Dhane Smith and Josh Byrne each recorded nine points and the Buffalo Bandits beat the Colorado Mammoth 13-10 to extend their winning streak to three games at KeyBank Center on Friday.
It was a wire-to-wire win for the Bandits (7-6) who got four goals and five assists from both Smith and Byrne. Joe Resetarits – who played his first game in a Bandits uniform since 2015 after being acquired from the Philadelphia Wings on Monday – called Smith and Byrne “the best one-two punch in NLL history.”
It was also a historic night for Smith, who became the eighth player in NLL history to reach 1,300 career points. He’s the second-fastest player to ever reach the milestone, only behind his head coach John Tavares.
“Dhaner got to 1300 points, and you see it, and you’re like ‘What? That’s pretty incredible,’” Byrne said. “Sometimes you take it for granted a little bit, more so because of how close we are. He’s one of my best friends. I obviously came into the perfect situation with Dhane being here, and not to mention another big guy in that all-time list in JT and being able to learn from those guys. I think also, naturally, we’ve had some insanely talented players over the last eight years and it’s just a testament to everyone and how unselfish and how great a group that we’ve had. It’s fun to be a part of, for sure.”
The Bandits had at least one point from 11 players including five different goal scorers. Tehoka Nanticoke added a hat trick, Kyle Buchanan tallied four points and Resetarits had a pair of assists in his return to Banditland.
The Bandits’ balanced offensive showcase came at a key time as Ian MacKay and Nick Weiss – the latter of whom was placed on injured reserve Friday afternoon – were both inactive.
Coltrane Tyson made his NLL debut and was one of the 11 Bandits to record a point with an assist. He utilized his 6-foot-6, 205-pound frame to play with an attacking style. Tyson tallied four shots on goal and Tavares enjoyed what he saw from the rookie and the entire Bandits offense.
“I know that [Byrne and Smith] scored four goals each, but I thought everybody looked like they were involved,” Tavares said. “Everybody was being a threat. Even Coltrane was trying to take the ball to the net and that’s what I want to see. I want to see everybody on the board being a threat. Trust me, I’ll take two from everybody, or three from everybody, I’ll take four and four from my top two guys.”
The Bandits lost 20-9 against the Mammoth in their first meeting on Jan. 31 and trailed 6-0 in that one. Buffalo flipped the switch on Friday and jumped out to a 6-1 lead, including four goals in the first 4:45.
Smith scored the first two goals 1:38 apart and had a point on each of the first four Bandits goals. Byrne made it 3-0 26 seconds later, forcing Colorado to pull goaltender Dillon Ward – who entered the game second in the NLL in save percentage – for backup Nathan Whittom.
Nanticoke’s first of the game, scored 26 seconds after Byrne’s tally, brought Ward back in. Smith finished the first quarter – which ended with a 6-3 Bandits advantage – with a hat trick.
Tavares talked with his team pregame about the importance of a fast start and said the Bandits’ blitz to start the game was a pivotal difference maker. Byrne echoed his coach, saying the previous meeting lit a fuse for the Bandits who are proving to the league why they’re the three-time defending champions.
“Sometimes games like that happen and it’s a bit of a wakeup call and it’s embarrassing, quite frankly,” Byrne said. “Being who we think we are and who we believe we are, and to get embarrassed like that, it punches you in the gut a little bit. Them coming back in our building, we had a bit of a chip on our shoulder as well.”
Smith put the Bandits ahead 8-3 early in the second quarter and Ward was pulled for the second – and final – time for Whittom, who settled things down for Colorado.
Colorado scored five of the next six goals to cut the deficit to 9-8 midway through the third quarter. Nanticoke responded with a breakaway goal and Byrne buried one 41 seconds after Nanticoke.
“When they came back 9-8, our offense did a great job answering with two quick goals to create that spread,” Tavares said. “Felt the air kind of come out of them a little bit there and deflated them. From there, I think we coasted for a bit, but I thought it was a pretty good game for both teams. That’s a great team. They were missing some key guys. We were missing some guys but we just want to get a win regardless of the score.”
The Bandits extended their slim one-goal lead to five in the first 30 seconds of the fourth quarter and cruised to another critical win to improve their place in the NLL standings.
The Bandits entered Friday’s contest tied for seventh with the San Diego Seals and played without their third leading point producer in MacKay along with Weiss, who leads the team in loose ball recoveries with 88.
Matt Vinc shined once again with 45 saves and the Bandits got key contributions from Tyson and defenseman Taylor Dooley, who last played on Feb. 20 against Vancouver.
Additionally, defenseman Dylan Robinson and newly acquired forward Tyler Hendrycks were scratched, giving players like Tyson and Dooley an opportunity. Smith said the win was a byproduct of their collective mindset to step up when necessary.
“We were finding ways to lose at the beginning of the year, and now we’re finding ways to win,” Smith said. “I think it’s just a team effort. It’s a next guy up mentality, and you see great players like Mickey (Ian MacKay), and Weisser (Nick Weiss) sit out, and then you see guys come in the lineup, and what I told them, and what was important is we don’t need you to be Mickey, we don’t need you to be Weisser, we want you to be the best version of yourselves and I think they did that tonight.”
Resetarits returns to Banditland
Joe Resetarits found out from Wings general manager Paul Day on Monday that he was going to be traded to Buffalo at 2 p.m., an hour before the trade deadline closed.
His first call was to his wife and he “instantly started crying.” Amid the tears were texts from his former teammates including Smith, who was excited to hear the prolific goal scorer was back in his home state.
The Hamburg product said he had a strong idea he was going to be dealt at the deadline with the Wings in last place and the organization looking to accumulate draft capital. He’s always had one destination on his list: Buffalo.
“It’s surreal honestly,” Resetarits said. “It was always in the back of my mind all these years, always wanted to come back here and play. A lot’s happened since then, I have a family. Them being able to watch me here and play for the team I grew up playing (for), this means the world to me, and just to get a chance to play for something in the postseason. It’s been a while with that too, so I can’t thank everyone here (enough) that brought me in to be in the situation.”
Resetarits has the most points by an American-born player in NLL history and pushed his all-time total to 918 after his two-assist game against Colorado.
However, despite being one of the best the game has seen, there’s one line item on his resume yet to be fulfilled: a championship. Resetarits said it’s something that he wants to accomplish in Buffalo, a place where Smith said he can contribute heavily.
“I was hoping we’d grab him at the deadline, it’s an amazing homecoming,” Smith said. “Even though he didn’t score tonight, he banged, he got me open. It’s going to be one of those things where he’s going to score a lot of goals and a lot of big goals. Losing Chase (Fraser) and (Chris) Cloutier this year hurt us a little bit and I think Rezzy (Resetarits) is going to fill that role and score those big goals. He told me earlier, he’s not used to sending that many picks and trying to get other guys open, but for me, I want to get him open as well, and I think the chemistry is going to build as we get more games in. I’m so excited to have him here.”
Tyson makes NLL debut
Tyson was selected in the second round of the 2025 NLL Draft after playing collegiately at the University of Massachusetts (NCAA).
Tyson was nursing an injury earlier in the season and Tavares said they were still weighing whether to play him on offense or defense. Tyson is the second 2025 draft choice to debut for Buffalo this season after Carter Coffey played against the Toronto Rock on Feb. 28.
The 24-year-old rookie looked comfortable on the offensive end on Friday, often dragging multiple defenders to the net as he attacked the crease, and he was effective in one-on-one situations with his size. It was a debut that caught the attention of Byrne.
Coltrane Tyson is tonight’s Heavy Weight Player of the Game! 💪 pic.twitter.com/37G2KuuxJH
— Buffalo Bandits (@NLLBandits) March 14, 2026
“I thought he played really well,” Byrne said. “I thought he bought into his role really well. As a rookie being in the first game, it’s a tall task to come into this rink and play in front of 19,000 people going crazy, right? I think the last game he was playing is probably in Brampton Memorial rink in front of 50 guys. I’m proud of him. He’s been awesome. He’s always shooting me a text here and there, whatever. Just chatting up while we’re on the floor about different things and doing his best to be a sponge. And when his name was called, he stepped up, and it was awesome.”
Up next
The Bandits are back on the road with a pivotal clash with the San Diego Seals set for Saturday, March 21 at 10 p.m. from Pechanga Arena.