Bandits rally to championship cusp

BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) -- The Bandits deployed their championship mettle in coming back to win the opening game of the NLL Finals and are now one victory away from claiming their seventh major indoor lacrosse league championship, the most ever in the sport's history.

Dhane Smith had three goals and five assists in becoming the all-time leader in playoff points, Ian MacKay continued to spearhead Buffalo's scoring attack in the postseason by tallying four goals and two assists, Matt Vinc made 44 saves with a shutout in the fourth quarter, and the Bandits rallied from five multi-goal deficits to beat the Saskatchewan Rush 12-10 on Friday night in front of 16,761 fans at KeyBank Center.

Buffalo can its three-peat NLL Cup conquest in the second game of the best-of-three title series at 8 p.m. Sunday at the SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. The game will be broadcast live in the Western New York market on The CW 23 (WNLO-TV). If necessary, Game 3 will be played next Saturday back in Banditland.

Buffalo Bandits begin NLL Finals vs. Saskatchewan Rush tonight, Game 1 on The CW23. Highlights tonight on @News4Buffalo. Follow below for updates. https://t.co/OdnriJuEnR

— Jonah Bronstein (@lebronstein) May 16, 2025

“The next one is obviously the hardest and we have to make sure we show up from opening draw because they’re not just going to give it to us and we understand that,” said Smith, who now has 207 points in 34 career playoff games, joining Tavares, who had 200 points in 38 games while winning five titles as a Bandits player.

“When my career is over, I might look back and be like that’s pretty cool," Smith said. "But right now I’m just focused on winning championships.

Smith scored all three of his goals in the third quarter, two coming during a three-goal run in 2:28 span that put the Bandits in front 11-10 going into the fourth. Smith now has 207 points in 34 career playoff games, surpassing coach John Tavares, who had 200 points in 38 games while winning five titles as a Bandits player.

Falling behind 22 seconds into the game and getting out-shot 16-6 in the first quarter, the Bandits trailed for 27 minutes and led for only six minutes through the first three quarters.

“It would have been easy for us to fold up after the first half,” Tavares said. “At times they dominated the play. They had the ball most of the time. But the guys knew what it takes in the second half, and they showed up and they were very determined.”

Kyle Buchanan also scored a hat trick for the Bandits. His last goal was deflected into the empty net with less than 12 seconds remaining, off Smith's length-of-the floor pass. That came after both teams went scoreless for more than 13 minutes.

Bunch of Bills in the house for Buffalo’s opening game of NLL Finals pic.twitter.com/vtlzGYa65P

— Jonah Bronstein (@lebronstein) May 17, 2025