Here we go, Bandits! Here we go!
The Buffalo Bandits are returning to the 2025 National Lacrosse League Finals for the fifth straight year!
Who: We don’t know yet. When: Game 1 is Friday, May 16, at 7:30 pm. Where: Game one is in Banditland at KeyBank Center. What: The 2025 NLL Championship. Why: Because the Bandits want it. Tickets: Available here!
“When Buffalo plays like that, and I said off the top of broadcast, they are the best team in the league,” said Jake Elliott, guest game two analyst on the WGR Sports Radio postgame show Sunday night from Vancouver.
“And I don’t think anyone is stopping them, with the Buffalo Bandits clicking on all cylinders. They showed why they are the two-time defending champs, and they will try and do it for a third time straight.”
In a whirlwind series spanning 46 hours and covering 2,731 miles between Buffalo and Vancouver, the Bandits, under the goaltending of Matt Vinc (.842 save percentage), a stifling 21-shot blocking defense, and 12 offensive contributors, including Ian MacKay’s seven goals and three assists, this club is primed and ready for…?
“Whoever wants to come knocking is going to find out,” said Chase Fraser Sunday night on the radio postgame show when asked about his preference between Halifax and Saskatchewan.
“We have a week off to get the mind right and then go back to the finals.”
Mind-numbing
In the same tenor of getting the mind right, there was little thinking on the behest of Fraser when he scored one for the road Sunday night in front of family and friends between the legs, which earned national attention on sports shows, including Pat McAfee’s daily show on ESPN.
Fraser gave us his method of madness.
“I did my normal short side, far side, then tried to go back short, and he (Del Bianco) was there twice. Then, on another attempt, I just caught it (after a nice pick), and the first thing that came to mind was to throw it between the legs, and I did.
“Whatever comes first, do, right? Try not to think.”
This team
That is what makes the Bandits so unique. Every player has strengths and talents that complement each other. They also have the ability to persevere without giving up, which was reflected in both games in the series against Vancouver.
“We had every reason to give up in the second half when Vancouver went up two goals,” said Bandits head coach John Tavares on Sunday night’s postgame radio show.
“The boys persevered in uncharted territories before a great Vancouver crowd and their home team. The boys never gave up, played a full 60 minutes, and stuck with it, and eventually won.”
Period, new paragraph
While the Bandits have performed exceptionally well in this recent set of playoff games, Tavares reflected on the overall season, which included the ups and downs that come with playing in such a competitive league and not winning by large margins.
“Sometimes, when you win a game like Friday night, you set a standard by allowing three or four goals. Wow, if we allow nine goals, what’s wrong with us?
“We went through this scenario in the first half of the regular season, where we were phenomenal. Very uncharacteristic of any team to be so dominant, and then in the second half, we normalized, if you will, and people asked what’s wrong with the Bandits – there’s nothing wrong, it’s OK, we don’t need to panic, we’re doing well.”
The Great Dhane
Dhane Smith is on the precipice of setting a new NLL playoff scoring record, currently held by Tavares, of 200 points. With Dhane’s career playoff scoring record of 68+131=199, he will certainly eclipse that number on May 16 during game one of the Finals.
“I am happy that he is the one breaking my record. I had a chance to play with him, and now I have an opportunity to coach him as well. He’s a very, very competitive player. He wants to be in tough situations; he’s a 200-foot player.
Great guy, great teammate. I am happy for him and his teammates,” Tavares said.
Mac The Knife
And what about the performance of Ian MacKay, who is the leading playoff scorer for the Bandits with his nine goals and three assists. In his last nine games, including the regular season, the first-rounder of 2018 out of Vermont has scored 22 goals.
“He’s really finding his home on this team, bouncing back and forth all the time. He is shooting the ball really nice and working his butt off up there, and I couldn’t be happier with the Swiss Army knife,” said Bandits captain Steve Priolo on Sunday night’s radio halftime report.
Pull from the ground and stretch
Let’s all take the week and sharpen up for the next step, a best-of-three series for the 2025 NLL Championship.
Have a good week.