The Buffalo Bandits clinched a playoff berth as they beat the Ottawa Rebel, 11-9, Saturday night in front of 4,512 fans at the Ottawa Civic Centre, in a fast-paced, hard-hitting game that racked up the penalties.

In a bid to outdo the previous day’s rough game in Buffalo (a 12-9 Bandits win), the teams combined for 102 penalty minutes, 50 in the second period alone.

The game started innocently enough as Ottawa scored two quick goals, the first by Mat Giles on a power play, the second by Jason Clark, but the mood changed rapidly as Mike Henderson and Jamie Hackel dropped their gloves and had a good go at it.

The fight killed what momentum Ottawa had and Buffalo scored three unanswered goals, two by Jason Crosbie and one on a breakaway by Aimé Caines. Some fantastic saves by Matt Disher kept the score close and another power play goal by Giles had it tied up at 3-3 until Lindsay Plunkett found the net with just 0.8 seconds left on the clock. Buffalo led at the first break, 4-3.

The second quarter began with simultaneous penalties called against Kyle Laverty (roughing) and John Tavares (slashing) and ended with misconduct penalties being assessed to Doug Noganosh, Henderson, Hackel and Mark Steenhuis. After a heated debate with the referee, Henderson was asked to serve his misconduct off the floor until halftime at which point he could return to serve the remaining time in the box.

It was a low-scoring fifteen minutes as rough play dominated. Mike Accursi and Caines each scored for Buffalo while Scott Self got one in for Ottawa. Buffalo led 6-4 at the half.

Crosbie opened the scoring in the third period before a series of penalties against both Ottawa and Buffalo resulted in a little three-on-three lacrosse. Crosbie scored again, this time with an assist by Tavares.

The tempo of the game slowed a bit until Eric Pacey and Jonas Derks were sent to the box for roughing. Shortly after that, Clark scored for Ottawa, only to be answered seventeen seconds later with a beautiful goal Caines. Two minutes later, Brad Self scored his first goal of the game to bring the score to 9-6 in favor of Buffalo at the midway point in the period.

There was no further scoring in the third, although there were plenty of hard hits along the boards and more than a little shoving. As the quarter drew to a close, Caines hit the floor awkwardly, grabbing his knee before walking gingerly to the bench. He did, however, return for the fourth.

The final quarter of play opened with a couple of small skirmishes and the second big fight of the match, which pitted Laverty against Tavares in a bout clearly won by the former. Laverty, Tavares and Derks were assessed penalties for their roles in the action and Kevin Dostie scored on the resulting power play.

Less than a minute later, Jamie Roy was sent to the box having been assessed two minutes for slashing and another two for unsportsmanlike conduct, during which time Buffalo goaltender Steve Dietrich cleared the ball towards an empty Ottawa net, hitting the post.

When John Veltman was sent off for slashing, Giles scored a shorthanded goal on a long pass by Laverty, bringing the momentum back to the Rebel. Brad Self soon scored his second of the game to bring Ottawa to within one point, the closest they had been since the first quarter. It was as close as they would get, though, as Crosbie scored for the fifth time against his former team with only 1:01 left on the clock, putting the game out of reach at 11-9, Buffalo.

Ottawa called a timeout with 48.1 seconds to discuss strategy. They returned to the floor firing off a series of quick passes before the ball got away from them. Buffalo briefly touched the ball at which point a timeout was called, stopping play. Rebel captain Bruce Codd argued that Buffalo never gained control of the ball, but to no avail. Play resumed with Buffalo in possession and only 30.9 seconds left to play. The Bandits ran out the clock for the 11-9 win.

The announced player of the game was rookie Brad Self (two goals, two assists), who certainly had a good game, although Crosbie (five goals, one assist) or Giles (three goals, two assists) would have been more appropriate, as they seemed to dominate play.

The loss puts Ottawa two and a half games behind the Vancouver Ravens for the final playoff spot. The Rebel will have an opportunity to make up some ground on 28 March when it travels to Vancouver.

Buffalo's next game will be against the Rochester Knighthawks on 29 March, in Rochester.

BOX SUMMARY
                                      1  2  3  4     TOT
Buffalo Bandits (11-2)                4  2  3  2  --  11
Ottawa Rebel (4-9)                    3  1  2  3  --   9

BUFFALO BANDITS               OTTAWA REBEL
               G - A   PTS                   G - A   PTS
Crosbie        5 - 1     6    Giles          3 - 2     5
J Tavares      0 - 5     5    B Self         2 - 2     4
Caines         3 - 0     3    J Clark        2 - 1     3
Accursi        2 - 1     3    Dostie         1 - 1     2
Plunkett       1 - 1     2    Howard         0 - 2     2
R Kilgour      0 - 2     2    S Self         1 - 0     1
McCready       0 - 1     1    Codd           0 - 1     1
Susheski       0 - 1     1    Disher         0 - 1     1
                              Laverty        0 - 1     1
                              Pacey          0 - 1     1

Shots on goal           59    Shots on goal           49
Saves made by           40    Saves made by           48
   Dietrich          40          Disher            48
Penalties               16    Penalties               13
Penalty Minutes         54    Penalty Minutes         48
Power Play Chances       5    Power Play Chances       8
Power Play Goals         0    Power Play Goals         3
   (None)                        Giles              2
                                 Dostie             1
Shorthanded Goals        0    Shorthanded Goals        1
   (None)                        Giles              1
Loose Balls             39    Loose Balls             52
   McCready           8          Roy                9
   Steenhuis          5          Howard             8
   Accursi            4          Dostie             7
   J Tavares          4
Faceoffs Won             9    Faceoffs Won            13
   R Kilgour    ( 5- 7)          S Self       (12- 9)
   Accursi      ( 4- 6)          Dostie       ( 1- 0)

   *** STATS OFFICIAL BY VERIFY WITH OTTAWA REBEL ***