Curtis Dickson scored four goals and Keegan Bal had a game-high six points as the Vancouver Warriors beat the Buffalo Bandits 11-9 at Rogers Arena on Friday.
Jesse King added a hat trick of his own as Vancouver received standout goaltending from Christian Del Bianco, who allowed just two Bandits goals in the second half.
The Bandits (4-6) lost despite stringing together a scoring run of six consecutive goals in the second quarter to take a 7-5 lead.
The Bandits were held scoreless during the entire third quarter and had a scoring drought of 25:59 from the 4:36 mark of the second quarter to the 8:37 point of the fourth quarter. They trailed 10-7 entering the final quarter and cut it to 10-9 with two goals from Kyle Buchanan but an illegal body check penalty from Tehoka Nanticoke with 2:21 to play hindered the comeback effort.
Josh Byrne paced the Bandits with a team-high five points on two goals and two assists while Buchanan added a hat trick. Dhane Smith was held to four points which matches his fewest in a game this season.
Ryan Benesch opened the scoring for the Bandits 2:41 into the game but was answered by Jesse King’s first of two tallies in the first quarter. Owen Grant and Dickson scored 26 seconds apart, and King added a third Vancouver goal in 2:25 to make it a 4-1 Warriors lead at the end of the opening stanza.
After five straight from the Warriors, it was an avalanche of goals for the Bandits who scored six unanswered in 4:14 during the second quarter after being held scoreless for 18:29 following Benesch’s tally.
Nick Weiss made a power move around a defender in transition and ended a six-game goalless drought to ignite the run. Byrne buried back-to-back goals 33 seconds apart and Buchanan picked up a loose ball rebound to tie the game at 5-5. Nanticoke scored a highlight-reel, one-handed goal as he was tied up one-on-one with a defender and muscled one past Del Bianco who was briefly pulled
Smith scored the Bandits’ third rebound goal in their run as Buffalo reversed a 5-1 deficit into a 7-5 lead. Dickson ended a Vancouver scoring drought of 11:16 with his second goal of the half with 20 seconds remaining in the second quarter to cut the Bandits lead to 7-6 at halftime.
Friday’s game of runs continued in the third quarter as the Warriors rattled off four straight goals with two from Bal, one from Dickson and King who made it 10-7 Warriors. During this span, the Bandits killed off an extended 5-on-3 for 1:21 following penalties to Smith and Weiss.
Buchanan ended the Bandits’ scoreless drought of nearly 26 minutes with a power-play goal 6:23 into the fourth quarter. Buchanan scored his second straight goal with a creative dunk shot around Del Bianco to cut Vancouver’s lead to 10-9.
The Warriors went the first 14:47 of the fourth quarter without a goal but Dickson’s fourth of the game gave Vancouver a 11-9 win.
Dylan Robinson was placed on injured reserve prior to the game Friday and Taylor Dooley – who last played on Feb. 7 against Philadelphia – returned to the lineup. Defenseman Zack Belter – who was scratched last game against Halifax – also returned to the floor for Buffalo.
Up next
The Bandits return home for a rematch of the 2025 NLL Finals when they clash with the first-place Saskatchewan Rush on Feb. 27 at KeyBank Center.