The Buffalo Bandits visit the Vancouver Warriors on Friday in the NLL’s Game of the Week.
Buffalo enters the matchup with a 5-5 record through its first 10 games while Vancouver sits in last place in the standings at 2-8.
Faceoff is set for 10 p.m. on ESPN+ and TSN. Radio coverage can be found on WWKB 1520.
Here’s everything you need to know before the game.
Last time out
Goaltender Devlin Shanahan made his first career start for Buffalo against Albany last Saturday and recorded 46 saves, but the Bandits fell 13-10 to the FireWolves at KeyBank Center.
Matt Vinc was placed on injured reserve prior to the game, making way for Shanahan to earn the start.
The Bandits found themselves in penalty trouble early in the game and the FireWolves capitalized, scoring four power-play goals in the first half. Buffalo generated 56 shots on goal but was unable to complete the comeback after going down in the second quarter.
“We have to take advantage of the opportunities that we do have,” forward Chase Fraser said. “Yeah, we’re not getting the amount of possessions that we’ve had in the past or we want to right now, so when we do have those possessions, we’ve got to capitalize on them.”
The mindset
After falling to seventh place in the standings, the team knows what it has to do to get back to its winning ways.
“We’ve got to go in with the mentality that this is our game,” Fraser said. “It’s the NLL and everyone’s talented in a sense and anybody can squeak out a game on anybody at any time. I feel like how we’re going, teams are looking at us like we’re on the lower end of the spectrum now and that gives us more fire under our belts.
“So, the mentality is where we’ve got to come in and win every game from here on out to secure our playoff spot and secure a higher seed, so we have some home advantage in playoffs.”
Fraser believes that the group just needs to find its rhythm again after returning a similar lineup this season to last year’s championship team.
“I think it makes it a little bit easier with how much we have been around each other and the relationships we do have,” Fraser said. “We’ve got to get back to the way we play lacrosse and with us having the relationships we have with each other we know it can be done.”
Shanahan’s first start
When Shanahan came to Buffalo as a rookie in 2020, he knew he would be the backup to Vinc, who was coming off back-to-back seasons as the NLL Goaltender of the Year.
He waited patiently for his opportunity before seeing it come to fruition against the FireWolves.
“You’d like to say it was just another day on the job, but it was a special one,” Shanahan said. “Being on the team here for a while, I was happy to get out there and I wanted to help my team get the W, but unfortunately we fell short.”
Scouting the Warriors
The Warriors are currently on a four-game losing streak and are coming off a 9-5 loss to the Toronto Rock last Saturday.
Bandits fans will be familiar with one forward, former Bandit Brad McCulley, who was traded to Vancouver earlier this season for future draft picks.
Vancouver’s offensive unit is led by Adam Charalambides and Keegan Bal. Charalambides’ 21 goals and 46 points in 2023-24 leads the team while Bal leads the team in assists with 26. The Warriors offense currently averages 9.5 goals per game.
Defensively, Vancouver is backstopped by Aaron Bold. The journeyman goalie has spent four of his last five seasons with the Warriors. So far this year, he’s averaged 28.5 saves per game and has been relieved by backup Aden Walsh in every game.