The Buffalo Bandits earned a crucial divisional victory Saturday as they celebrated the life of Tucker Williams — an annual tradition that makes for one of the most emotional nights on the league calendar.

Josh Byrne notched seven points on four goals and three assists as Buffalo bested Halifax 13-9 on the seventh annual Tucker Out Lymphoma night, honoring the late son of former Buffalo forward Shawn Williams.

A message from Shawn Williams and his family for you, Banditland. pic.twitter.com/5HS2A5iOgC

— Buffalo Bandits (@NLLBandits) March 1, 2020

Corey Small added one goal and six assists for the Bandits, who still found a rhythm offensively even with Dhane Smith out of the lineup. Helping out was Dan Lintner, who was acquired along with Frank Brown and a draft pick earlier in the week from Rochester for Thomas Hoggarth, Dallas Bridle and a pair of picks.

Lintner had two goals and two assists, and Brown had two assists.

Both teams wore uniforms designed by Tucker’s brother, Dyson, who also marked the special occasion by scoring 11 goals combined for Duke this weekend in games against Richmond and Furman.

“We had a good talk at the beginning about Tucker and what this game really meant,” Byrne said postgame. “I think you saw that energy come out of us at the beginning. It’s huge when you win this game, it’s awesome. That one at the end of the day is for Tucker.”

Josh Byrne's 4 goals led the Buffalo Bandits to a 13-9 win over the Halifax Thunderbirds at KeyBank Center. pic.twitter.com/pk0G1KNtkP

— NLL (@NLL) March 1, 2020

The once-invincible Thunderbirds’ weekend to forget continued on Sunday as Callum Crawford put up eight points and Andrew Kew added seven in New England’s 16-10 victory against Halifax.

Sibling Franchises Meet

The New York Riptide scored six straight goals to end the game Saturday but fell just short in a 13-12 loss to the Rochester Knighthawks at Blue Cross Arena.

The matchup was the first between the two 2020 expansion franchises and gave Rochester the second victory in its young history.

The Knighthawks held a comfortable 13-6 lead after the first minute of the fourth quarter, but the Riptide weren’t willing to go down easy. Travis Longboat and John Wagner started the New York run before Dan Lomas scored four straight. But K-Hawks goalie Rylan Hartley and the rest of the defensive unit halted New York’s attempts at an equalizer in the final 1:48.

Rylan Hartley with the save of his life with 9 seconds left!

He picks up his first pro win as the @RocKnighthawks take it 13-12. pic.twitter.com/hpG5hd4l7y

— NLL (@NLL) March 1, 2020

“We kind of took our foot off the gas a little bit, and they capitalized in that fourth quarter,” Rochester coach Mike Hasen said. “The big thing is that we didn’t collapse at the end of it. They got within one, and we were able to make that last save and get the ball out of there.”

Curtis Knight had eight helpers for the K-Hawks, while Lomas finished with six goals and two assists for New York.

SOCK TRICK ALERT

Dan Lomas putting the team on his back with 4 goals in a row! pic.twitter.com/M5MdUHCKoE

— NLL (@NLL) March 1, 2020

Another Comeback Falls Short

New York wasn’t the only team that saw a furious comeback fall just short this weekend.

The Wings made it a game in Colorado despite trailing 11-6 entering the final six minutes, but Dillon Ward and the Mammoth defense hunkered down for an 11-10 win.

Ryan Lee led the Mammoth with seven points as Colorado kept pace with Saskatchewan in the division.

Philadelphia scored three times with an extra attacker, with all four late goals coming from different players. Matt Rambo and Kevin Crowley each had two goals and four assists for the Wings.

Stars Duel in Calgary

Few likely expected Casey Jackson’s goal midway through the fourth quarter would be the game-winning tally in a back-and-forth affair, but both the Seals and Knighthawks defenses locked down in a 13-12 San Diego triumph.

Austin Staats had five goals and three assists for the Seals, helping San Diego survive a stellar performance from Dane Dobbie. In his second game back from suspension, Dobbie found the back of the net seven times, including the equalizer to make it 12-12 less than a minute before Jackson’s winner.

Calgary appeared to tie the score with under 30 seconds remaining, but the goal was called off upon review.

Fans in Calgary watching this play:

This disallowed goal helped San Diego to a 13-12 win over the Roughnecks. pic.twitter.com/7bBlgaoPIb

— NLL (@NLL) March 1, 2020

“It’s always a spirited affair against Calgary,” general manager and head coach Patrick Merrill told SealsLax.com. “We knew it was going to be a war out there. Frank (Scigliano) came in and was able to stabilize the defense. Our offense made the big plays all night long and never gave up. It was a huge win for our confidence, and I’m very proud of our team tonight.”

Georgia Swarms Warriors

The Swarms’ big guns came to play, with Randy Staats leading the way with nine points, as Georgia breezed by Vancouver 14-7 for its fourth victory in the last five games.

Lyle Thompson and Jordan Hall each had six points and Shayne Jackson added five as Georgia got out to a 7-1 lead and never looked back.

“In the last number of games, even games we’ve won, we’ve played well for periods of time, but our focus this week was really trying to play more of a complete game,” coach Ed Comeau told GeorgiaSwarm.com. “I thought we did that tonight.”

The Warriors have lost three straight, all by at least five goals and two by seven, and four of the last five.

Toronto Stays With Buffalo

The shorthanded Rock maintained a share of first place in the North Division, snapping a three-game winning streak for the Rush in a 9-8 victory.

Toronto dug itself out of a 6-2 hole at the halftime break, with Reid Reinholdt scoring three times in the second half. A three-goal run pushed the Rock ahead 9-7 before Saskatchewan made the squad sweat with the final goal of the game, a Robert Church tally just under six minutes into the fourth quarter.

The Rock offense was without three of its major weapons, Dan Dawson, Tom Schreiber and Adam Jones.

“Everyone knew our injury situation,” Rock coach Matt Sawyer said. “We’ve faced adversity all year, and this was just another game where we had guys step up and we had some special performances out there. We’ve got something good going on here.”

Black Wolves Win a Pair

New England exits the weekend on top of the East Division and with Callum Crawford atop the league scoring charts after a 2-0 weekend, which opened with a 12-8 victory against New York.

The Black Wolves are one game up on both Georgia and Philadelphia, though that standing will be put to the test Saturday when New England and Philadelphia do battle at Wells Fargo Center.

Callum Crawford out here taking #SundayFunday to a whole new level...

5 Goals
3 Assists
9 Shots on Net
7 Loose Balls pic.twitter.com/HKbwfNW6Zk

— NLL (@NLL) March 2, 2020

Noteworthy

The trade between the Bandits and Knighthawks this week was the first between the two franchises owned by Pegula Sports & Entertainment. Dan Lintner also became the first player to score for both the new Knighthawks and Buffalo … Colorado’s Dillon Ward hit 4,000 career saves this weekend, while New England’s Stephan Leblanc hit 800 career points against Halifax ... Colorado’s Tyler Digby scored twice and had four assists in his first game since being traded from the Riptide … Rochester’s victory was the first for Rylan Hartley as a professional goalie. He made 49 saves … The NLL Alumni Association held a roast of Bandits head coach John Tavares Friday in Buffalo.

Up Next
All times EST

Saturday
New England at Philadelphia, 1 p.m.
Georgia at New York, 7:30 p.m.
Vancouver at Saskatchewan, 8 p.m.
Rochester at San Diego, 10:30 p.m.

Sunday
Buffalo at Halifax, 2 p.m.
Calgary at Toronto, 3 p.m.
Philadelphia at Georgia, 4 p.m.
Rochester at Colorado, 7 p.m.