Josh Byrne had gone the previous 66 minutes and 47 seconds of game action without a goal. The game was tied 10-10 in overtime until Byrne wound up in the middle of the floor and unleashed a rocket past Saskatchewan Rush goaltender Frank Scigliano for the game winner.
Byrne’s lone tally came 6:47 into the extra stanza, which was highlighted by a myriad of pivotal saves from goaltender Matt Vinc, as the Buffalo Bandits beat the first-place Rush 11-10 at KeyBank Center on Friday.
Ian MacKay – who had a team-high four goals – set a spinning screen for Byrne, who capped off an eight-point night with his 12th and final shot on goal. Despite the individual goal drought, Byrne knew one quick release could end the game.
“To be honest, my mentality doesn’t change,” Byrne said. “I’m getting good looks, I’m getting good shots, hit a couple pipes. You’ve got to trust yourself in those moments. I tell the kids that I that I coach, ‘It doesn’t matter what happens in quarter one, two or three or four in this case. You just have to make sure that when that moment comes, you’re ready for it.’ Thankful for that one to drop, for sure.”
The Bandits (5-6) – who had lost four of five entering Friday night – ended the Rush’s nine-game winning streak in a rematch of the 2025 NLL Finals. The Rush dropped to 10-2 and never led in the game, their first loss since Dec. 12.
Byrne’s five first-quarter assists powered the Bandits to a 5-2 lead at the end of the opening frame. A pair of first-half goals from Tehoka Nanticoke and Kyle Buchanan complemented a first-half hat trick from MacKay.
So, the Bandits led 8-4 at halftime, but Saskatchewan – with a second half hat trick from Ryan Keenan –scored six of the final nine goals, including three straight in the fourth quarter to tie it 10-10 with 56.4 seconds remaining.
Buffalo battled defensively in the overtime period as Vinc made four key stops, and defensemen Nick Weiss and Mitch de Snoo – who each had 13 loose-ball recoveries – helped keep Saskatchewan off the board. It was an admirable effort from the group, head coach John Tavares felt.
“We could’ve given up there in overtime, and we fought through after giving up that three-goal lead,” Tavares said. “Guys played hard. We literally had our season on the line tonight. We needed to win. It’s playoff time for us. Nice to see the boys find a way to win.”
The Bandits entered their weekend back-to-back on the outside of the playoff picture, needing a signature win against the top team in the NLL. They looked within, realizing their inspiration was in the locker room.
Buffalo dressed only six forwards for the first time this season, a tall task against a physical Saskatchewan defense that held the Bandits scoreless in the fourth quarter. The Rush comeback correlated to MacKay’s absence, as he collided with a teammate who landed on his leg, sending MacKay down the tunnel at the 9:29 mark of the third quarter.
MacKay returned early in the fourth quarter as the Bandits played with five traditional offensive players and Mike McCannell – a usual defenseman – slotting in on shifts.
The veteran Bandits group cultivated the three consecutive championships but hadn’t lived up to expectations this season, until the performance Friday. MacKay delivered a message to the team during practice this week, and it made a difference against the Rush.
“What I said at practice was guys like Vino [Vinc], Bucky [Buchanan], [Paul] Dawson, they all made the decision to come back this year when they could have stepped away on top,” MacKay said. “As much as it should have been known that they did that and acknowledged that earlier in the year, we haven’t played like that. If you can’t really find it to get up for a game, look at those three guys, because who knows what they have after this year. I just challenged our guys to find it within and to look to those guys if you need inspiration at all, and think about those guys in the game, and how would you play Game 3 of the playoffs. And we’re in that situation right now.”
Byrne and Dhane Smith – who was held scoreless for the first time since March. 15, 2025 – combined for just one goal, but the two players created offense by drawing double teams and playing with the sense of desperation the Bandits will need to carry into the final seven regular season games.
Byrne echoed MacKay’s mantra following the one-goal win, saying “this whole weekend is urgent.” The former recognized that there was a different type of urgency from the group, which streamed off the bench in celebration after the overtime winner.
It was a team that embraced each other for the collective effort they put in over 66 minutes and 47 seconds, and one that could inspire each other to go on a special run down the stretch.
“To put it bluntly, we have guys who came back to play to make another run at this thing,” Byrne said. “You may not understand how big of a commitment that is when you’re 35-plus and (have) kids and a family. You’re asking your wife and kids to allow you to go and live out your dream, but in the same moment, these guys are missing moments in their kids’ lives and being away from their wives, and that’s a big thing to do, especially when we’ve had success that we’ve had. We all had to kind of look ourselves in the mirror and be like, ‘Hey, it’s not about us, it’s about some of these guys that have come back, and at the end of the day, you got to fight for them in what they’re giving up, and I’m just proud of our guys.”
Bandits’ veterans lead the charge defensively
Steve Priolo made history on Friday as he eclipsed 1,500 loose-ball recoveries in his career. Moments after reaching the milestone, he scored on a breakaway in transition to make it 10-7 with two minutes left in the third quarter.
Paul Dawson entered Friday night with the most blocked shots in NLL history with 124. He added four more to his ledger as he vacuumed a number of Rush opportunities.
Priolo, Dawson and the Bandits’ defense helped their goaltender Vinc, who’s had an up-and-down season. The 43-year-old in his 20th NLL season shined with 43 saves, including four in the overtime period and 24 in the first half, to keep the high-flying Saskatchewan offense at bay.
“That looked like playoff lacrosse,” Vinc said. “We were active, we made it tough on them to get loose balls and not allow them to get resets. That’s the type of urgency we need to play with moving forward on both ends of the ball. That’s a great team and just shows what type of lacrosse we can play if we stick to our game plan and stick to our principles. … That’s what we’re known for.”
Up next
The Bandits conclude their weekend slate of games with a matchup with the Toronto Rock at TD Coliseum on Saturday. Faceoff is set for 7 p.m.