HUMBLE HAIRSTON WILL FIT RIGHT IN WITH THE BILLS AS FIRST ROUND PICK
It was a long night for Bills fans that stayed awake to see the team pick at thirtieth overall. Just before 11:30pm, the wait was over, as Buffalo submitted their selection: cornerback Max Hairston, out of Kentucky.
While Bills fans may have been passively checking for updates throughout the first round, Max Hairston was sitting at the last seat in the green room before the tunnel that led to the stage. As twenty-nine players heard their names called, making their NFL dreams come true, Hairston was consistently one of the last people to congratulate them, with a genuine ear-to-ear smile. It was that energy that stood out the most throughout the night about the future Bill. Once Brandon Beane submitted the pick, and it was made official, Hairston got his chance to hear the words of celebration, as the 21-year-old had his moment. As he stood for photos with a Bills jersey and Hairston spelled across the top, his family was interviewed on ESPN. Each family member that spoke on the television broadcast was genuinely humble, grateful, and obviously proud of what young Max has already accomplished in his life, leading to becoming a first round draft pick. Sometimes, it’s just a vibe that you get from people, and as a firm believer of the adage “people are who they show you they are,” it seems as though Buffalo has found another gem of a human being in the draft in Max Hairston.
The rookie out of Kentucky will get to learn in the shadow of veteran corner Tre White, who just inked a one-year deal a week ago, returning to Buffalo. This pick further rounds out the Bills’ cornerback room, led by Christian Benford, who signed a four-year contract extension earlier this offseason.
Heading into rounds two and three this evening, Buffalo holds pick 56, which they acquired in the Stefon Diggs trade to Houston, and the 62nd overall selection. While they don’t currently have a third-round pick, there are plenty of routes for Brandon Beane to go down: whether Buffalo stays still and selects two Top-65 players in this draft, who they can expect to play right away, or perhaps moves down to garner more capital. Round two begins tonight at 7PM. The final four rounds tomorrow will kick off at noon.
TORONTO MAPLE LEAFS TAKE STRANGLEHOLD ON SENS WITH 3-0 LEAD
The Toronto Maple Leafs once again took down the Ottawa Senators in overtime last night, 3-2, claiming a three-games-to-none lead in the first round series.
As the Battle of Ontario moved to Canada’s capital, or rather just outside of Ottawa in Kanata, the defense tightened up. A scoreless first period saw more of the same extracurricular activity that developed through the first two games in Toronto. Five penalties were called in the opening twenty minutes, including three roughing calls and a cross check against Matthew Knies of the Leafs as the first period came to a close.
With the fresh sheet of ice and the full two-minute man-advantage, Ottawa drew another Toronto penalty, a trip against William Nylander. On the ensuing 5-on-3, the Senators opened the scoring, with Claude Giroux giving Ottawa their first lead of the series. Offsetting roughing penalties moments later was the officials way of trying to cool the tempers on the ice, and it worked to a certain extent. Less than eight minutes into the middle frame, Ottawa’s Shane Pinto caught Jake McCabe with a high stick, sending the electrifying Maple Leaf power play onto the ice. Within a minute of the man-advantage, Matthew Knies got even, scoring his second goal of the series to tie the game at one.
Fast forward to the third period, when, like a bottle rocket, Auston Matthews finished off a dime from Mitch Marner for his first goal of the playoffs, giving Toronto the 2-1 lead just thirty-two seconds into the final frame. The Leafs sat back and tried to preserve the one goal advantage, but with less than nine minutes to play, the Ottawa captain Brady Tkachuk netted the game’s tying goal with his second of the series. As the game went to overtime, it was another quick extra period, with Matthews winning an offensive zone faceoff for Toronto, setting up Simon Benoit of all players to blast a slap shot from where the blue line meets the boards in front of the Leafs’ bench, through the lane clogged with bodies, past the helpless Ullmark. Just like that, only 79 seconds into overtime, Toronto has full control of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinal, leading the rivalry series 3-0.
The Maple Leafs have the opportunity to sweep the Senators and punch their ticket back to the second round on Saturday, with puck drop at 7PM tomorrow night.
BANDITS HOST SEALS IN NLL QUARTERFINAL TONIGHT
It’s officially playoff time in Buffalo, as the Bandits chase their seventh NLL Championship in franchise history. Tonight, top-seeded Buffalo hosts the San Diego Seals in the single elimination quarterfinal at KeyBank Center.
The Bandits are faced with one of the toughest paths to defend their back-to-back title victories, with one of the five teams that beat them coming to town in the first round. Not to mention, if Buffalo is to make it past San Diego, they’ll likely face one of the other teams to have beat them this year, in the Vancouver Warriors, but let’s not get ahead of ourselves. The Seals are no push-over as an eight-seed, so don’t let their 9-9 regular season record fool you.
Buffalo and San Diego met twice during the regular season, for a back-to-back in February. In their first meeting, the Seals handed Buffalo their first loss, and it came in front of Banditland at home. Despite a poor first quarter, the Bandits battled back and eventually took a two-goal lead halfway through the fourth. After getting one with less than five minutes left, the Seals went on to tie the game at 13 with just six seconds left in the game. Five minutes into overtime, San Diego’s Wesley Berg scored his fifth goal of the night, ending Buffalo’s bid for an undefeated season with a 14-13 overtime win for the Seals.
One week later, the Bandits fought for revenge on the other side of the country, in Southern California. In another hard-fought battle, neither team pulled ahead by more than two goals. With the game tied at twelve, Buffalo’s Kyle Buchanan had the last laugh, scoring the game winner with less than five minutes left. The 13-12 victory was the first of two times that Buffalo bounced back against a repeat opponent the following weekend. Between the two games, Buchanan scored the most goals for Buffalo, with two hat tricks for a total of six goals against the Seals.
The winner tonight advances to the NLL Semifinal. Faceoff for the quarterfinal matchup tonight is at 7:30 at KeyBank Center.
The Scoreboard is presented by Zenner and Ritter Heating and Cooling.
