The Buffalo Bandits have completed the incredible jump from outside the playoffs to No. 1 seed in the league.

Matt Vinc shut the door in the final 45 minutes, allowing just two goals, and Buffalo ended the game on a four-goal run in a 12-6 home finale victory against the New England Black Wolves on Saturday night.

The Bandits’ result, combined with Georgia’s surprise 19-14 loss to the Philadelphia Wings, clinched the top seed in the East and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs for a Bandits team that found itself at a fork in the road just a year ago.

“Our guys showed that we deserve to be in first place,” Bandits co-head coach John Tavares said. “It’s a good feeling to be No. 1 after being a team that didn’t make the playoffs the past two years.”
Dhane Smith had a goal and four assists, Corey Small notched a hat trick in addition to an assist and Matt Vinc won a career-high 13th win of the season. He’s the first goalie to accumulate 13 wins since Aaron Bold in 2014.

The game served as a preview of a now-locked-in first-round matchup between the teams two weeks from now.
“It’s a little nerve-wracking though because we’ve beat them twice now and now we’ve got to beat them a third time,” Tavares said.

Seals Don't Back Down

The San Diego Seals showed some guts this weekend.

The expansion franchise was hit with a major blow earlier in the week when it found out rookie phenom Austin Staats will miss the rest of the season with a torn ACL. But the rest of the team regrouped and proved they’re more than just their fresh-faced superstar.

Dan Dawson led the squad with seven points while Casey Jackson added six as the Seals bested the Colorado Mammoth, who would have clinched a playoff spot with a win, 12-7 to lock up a top-two seed for the postseason.

“We just kind of had that whatever it takes mentality tonight,” Seals general manager and head coach Patrick Merrill said. “The guys dug in and didn’t take any shifts for granted.”
San Diego held a tight 9-7 lead going into the final frame, but Frank Scigliano was up to the task in the final 15.

Mammoth Punch Playoff Ticket

Someone had to claim the final West Division playoff spot, though neither team in contention has really looked up to the task at points this season.

Never-the-less, the Mammoth claimed the final spot despite their loss to San Diego thanks to Rochester laying an 18-6 shellacking on the Vancouver Warriors on Saturday.

Ryan Benesch and Kyle Jackson each had 10 points as the K-Hawks welcomed the Warriors to the missing-the-playoff party. Colorado awaits its first-round opponent, which will come down to the final weekend of the regular season.

Don't Rush Anything

The Seals and Roughnecks still have a shot at the first seed in the West Division after a surprising stinker from the Saskatchewan Rush.
Dane Dobbie had four goals and four assists as Calgary rode an 8-3 first quarter to an 18-8 victory against the Roughnecks’ prairie foes. The win ends the Riggers’ regular season, which featured turbulence from the start with the Curtis Dickson and Wes Berg holdouts, at 10-8.

“Everyone manned up in this room and said, ‘Listen, we’ve got to get a job done here,’” Dobbie said. “We’ve got to get better every game and the past three I believe we have. … I hope the guys build on this.”
Saskatchewan still controls its own destiny when it comes to claiming the final spot. With a win against Colorado on Saturday, the Rush will hold the top seed even if San Diego wins too due to Saskatchewan winning the season series.

Swarm Swatted by Wings

It’s a rough way to end the regular season for the Swarm, who dealt with an early flurry from the Wings but were unable to fend it off like many others have this year. Philadelphia went on a six-goal run after Holden Cattoni opened the scoring for Georgia and held the lead the rest of the way.

The final score looks friendly to Georgia too, as Philadelphia held a 17-9 lead heading into a garbage-time fourth quarter.

“I don’t want to say we underestimated them, because we know that every team in this league is capable of winning on any night, but I don’t think we were ready to play,” Swarm head coach Ed Comeau told georgiaswarm.com. “We gave them some easy goals.”

Philadelphia ends its first season back in the league at 4-14.

Week 20 Preview

Only two of the four games remaining in the regular season carry playoff implications. The Toronto at Vancouver matchup on Friday at 10 p.m. can see the Rock tie Georgia in the standings, but the Swarm would prevail on the head-to-head tiebreaker. New England and Rochester duel on Saturday at 8 p.m. in a matchup between the No. 4 seed in the East and a team on the outside, respectively.

Colorado at Saskatchewan
Saturday, 8:30 p.m.

Bandits at Seals
Saturday, 10 p.m. ET

The Rush and Seals both play against teams with nothing to fight for with the West Division crown on the line. If both lose, it’s Calgary who claims the top seed in the West. 
For Buffalo and San Diego, this is the first ever meeting between the teams. Tavares said he hopes the Bandits can keep their foot on the pedal to keep at a similar pace heading into the playoffs.
Despite the gap in the standings and two victories, the Rush’s games with Colorado have both been close. The Mammoth mounted a late push in both 9-7 Saskatchewan wins.