the Seals to a 12-11 win.

Congrats kid, @j_geddie Stepped up in a big way for his first career win in his NLL debut! pic.twitter.com/3LQtsjZ6JP

— San Diego Seals (@SealsLax) January 15, 2022

“They gave me a shot, and I just wanted to come out and play a good game for the entire team,” Geddie said.

Jeremy Noble and Austin Staats each had six points, while Wes Berg was close behind with five, for the West Division leaders.

“That was a character win through and through,” Seals general manager and head coach Patrick Merrill said. “We were facing a lot of obstacles this week, but we weren’t going to use that as an excuse or a crutch. Our guys showed up to play.”

Saskatchewan, meanwhile, is a surprising 1-4 and tied with Panther City at the bottom of the West standings.

UNDEFEATED TEAMS REMAIN

Two undefeated teams remain, though the Buffalo Bandits were nearly the last team standing.

The Halifax Thunderbirds needed overtime to retain their unblemished record, getting the deciding goal from Stephan Leblanc in front of a fanless FirstOntario Centre. He completed a hat trick from up top to seal the 14-13 triumph.

Steph called game!#HFXvsTOR pic.twitter.com/ozMJFNDv0L

— Halifax Thunderbirds (@HFXThunderbirds) January 16, 2022

Austin Shanks finished with eight points for Halifax, scoring the goal that forced OT and another worthy of TSN’s Highlight of the Night.

First game back off the IR, and securing the @TSN_Sports Highlight of the Night

Welcome back @shanksy33! pic.twitter.com/5DJhpsqwBd

— Halifax Thunderbirds (@HFXThunderbirds) January 16, 2022

Buffalo never trailed in its 12-10 victory against Georgia, but the Swarm hung around all game. Jordan MacIntosh scored a pair of goals to cut the deficit to one inside the final four minutes before Tehoka Nanticoke responded to give the Bandits a cushion again.

Josh Byrne notched seven points with five assists, while Dhane Smith had five assists for the 4-0 Bandits.

“The game wasn’t necessarily pretty by any means, but good teams find a way to win,” Buffalo’s Kyle Buchanan said.

FIREWOLVES SHOW MORE PROMISE

The Albany FireWolves have found their footing after a suspect start to their time in the capital region.

A game after besting Saskatchewan, the recently relocated franchise moved to .500 with a tight 9-8 victory against the Philadelphia Wings. Albany had to survive a late Wings push, as Philadelphia stormed back from down 7-4 to tie the score in the early stages of the fourth quarter.

Late goals by Jacob Ruest and Joe Resetarits helped Albany hand the Wings their first home defeat of the year. Doug Jamieson, who made 38 saves, secured a couple late stops to hold on.

“Big win, especially going 0-2 to start, two tough losses,” Resetarits said. “But we have a veteran team, some young guys, all the guys have been playing long enough [to know] you can’t dictate your season off two wins. The season can change at the drop of a hat.”

NOTEWORTHY

Toronto’s Dan Dawson reached 300 career games played, becoming only the second player to ever accomplish the feat. He also moved into second all time in points in league history. … Jeff Teat made his return for the New York Riptide after missing time in COVID-19 protocols. He notched five points against Panther City. New York was playing for the first time in over a month. … Albany’s Joe Nardella bested Philadelphia’s Trevor Baptiste in a battle of top faceoff specialists, winning 14 of 21 draws. … Goalie brothers went to battle in New York, with Panther City’s Kevin Orleman and New York’s Steven Orleman both getting time in a head-to-head matchup. … The Thunderbirds wore their Every Child Matters uniforms for the second time this season since they were off during the week the NLL celebrated the initiative across the league. … The NLL announced an expanded and extended betting partnership with BetMGM. … The Bandits game against Georgia was moved up from Saturday to Friday due to the Bills’ playoff game against the New England Patriots.

POWER RANKINGS

(Last week’s rank in parentheses)

1. Buffalo Bandits (1)
2. Halifax Thunderbirds (2)
3. San Diego Seals (3)
4. Colorado Mammoth (5)
5. Toronto Rock (6)
6. Philadelphia Wings (4)
7. Vancouver Warriors (7)
8. Albany FireWolves (10)
9. Rochester Knighthawks (8)
10. Georgia Swarm (9)
11. Calgary Roughnecks (12)
12. Saskatchewan Rush (11)
13. Panther City Lacrosse Club (14)
14. New York Riptide (13)

UP NEXT
ALL TIMES EASTERN

Friday

Swarm at Knighthawks, 6:30 p.m.

Saturday

Knighthawks at Wings, 7 p.m.
Warriors at Roughnecks, 9:30 p.m.

Sunday

Riptide at Wings, 4 p.m.