Bandits beat Warriors 9-3 in semifinals game one

By Joseph Keyser / Editor

The Buffalo Bandits beat the Vancouver Warriors 9-3 in the first game of the NLL Semifinals. Defensively, Bandits goaltender Matt Vinc led the way with 34 saves (91.9%), while transition Ian MacKay led the offense with 4 goals. Buffalo also let up no goals during five-on-five action.

Bandits players celebrating after Tehoka Nanticoke's goal against the Vancouver Warriors on May 2, 2025 in Buffalo, N.Y. (Photo/ Buffalo Bandits via X)

"The defense just built off last game to not give up any goals five-on-five," Bandits head coach John Tavares said. "That doesn't happen very often. So it's a good time that it happened."

Buffalo's defense was the name of the game from whistle to bell. The relentless attitude from the defense allowed Vinc the opportunity to make good saves all night.

"It's not just me, it's how we play," Vinc said. "We gave up less transition opportunities. All of those things lead to that end result of having a higher save percentage."

Bandits goaltender Matt Vinc moments before running onto the field for game one of the NLL semifinals on May 2, 2025 in Buffalo, N.Y. (Photo/ Buffalo Bandits via X)

Vancouver's focus on shutting down forwards Dhane Smith and Josh Byrne allowed other guys to get shots on goal.

"We saw something out of them that we don't see often," MacKay said. "They were pushing out to Josh and Dhane a lot more and really trying to deny the ball. They were trying to get us open and get us looks."

Just 1:25 into the game, Bandits defender Zack Belter got called for an illegal cross check. Vancouver was able to capitalize on that with a Kevin Crowley goal with 11:56 left in the first.

Buffalo struck back with a MacKay goal at 9:46 in the first.

Less than a minute later, Vancouver transition Owen Grant landed himself in the box for five minutes after running cross-check to MacKay’s face.

During the power play, Smith sunk a goal top-right to give Buffalo its first lead of the night.

In the waning moments of the power play, Forward Chase Fraser scored his first career NLL Playoff goal, sinking it in the five-hole of Warriors goaltender Christian Del Bianco.

At the end of the first, the Bandits led 3-1, despite being outshot 9-11.

Grant got himself put in the box again after another illegal cross check, this time to the face of Byrne with 7:28 remaining in the half.

MacKay scored his second goal of the night just 17 seconds into the power play and then followed it up with his third just 1:21 later.

Video courtesy of @NLLBandits on X.

Bandits forward Tehoka Nanticoke scored a goal less than a minute after MacKay’s third. This shot from deep landed Del Bianco on the bench, having Aden Walsh fill his spot in the net.

Video courtesy of @NLLBandits on X.

Buffalo transition Thomas Whitty landed himself in the box for holding. At the media timeout, Del Bianco went back into the net for Vancouver.

The Warriors’ second goal of the night came from short-range Dylan McIntosh shot.

Byrne wanted to get into the goal-scoring column and scored his first goal of the night with 2:49 remaining in the half.

At halftime, Buffalo led 7-2 while outshooting Vancouver 26-18.

Bandits defender Cam Wyers got himself a two-minute boarding penalty with 13:51 left in the third. The Warriors were unable to capitalize on the power play because of Buffalo's stifling special teams defense.

With 8:44 left in the quarter, Warriors defender Jackson Suboch landed himself in the box for slashing. The Bandits were unable to make anything of the two-minute man-up opportunity.

The lone goal of the third quarter was scored by MacKay with 10.4 seconds remaining before the break.

At the end of three, Buffalo led 8-2, outshooting Vancouver 37-28.

Bandits defender Paul Dawson got called for an illegal cross check, but only served 13 seconds because of a Keegan Bal goal.

Shortly after the next face-off, Buffalo transition Connor Farrell landed himself in the box for an illegal cross check. The Warriors were not able to capitalize on the man-up opportunity.

Grant got called for an illegal cross check for the third time of the night with 7:20 left in the game. Smith scored just 12 seconds into the power play.

Suboch got himself ejected from the game with 33 seconds left for roughing. The penalty was served by his teammate.

The Bandits and Warriors play again on Sunday, May 4 at 9 p.m. EDT, in Vancouver. That game can be streamed on ESPN+ and NLL+. If Vancouver wins on Sunday, the two teams return to Buffalo for game three on Sat. May 10 at 7 p.m. EDT.