The Buffalo Bandits will head to Ball Arena to take on the Colorado Mammoth on Friday for the second time this season. Faceoff is set for 9:00 p.m. on ESPNU and ESPN+ with radio coverage at WBEN 930 AM.
The Bandits are 8-7 after an 18-12 win over the Wings last Saturday. The dynamic duo of Josh Byrne and Dhane Smith combined for 22 points and propelled themselves to first and second in league scoring, respectively.
The Bandits got out to a hot start against Philadelphia thanks to a first-quarter hat trick by Smith. That, paired with a six-goal run in the fourth, marked the full 60-minute effort Buffalo has been searching for.
“Yes definitely (a full 60),” Smith said. “We complain about a few things that we’d definitely like to clean up here and there. They made a comeback on us a little bit when we got into penalty trouble and whatnot but … again, every game moving forward is a playoff game and I felt like we kind of dominated all game and it a good start.”
The Bandits’ next opponent will be easy to envision in a playoff sense. In the last two years, Buffalo has traveled to Colorado three times to face the Mammoth, two of which were championship matchups.
The Mammoth defeated the Bandits in the NLL Finals in 2022. The Bandits got their revenge and secured their fifth championship last season.
“We’ve played there so many times,” Smith said. “It used to be, ‘Oh we get to go to Denver’ – you get to enjoy the weather, you enjoy obviously the scenic stuff like that. But again, we’ve been there so many times in the past two years. … We’re just there to collect two points and move on and we’ll be prepared.”
The Bandits already played the Mammoth once this season, a 12-8 win at home on Jan. 6. Both teams’ rosters have changed since that meeting, including five names for Buffalo.
Sam La Roue and Adam Bomberry both returned to the team from injuries while Zach Belter found a place for himself in the lineup as a rookie. Connor Farrell was a free agent addition in March and Paul Dawson was a deadline deal with the Mammoth.
With that many changes to the Buffalo lineup, Ian MacKay knows it will be a different game this time around.
“Two, I think, completely different looks from each team, not only in years past but even from the beginning of this year,” MacKay said. “Both teams have obviously gone through struggles in their own right whatever it may be with them and what we’ve been going through with injuries and wanting to play a little bit better defensively.
“… On paper it’s gonna look a little different but once you get into the heat of the moment it’s another opponent and you’re trying to do whatever it takes to win.”
Here’s more before the game.
BUFFA-woah, did he just score that?
The Bandits offense has been high flying this season. Smith and Byrne are at the front as the league leaders in points. Smith also earned the NLL Player of the Week award after his 12-point performance. The duo are the Bandits’ leaders on the floor, but one other forward is key in leading in the locker room: Kyle Buchanan.
“He’s everything to our team,” Smith said. “He’s a great leader, the type of player where he communicates really well on and off the floor, but he also leads by example. He’s one of the oldest guys on our team and he’s the hardest worker every night whether he puts the ball in the back of the net or not.
“It’s one of the things that goes unnoticed. He gets me open more times than not and it’s one of those things that won’t be on the stat sheet but every loose ball is his, he brings that energy game in and game out and he’s a player that you just want to run through a wall for.”
Buchanan made the No. 1 NLL Play of the Week for Week 18, a behind-the-back goal after a give-and-go with Smith.
Bucky was smoooooth with this one. 😮💨#LetsGoBandits | @KyleBuchanan9 pic.twitter.com/sviARTMdVU
— Buffalo Bandits (@NLLBandits) March 30, 2024
Scouting the Mammoth
The Mammoth are currently 5-9 coming off a bye in Week 18. In their last four games, they are 2-2 with wins over Rochester and New York. The Mammoth have been led by their defense throughout the season.
Colorado has totaled 22 blocked shots in its last three games and over the season has averaged 6.2 blocks per game. The defensemen put their body on the line because of the system they have around goaltender Dillon Ward. He stands near the top of his crease and defenders force shots from the top of the key.
On the offensive end, four forwards are integral to the Mammoth’s attack. Eli McLaughlin leads the team with 75 points, behind him is Connor Robinson with 51. Zed Williams brings size to the table at 6-foot-22 and 235 lbs. Connor Kelly has missed some games but still managed to average over four points per game through 11 this season.