MATT VOLZ
Editor in Chief
They’re going back.
For the fifth straight season, the Buffalo Bandits will play in the NLL Finals.
It’s not exactly the fifth straight year, as the playoffs were canceled in 2020 and 2021 due to COVID-19.
However, Buffalo has made it each year since, and before the pandemic, they reached the finals in 2019 but lost to the Calgary Roughnecks.
The Bandits are just the third team in league history to reach the finals five consecutive times.
The original Philadelphia Wings franchise reached the finals five straight years from 1992 to 1996, with four of those matchups coming against the Bandits.
Buffalo won three of them, taking home the title in 1992, 1993 and 1996, while the Wings took care of business in 1994.
The Toronto Rock also reached the finals five times in a row from 1999 to 2003, winning four championships.
Buffalo will attempt to become only the second team to ever win three straight championships, with the other being the Rochester Knighthawks from 2012 to 2014.
Guess who their goalie was?
Matt Vinc didn’t have quite as stellar of a game as he had in the two previous wins, but he did enough to secure the victory.
Early on, he received some help from his offense.
The Bandits went to the power play just over a minute into the game, and Dhane Smith capitalized with a low shot that beat Warriors star goalie Christian Del Bianco.
A few minutes later, Ian MacKay brought the ball down the floor and used a Chris Cloutier pick to bury a shot, putting Buffalo up 2-0.
Offensively, MacKay was far from done after his first goal.
But the Warriors wouldn’t go down without a battle, as the name implies.
With five and a half minutes left in the quarter, Kevin Crowley fired a shot over Vinc’s left shoulder to put Vancouver on the board.
Near the end of the quarter, Warriors forward Riley Loewen sliced through the Buffalo defense and scored to tie the game.
Loewen missed the first game of this series, as he and his wife welcomed their firstborn child.
The new father’s goal brought the teams to a 2-2 tie at the end of the first quarter.
It wouldn’t take long for Buffalo to reclaim the lead.
Tehoka Nanticoke found Chase Fraser in front of the net, and Fraser danced around the crease before shooting the ball past Del Bianco.
After a few more minutes, one of Vancouver’s scorers finally found the back of the net.
Adam Charalambides, a 30-goal scorer in the regular season, picked up his first goal of the playoffs to tie it back up.
Then, the Bandits’ heroes stepped up.
After Vinc stopped Vancouver on multiple prime scoring chances, MacKay took a pass from Fraser and sniped it past Del Bianco to give Buffalo the lead back.
He wasn’t done, either.
Just over a minute later, Kyle Buchanan found MacKay all alone in front of the net, and the transition player made no mistake.
MacKay had recorded a hat trick in the first half, and the Bandits had their first multi-goal lead since the score was 2-0.
His third goal of the night was his ninth of the playoffs, leading all other scorers.
Just as it looked like Buffalo would have all the momentum heading into halftime, Vancouver got some help from their leading scorer.
Keegan Bal scored with just 16.7 seconds left in the half, and the score sat at 5-4 after 30 minutes.
In the second half, the Warriors offense picked up right where it left off.
On their first possession, Charalambides snuck behind Bandits captain Steve Priolo and beat Vinc to tie the game.
It wouldn’t be tied for long.
Vancouver won the ensuing faceoff and came down the floor, when Marcus Klarich fired one past Vinc to give his team their first lead of the night.
Now trailing by one, Buffalo needed to shake it off and generate a response from the offense.
Nanticoke would answer the call, stepping behind a Smith screen and burying a shot.
The two teams combined for three goals in the first minute and 33 seconds of the game, and the score was now even at 6-6.
With 10 minutes left in the quarter, the Vancouver shooters returned.
Charalambides was left alone up top, and he rifled a shot by Vinc to put the Warriors back in front.
After not scoring in Vancouver’s first two playoff games, Charalambides put up a hat trick on the league’s top goalie.
He was soon joined on the score sheet by Bal, who picked up his second goal less than a minute later.
The Bandits needed to get the offense rolling, and they were able to do so thanks to a Vancouver mistake.
With just over six minutes left in the quarter, Ryan Martel was sent to the box for engaging in the play without a helmet on.
Cloutier cashed in, scoring a power play goal to bring Buffalo back within one.
At first, it appeared that the shot clock had expired before the ball crossed the line, a notion that wasn’t exactly helped by the fact that the clock on the TV broadcast was incorrect.
However, after a lengthy review, the call was overturned and the goal counted.
That was all the scoring in the third quarter, and with 15 minutes left, the Warriors held an 8-7 lead.
All season, the fourth quarter has belonged to the Bandits. Including a few comeback wins, Buffalo has dominated the final frame in goal differential.
Within the quarter’s first minute, they showed that strength once again.
Smith fired a long shot past Del Bianco to tie it back up and quiet the partisan Vancouver crowd.
That was just the beginning.
On one of their next possessions, Fraser sidestepped a defender and sniped a low shot into the back of the net.
Less than a minute later, Josh Byrne found Cloutier in the slot for the score, and the Bandits took a 10-8 lead with 11 minutes left.
After allowing three goals in the first four minutes of the quarter, Vancouver desperately needed their offense to answer.
They did, as Klarich went around Nick Weiss for a goal to cut Buffalo’s lead to one.
Vinc dominated the next several minutes, making key saves to preserve the lead.
Then came one of the best goals I have ever seen as a lacrosse fan.
Receiving a pass from Smith, Fraser stepped in front of the net and shot the ball backhanded and between his legs.
It went in.
Although there was time left, that seemed to be the symbolic dagger into the heart of the Warriors.
Vancouver wouldn’t score again, and one last Vinc save at the buzzer confirmed what many NLL fans had feared.
The Bandits were going back to the NLL Finals.
In pursuit of their third straight championship, Buffalo will face the winner of the Saskatchewan Rush-Halifax Thunderbirds semifinal series.
The Rush took the first game of the series, 16-7, and they’re headed home this weekend to try and clinch a date with Buffalo.
As the higher seed, the Rush opted to play Game 1 on the road so they would have both Game 2 and, if needed, Game 3 at home.
Game 2 is scheduled for 9:30 p.m. on Saturday, May 10. If Halifax wins to force Game 3, that’ll be played at 8 p.m. on Sunday, May 11.
The Bandits haven’t lost a game to any playoff opponent other than the Colorado Mammoth since 2019.
If that streak continues for two more games, Buffalo will claim its place in lacrosse history as one of the greatest dynasties we’ve ever seen.
MATT’S HIGH FIVES
During every Bandits game, when the team scores, my family and I all send each other high fives over text.
It’s a way to keep in touch and all enjoy the game together, no matter where we are.
So, I thought it could be fun to share some high fives with my top five performers from each game.
This week’s high fives go to:
Ian MacKay: Another week, another dominant playoff performance from MacKay. His three goals and three assists were key in the win.
Chase Fraser: His hat trick is the main reason for being here, but honestly, that third goal alone would warrant a high five. It’s one of the best I’ve ever seen.
Dhane Smith: The Great Dhane has had no shortage of great playoff performances, and his two goals and three assists in this one were instrumental to the Buffalo offense.
Cam Wyers: The young defenseman quietly had a fantastic game. He recorded six loose ball recoveries, and he led the team with three blocked shots and three caused turnovers.
Riley Loewen: Even though he only had one goal, returning from becoming a new father and scoring a playoff goal is an awesome story. Best wishes to you and your family, Riley!
Be sure to stay tuned to @re_laxlacrosse on X for live tweets during each game! We’ll see you in the finals!
