The defenses took the spotlight in a battle between the top two teams in the NLL.
The Buffalo Bandits beat the Saskatchewan Rush 9-7 on Saturday night at SaskTel Centre off the strength of their defense, allowing their fewest amount of goals since Dec. 28. It was their fourth time allowing a single-digit goal total this season.
Matt Vinc made 41 saves in the win, including 14 in the final quarter, and allowed just two second-half goals. Josh Byrne (2+4) and Dhane Smith (0+5) combined for 11 points.
For nearly the first half of the first quarter, each team’s defense held the other’s offense in check resulting in multiple fruitless possessions to start the game.
Saskatchewan eventually broke through, scoring 6:42 into the game to get on the board first. The Bandits responded with back-to-back goals from Byrne and Chase Fraser to take a 2-1 lead.
The Rush came back and scored three consecutive times before the end of the quarter to make it 4-2 and scored 2:59 into the second quarter while on the power play, getting a 5-2 lead.
Fraser scored his second goal with 2:36 left in the half, ending a defensively controlled first half with the Bandits down two goals. Matt Vinc had 16 saves in the first half while Saskatchewan netminder Frank Scigliano had 20.
The Bandits continued to pepper Scigliano with shots, breaking through to the tune of three consecutive goals.
Tehoka Nanticoke scored his first of the game on the toe of the crease to pull the Bandits within one. Josh Byrne stepped into a shot that went dribbling over the goal line for the tying goal. Nanticoke completed the run when he dodged past the defense, cut to the middle of the field and zipped a shot past Scigliano’s right shoulder to give the Bandits a 6-5 lead.
Corner: PICKED. 🎯#LetsGoBandits | @Tehoka1 pic.twitter.com/PVuQxYZy9A
— Buffalo Bandits (@NLLBandits) March 2, 2025
Vinc stood tall with 11 saves in the quarter to bring his save total for the game to 27.
After Buffalo shut down the Rush offense for over 30 minutes after their last goal, they finally got one past Vinc, tying the game at six at the 11:22 mark in the fourth quarter.
With the Bandits looking for a goal to retake the lead, Kyle Buchanan came up clutch, scoring his first of the game. Byrne passed it to a cutting Buchanan across the field and Buchanan beat Scigliano to the left post to score.
Justin Martin added onto the Buffalo lead, picking off a Rush pass and going coast-to-coast before burying a shot five-hole on Scigliano to make the Buffalo lead 8-6 with 3:41 left in the game.
Saskatchewan pulled the goalie and, following a Vinc save, the Bandits took advantage with an empty-net goal just ahead of the two-minute mark. Steve Priolo picked up the ball and passed it ahead to Nick Weiss, who put everything he had in the shot from beyond the restraining line. The ball found the back of the net before Scigliano could get back from the bench, giving the Bandits a three-goal lead.
The Rush got one back with less than a minute left, scoring on the rebound after a save from Vinc, but it was too little too late. Despite playing 6-on-5 for the majority of the final minute, the Rush couldn’t get one past the stout Buffalo defense.