The Buffalo Bandits took a major punch to the gut. Their status as the last remaining undefeated team in the National Lacrosse League was very much in jeopardy.

The New York Riptide, showing that their talent is greater than their record shows, put up a dazzling display in a 7-0 run stretching from the third quarter into the depths of the fourth. With less than five minutes remaining, the Bandits stared at a 17-14 deficit Sunday afternoon.

And then, the Bandits showed why they are one of the favorites to win a championship this winter. Chase Fraser and Connor Fields cut the deficit to one before Josh Byrne equalized with 22 seconds remaining.

BYRNZY TIES IT WITH 21.3 LEFT IN THE 4TH.

Watch overtime LIVE on ESPN+ and https://t.co/eBKBLLhGwy pic.twitter.com/NgBecQrwq9

— NLL (@NLL) January 30, 2022

A minute and 11 seconds into overtime, Chris Cloutier completed the comeback with a submarine shot. Buffalo’s 18-17 victory was a perfect way to cap off a weekend which saw every NLL team take the floor.

Clooch comes in clutch#LetsGoBandits pic.twitter.com/FG3wbpO5XW

— Buffalo Bandits (@NLLBandits) January 30, 2022

“We just know the team that we are and the guys that we have,” Cloutier said. “It doesn’t matter the score. We are never out of a game. We just keep that mentality all season long and games like this can happen.”

Dhane Smith had 11 points for the Bandits to help counteract New York getting 11 from Callum Crawford and 10 from Jeff Teat. Buffalo moved to 5-0 heading into a matchup with the rival Rochester Knighthawks.

WINGS AND SWARM BACK IN OT

The Philadelphia Wings and Georgia Swarm needed overtime to decide a victor for the second time this season. And once again, it was Philadelphia who walked off the floor happy.

Brett Hickey was the hero for the Wings this go-around, besting Mike Poulin six and a half minutes into the extra frame to end a stellar goalie battle 8-7.

.@hix1122 FINISHES IT!#PHIvsGA #BangTheBoards pic.twitter.com/DQVOZ6pp99

— Philadelphia Wings (@NLLwings) January 30, 2022

FIREWOLVES RED HOT

Doug Jamieson reminded everyone why he’s the reigning NLL Goalie of the Year. Thanks to his 46-save performance, the Albany FireWolves continued their hot streak.

Jamieson held a high-powered Halifax Thunderbirds offense to just one first half goal in an 8-6 victory, Albany’s third straight. After starting out 0-2, the FireWolves have racked up wins against Saskatchewan, Philadelphia and Halifax. They are right back in the playoff conversation.

“I think we’ve found our identity,” said Jamieson, who made 46 saves. “All our wins have been low-scoring, tight defensive battles, and I think that’s how we have to play. I think we’re just hitting our stride."

It was a balanced effort offensively, with Joe Resetarits leading the way with four points. Albany got out to a 6-1 advantage in the first half, and even when the Thunderbirds found more of a rhythm in the second the deficit was never cut to one.

The defeat was Halifax’s first of the season, helping Buffalo become the last undefeated.

RUSH GET BACK TO WINNING WAYS

Saturday night’s victory was one the Saskatchewan Rush desperately needed.

After dropping four of their first five games, the Rush avoided sitting alone in the cellar of the West Division thanks to a dominant 16-7 showing against Panther City. Saskatchewan scored the first five goals of the evening, then never let the deficit fall below three the rest of the way.

Ryan Keenan, Robert Church and Jeff Shattler all contributed seven points, while Mark Matthews had six.

“It’s a step in the right direction,” Shattler said. “We’ve struggled so far this season, but tonight we showed our true colors and battled all night. It was a big team win. We’re still only 2-4 and there’s a lot of work to do yet.”

SEALS AVOID UPSET

The Calgary Roughnecks weren’t rusty to start their first game in six weeks, but perhaps the legs got tired as the game went along against the top team in the West.

The San Diego Seals stormed back from a 6-2 first quarter deficit, holding the Riggers to one goal in the second half in a 13-10 showing. The Seals tied the game at six, then came back again when Calgary responded with three straight.

A five-goal game-closing run helped San Diego avoid the upset and move its winning streak to five after dropping its opener. Austin Staats had nine points, six coming on assists, while Jeremy Noble had a goal and six helpers.

“Austin is such a clutch big game player,” Seals coach and general manager Patrick Merrill said. “He played with a lot of heart tonight and was able to step up and lead us offensively. The rest of the offense was able to feed off his energy and I’m proud of his effort tonight.”

WARD SHINES FOR MAMMOTH

Perhaps San Diego’s greatest threat in the west is Colorado, which got a stellar showing in net from Dillon Ward Saturday night. He allowed just four goals, with two coming when the game was out of reach in the final quarter, in an 8-4 outing against the Vancouver Warriors.

Ward made 41 saves in a low-scoring affair that didn’t come close to resembling the teams’ first meeting this year. Ryan Lee had seven assists and Connor Robinson contributed six for the Mammoth, who opened with a 6-1 advantage.

ROCK PULL AWAY IN SECOND HALF

The Toronto Rock rode a five-goal run in the second half to break a tie and help secure a 12-8 victory against the Rochester Knighthawks Saturday. The triumph helped the Rock snap a two-game losing streak and move back to .500 at 3-3.

After dropping a pair of games to East contenders Buffalo and Halifax, Toronto got seven assists from Rob Hellyer and six goals from Tom Schreiber to get back on track. Two of those Schreiber goals came in the 5-0 run, with two more coming from Dan Dawson and the fifth from Dan Craig.

“I think this is a huge stretch for us,” Hellyer said. “We’ve got Philly and Buffalo and Albany, three teams that are all right with us and we can compete with really well. … I don’t think we can take our foot off the gas at all.”

NOTEWORTHY

The Buffalo at New York game was moved back from Saturday to Sunday due to weather. That decision got in the way of the NLL having seven games on one night for the first time in league history. … The Thunderbirds announced they will play their next two home games in Hamilton, Ontario, due to restrictions in Nova Scotia. … Vancouver’s Mitch Jones and Rochester’s Holden Cattoni were both placed on injured reserve this week, while Toronto’s Jason Noble was placed on the physically unable to perform list. … San Diego’s goalie situation stabilized with the return of Frank Scigliano and Chris Origlieri from the COVID-19 list. … New York’s Jay Thorimbert moved to fifth all-time in loose balls with 1,642, while teammate Callum Crawford reached 400 career goals. Buffalo’s Steve Priolo hit 1,000 career loose balls.

POWER RANKINGS

Last week’s rankings in parentheses:

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

UP NEXT

All times Eastern

Friday

Riptide at Thunderbirds, 7 p.m.
FireWolves at Swarm, 7:30 p.m.

Saturday

Swarm at FireWolves, 7 p.m.
Knighthawks at Bandits, 7:30 p.m.
Rock at Wings, 8 p.m.
Roughnecks at Mammoth, 9 p.m.
Panther City at Warriors, 10 p.m.