Bandits rally in Game One of NLL Finals
- Brayden Peters
- May 17
- 5 min read
Updated: May 18
By: Brayden Peters / Sports Writer
BUFFALO, N.Y. - The Buffalo Bandits made history entering Game One of the 2025 NLL Finals. They became the eighth team in North American sports history to make five straight championship appearances. Buffalo only added more to the history books as the Bandits took down the Saskatchewan Rush 12-10 to take a 1-0 series lead. A late third quarter run along with allowing no goals in the fourth quarter decided the contest.
After being down 10-8 with 6:43 left in the third quarter, Buffalo scored three unanswered in the rest of the frame. The Bandits would proceed to shutout the Rush in the fourth quarter.
"Being in the situation before, like our core guys being there," Bandits transition player Ian MacKay said. "Not panicking at all and knowing that it's a long game."
Buffalo's defense tightened around the crease, not allowing any cutters to get through the middle and taking away shooting lanes. Saskatchewan had trouble getting shots through to goalie Matt Vinc and had multiple turnovers. With the Bandits' defensive performance, they set the franchise record for the fewest amount of goals allowed in four postseason games with 27.
"They're our backbone, they have been throughout the year and in the playoffs, they've been the best players they needed to be," Bandits forward Dhane Smith said. "Obviously Matt Vinc is the best goalie for a reason; he shut the door. There's a few he probably wants back."
The Bandits would seal the win late after forward Kyle Buchanan redirected a bounce shot from Smith into the empty net. The Rush outshot Buffalo nine-to-eight in the quarter.
Smith recorded a hat trick and a team-high five assists to lead the Bandits with eight points. Smith, the 2025 Offensive Player of the Year and a First Team forward, also passed Tavares for the most NLL playoff points with 207.
"Dhane (Smith) is one of the best players because he's determined to be the best," Bandits head coach John Tavares said. "Regardless of what the score is, he never gives up and he always wants the ball when it matters most and he showed it today of why he deserves to have the ball. I think he was an integral part of that comeback."
MacKay led the Bandits with four goals and finished with two assists for six points. MacKay broke his postseason season high of 16 points and is up to 18.
"Ian's just a smart lacrosse player at the end of the day," Smith said. "He watched Buchy (Buchanan) on our side and realized he can buzz around and do the little things. Obviously, with Josh Byrne on that left side who draws so much attention, Ian's smart enough to set a pick for him or just get out of his way. Eventually, they're going to slide to him and he's (MacKay) is going to be wide open. He's been shooting the ball at a high, high level..."
Vinc got the start in net for Buffalo. The Second Team goalie finished his now league-high 357th career game with 44 saves for a 81.5 save percentage. If the Bandits win Game Two, Vinc would become the first player in NLL history to win three straight titles with two different teams. He helped the old Rochester Knighthawks (now Halifax Thunderbirds) do so from 2012-2014.
Saskatchewan drew blood first with two unanswered goals to start the first quarter of play. However, Buffalo came back with two goals of its own to tie the game up 2-2 with 9:13 remaining in the frame.
The Rush would then score two straight goals that were split between the first two quarters. The Rush outshot the Bandits 16-to-six in the first frame. Saskatchewan made multiple looks backdoor, scoring twice on those chances.
"It was a shooting gallery in the first half," Tavares said. "They had a lot of step-down shots opportunities and got to give credit to (Anthony) Cosmo and Steve Dietrich, our defensive coaches, for making adjustments at halftime and it definitely paid dividends. They didn't have as many glorious opportunities as in the first half."
After the Rush opened up the second quarter with a goal, Buffalo responded with three unanswered to take its first lead of the game. The Bandits also pressed out more on defense, not allowing any backdoor scoring chances to open up.
Saskatchewan, though, would score two consecutive goals to take back the lead, going up 6-5 with 50 seconds left in the half. 25 seconds later, Buffalo would push transition and MacKay would find the bottom left corner of the net on a left-handed shot. Transition player Nick Weiss was credited with an assist.
The Bandits outshot the Rush 15-to-12 in the second quarter.
Just like the second quarter, Saskatchewan would score two straight to open up the third frame thanks to forward Zach Manns. Buffalo would answer on a four-on-three power play with 11:44 left in the frame to cut the lead to 8-7. MacKay scored backdoor on a left-handed shot as goalie Frank Scigliano was out of position. Scigliano finished the day with 32 saves for a 74.4 save percentage. Smith and forward Chris Cloutier were given assists on the goal.
Rush forward Ryan Keenan would bring the deficit back to two 39 seconds later. Keenan found the top left corner on a left-handed shot.
Smith would cut the lead for the Bandits a little over two minutes later. Smith dove across the crease and buried a right-handed shot into the bottom right corner of the net. Cloutier and forward Tehoka Nanticoke picked up assists.
The Rush would once again prevent Buffalo from getting on a scoring streak seconds later. Forward Austin Shanks fired a right-handed shot into the top right corner of the cage for a hat trick. However, the Bandits proceeded to go on their third quarter run, shut out Saskatchewan in the fourth frame and Buchanan would put away the game-winning goal. The Rush outshot Buffalo 16-to-15 in the quarter.
Buffalo will continue championship action against the Rush Sunday in Saskatechwan for Game Two. The Bandits will look to complete the three-peat in this game to tie the old Knighthawks for the most consecutive championships won in league history. Face-off is scheduled to start at 8 p.m.
コメント