Just when it appeared tiers were forming in the National Lacrosse League, Week 13 brought its fair share of upsets. Four of the top six teams in last week’s USA Lacrosse Magazine power rankings fell.

New York showed why there were such high hopes for the team entering the season by living up to its potential against the Toronto Rock. Dynamo rookie Jeff Teat notched seven points, including the game-winner to break a tie in the final two minutes, lifting the Riptide to a 14-13 win.

Just the Riptide’s second win of the season, it ended a three-game slide.

Speaking of preseason expectations, the underwhelming Saskatchewan Rush looked closer to their usual standard thanks to a boost between the pipes. The squad made a midweek trade to land goalie Eric Penney from the Philadelphia Wings, and days later, he made 37 saves in a 10-9 overtime thriller.

“Going into the game, we treated it like a playoff game,” said Penney, new but fully aware of Saskatchewan’s place in the standings. “We knew our backs were against the wall.”

Robert Church scored the game-winner, his fifth tally of the game, seven minutes into the extra frame. It was much needed for the Rush, who are still just 3-6.

The San Diego Seals, which sit atop the West Division, suffered their second loss of the season when the Albany FireWolves played spoiler. Backed by a 45-save performance by Doug Jamieson and eight points from valuable trade acquisition Ryan Benesch, the Wolves took the lead for good at the start of the fourth quarter in a 13-12 final.

To round out the surprises, Panther City finally slowed down a Vancouver Warriors squad that was rolling despite missing key pieces.

A busy Saturday became a reminder to teams to never get too comfortable.

PANTHER CITY ENDS SLIDE

It hasn’t been an easy go of it for Panther City in its inaugural season, with the franchise entering the weekend riding a four-game losing streak. This was never a one-year project for general manager Bob Hamley and Co., of course, and there have been plenty of reasons to remain optimistic for the future.

Among them is the play of Patrick Dodds, one of the top rookies in this year’s class. He added to an already impressive campaign Saturday by helping PCLC to its first home victory in the team’s young history.

Dodds notched seven points with a hat trick and scored the game-winning, go-ahead goal with less than 40 seconds remaining to lift the squad to a 11-10 triumph. He recorded the game-winning tally in both the franchise’s victories.

“It was just a normal play as usual, get the ball off the swing and take a shot, hope for the best,” Dodds said. “I was pretty happy it went in in front of a great home crowd and in an awesome building.”

Dodds leads Panther City and ranks second among rookies with 38 points after his fifth game of five or more points. Will Malcom added five points, and Nathan Grenon notched four.

BANDITS COMPLETE SWEEP

The Buffalo Bandits have bragging rights against one of their major rivals after completing a three-game series sweep against the Rochester Knighthawks Saturday.

The Bandits pulled away with a six-goal run to start the second half, then responded to a Knighthawks three-goal answer with three more of their own. Closing out that game-ending spurt was Max Adler’s first NLL goal on a penalty shot.

Max Adler’s first ever NLL goal was also his first ever NLL shot on goal. #LetsGoBandits | @maxman_99 pic.twitter.com/gq0GvfcNCE

— Buffalo Bandits (@NLLBandits) February 27, 2022

Josh Byrne and Dhane Smith each had eight points in front of a Buffalo-heavy crowd at Blue Cross Arena, with Byrne’s all coming on assists.

The 8-1 Bandits remain tied in the loss column with the Halifax Thunderbirds, who moved to 7-1 with a 10-8 win against Philadelphia. Stephen Keogh had five points in his best game of the season, as the T-Birds never trailed. Halifax was up 10-5 before a late Wings push.

NOTEWORTHY

Nick Sakiewicz stepped down as the NLL’s commissioner on Wednesday. Deputy Commissioner Jessica Berman will take on the role on an interim basis. Sakiewicz will continue to advise the league until June 30. … The Wings received the 23rd overall pick from Saskatchewan in the Eric Penney trade. Philadelphia signed Penney earlier in the year as a free agent. … Tehoka Nanticoke had the goal of the weekend, scoring from on the ground against Rochester. … New York’s Callum Crawford, who had six points against Toronto, became the 10th player in NLL history to record 1,100 career points.

POWER RANKINGS

Last week’s rankings in parentheses:

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

UP NEXT
ALL TIMES EASTERN

Friday

Knighthawks at Swarm, 7:30 p.m.
Roughnecks at Seals, 10 p.m.

Saturday

Warriors at Thunderbirds, 6 p.m.
Riptide at Rock, 7 p.m.
Bandits at FireWolves, 7 p.m.
Rush at Panther City, 8:30 p.m.