Randy Mearns and Mike Accursi each posted hat tricks as the Buffalo Bandits defeated the Columbus Landsharks, 12-8, Saturday night at HSBC Arena.

It took just over a minute for rookie Jamie Taylor to put the Bandits on the board. Randy Mearns was next to light the lamp for the Bandits, with a power play goal at the five-minute mark, giving Buffalo a 2-0 lead. Mark Steenhuis found a way to beat Buffalo goalie Steve Dietrich three minutes later to cut the Bandits lead to 2-1.

Unfortunately for the Landsharks, Buffalo’s Rob Kirkby won the ensuing faceoff and dished the ball to Pat Maddalena, who promptly put it in the net, and the Bandits were again up by two goals. It took the Landsharks another four minutes before they could score again. Bill Warder snuck the ball past Dietrich to bring the Landsharks back within a goal. Buffalo was again quick to answer that with a goal from Mike Accursi less than twenty seconds later. Brent Rothfuss finished the quarter’s scoring with two and a half minutes left before the whistle, making it 4-3 in favor of the Bandits going into the second stanza.

In the first six minutes of the second quarter, Mearns and Accursi had each scored their second of the night, and John Tavares added one to increase the Bandits lead to 7-3. Gewas Schindler scored an unassisted goal to cut the Landsharks deficit to 7-4. Buffalo’s answer to that goal was a shorthanded goal from Pat McCready at the nine-minute mark and another goal from Taylor at the eleven-minute mark. Neal Powless scored just thirty seconds later, and when the horn blew to end the first half the Bandits were ahead 9-5.

The second half began with the Bandits getting a penalty. The Landsharks’ Bill Greer made the most of the situation, and beat Dietrich for his only goal of the night. Four minutes later, with the Bandits a man down again, Accursi nailed his hat-trick goal and the Bandits were ahead 10-6. Kasey Beirnes was able to cut the Bandits lead to 10-7, while Columbus still had the man advantage a minute later. Neither team would score again for the remaining eight and a half minutes of the quarter; however, Columbus was sent to the sin bin with only seconds left in the quarter, so the Bandits would take the 10-7 lead and a man-advantage into the final fifteen minutes.

Scoring in the last quarter of play began after less than two minutes, when Rothfuss netted a shorthanded goal and brought the Landsharks to within two goals at 10-8. The Bandits had been shooting low on Landsharks goalie Phil Wetherup all night, and Maddalena was no exception when he found the back of the net, through the five-hole to make it 11-8 with eleven minutes left in the game. Mearns scored the final goal of the game for his hat trick and sealed the Bandits win at 12-8.

Dietrich played a stellar game, facing forty-nine shots, stopping forty-one of them and earned Player of the Game honors for his efforts. Wetherup stopped thirty-eight of fifty shots. High scorers for the Bandits were Chris Driscoll, with five assists, Mearns with three goals and a helper and Accursi with three goals. Rothfuss paced the Landsharks with two goals and two assists and Schindler had a goal and two assists.

BOX SUMMARY
                                      1  2  3  4     TOT
Columbus Landsharks (4-5)             3  2  2  1  --   8
Buffalo Bandits (5-4)                 4  5  1  2  --  12

COLUMBUS LANDSHARKS           BUFFALO BANDITS
               G - A   PTS                   G - A   PTS
Rothfuss       2 - 2     4    Driscoll       0 - 5     5
Schindler      1 - 2     3    Mearns         3 - 1     4
N Powless      1 - 1     2    Tavares        1 - 3     4
Steenhuis      1 - 1     2    Accursi        3 - 0     3
Arbuckle       0 - 2     2    McCready       1 - 2     3
Beirnes        1 - 0     1    Maddelena      2 - 0     2
Greer          1 - 0     1    Taylor         2 - 0     2
Warder         1 - 0     1    Couling        0 - 2     2
Cousins        0 - 1     1    Langdale       0 - 2     2
S Martin       0 - 1     1    Fraser         0 - 1     1
W Suddons      0 - 1     1    R Kilgour      0 - 1     1
Wetherup       0 - 1     1    Kirkby         0 - 1     1
                              Powell         0 - 1     1

Shots on goal           49    Shots on goal           50
Saves made by           38    Saves made by           41
   Wetherup          38          Dietrich          41
Penalties                4    Penalties                6
Penalty Minutes          8    Penalty Minutes         12
Power Play Chances       6    Power Play Chances       5
Power Play Goals         3    Power Play Goals         2
   Beirnes            1          Mearns             2
   Greer              1          
   Steenhuis          1
Shorthanded Goals        1    Shorthanded Goals        2
   Rothfuss           1          Accursi            1
                                 McCready           1
Loose Balls             98    Loose Balls            101
   Wetherup          16          Dietrich          17
   Steenhuis         12          McCready          13
   Greer             11          Tavares           11
Faceoffs Won            10    Faceoffs Won            14
   Warder       (10-14)          Kirkby       (14-10)

  *** STATS OFFICIAL BY VERIFY WITH BUFFALO BANDITS ***