HAMILTON – It’s been the case for nearly two decades. When Matt Vinc is on his game, it’s nearly impossible to beat him.
Arguably the greatest goaltender indoor lacrosse has ever seen, the St. Catharines native put on another stellar display, stopping 50 shots to lead the Buffalo Bandits to an 11-8 win over the Toronto Rock at First Ontario Centre on Saturday.
“He’s one of the best, historically one of the best of all time,” Rock head coach Matt Sawyer said.
The 40-year-old, who still resides in the Garden City, is an eight-time goaltender of the year in the NLL and was the backbone of three championships while a member of the Rochester Knighthawks. More recently, he has hoisted the Mann Cup, Canada’s summer box championship, the past four times it has been awarded as a member of the Peterborough Lakers.
But the sting of losses in the NLL finals to the Calgary Roughnecks in 2019 and the Colorado Mammoth this past string motivates him in his fourth season with the Bandits.
“Obviously losing in the championship hurts a lot and we thought we deserved better,” Vinc said. “It makes us that much hungrier.”
The game was highly anticipated as the two teams battled in an epic playoff series in the spring with the Bandits winning both games by a single goal. But the Rock, trying to bounce back after an 11-7 loss to the Rochester Knighthawks last weekend, found themselves in a 3-0 hole early as Dhane Smith, Tehoka Nanticoke, and Josh Byrne all beat goaltender Nick Rose.
Corey Small opened Toronto’s scoring later in the quarter then Tom Schreiber and Dan Craig both converted in the final minute of the quarter after Buffalo took a string of penalties.
Nanticoke scored twice for Buffalo in the second quarter as the visitors built an 8-4 lead. Byrne, Dalton Sulver and Chris Cloutier also scored with Cloutier’s goal coming with a 5-on-3 man advantage. Schreiber added his second goal for Toronto. Sulver scored his second to increase the Bandits’ lead to 9-4 in the third.
Small and Craig each scored their second to give Toronto hope but Kyle Buchanan’s goal midway through the period sealed the win for the Bandits (1-1). Schreiber and Small completed their hat tricks late but knew Vinc just got the better of them on the night.
“We just didn’t do enough to get it done,” Schreiber said. “You have tip your hat to a guy like that.”
Vinc was also aided by several blocked shots on Saturday. He remains grateful for the opportunity to play with great teams in both Buffalo and Peterborough.
“As a goaltender you want to be behind some of the best defenders,” he said. “And obviously we have one of the most potent offences.”
The Rock (1-2) get a break before travelling to Long Island on Jan. 7 to face the New York Riptide, then returning home to face the Halifax Thunderbirds on Jan. 14.
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