The Buffalo Bandits lost their third one-goal game of the season on Saturday, falling 13-12 to the Vancouver Warriors at KeyBank Center.

Buffalo had four chances at the end of the game with an empty net on the power play following a timeout with 36 seconds left to try and tie the score. All four times, they were stopped by goalkeeper Christian Del Bianco in net, who three weeks ago was still holding out prior to a trade-deadline move from Calgary to Vancouver.

“I wish he was still sitting on his couch,” Ian MacKay said postgame. “It’s good to see him back in the league. A player of his caliber, you don’t want situations like (him holding out) happening. Kudos to Vancouver for making that move and being able to get him.”

Del Bianco’s presence in net was among the key factors that swung the narrow margin in Vancouver’s direction, along with a pair of five-minute major penalties against the Bandits on which the Warriors scored a combined four goals.

Dhane Smith had seven points (1+6) while MacKay added a hat-trick and an assist in the loss, but Del Bianco’s 40 saves loomed large.

The loss was Buffalo’s second in a row since clinching a playoff berth in their win last Friday against Las Vegas. Both losses were decided by one goal.

“It comes down to we need to shoot the ball better,” head coach John Tavares said. “If we win by one, there’s no issues. We lose by one or two, there are a lot of issues. Sometimes you’re looking for reasons, you’re looking for excuses – it’s just put the ball in the net. That solves a lot of problems.”

Both teams jumped out to a quick start with seven goals in the first seven minutes.

Vancouver scored 1:04 into the game before Kyle Buchanan and Smith scored 50 seconds apart to give the Bandits their first lead of the game.

Vancouver then scored three consecutive goals to make it 4-2. Tehoka Nanticoke capped off the back-and-forth stretch of goals with Buffalo’s third goal, backing up his man, turning and going low to low to beat Del Bianco.

The Great Dhane doing great Dhane things! 🚨#LetsGoBandits | @dhanesmith92 pic.twitter.com/iVRHovSYbZ

— Buffalo Bandits (@NLLBandits) March 29, 2025

Chase Fraser tied the game on a power play, whipping it past Del Bianco 1:47 into the second quarter. Vinc shut out the Warriors for more than 18 minutes, holding Vancouver goalless from the 9:55 mark in the first quarter to the 6:31 mark in the second quarter, before Nick Weiss was assessed the game’s first five-minute major penalty for boarding.

Vancouver scored twice on the ensuing power play, then added a third goal before the end of the half to carry a 7-4 lead into the break.

“In the first half, it was a lot of one-pass, shot offense,” MacKay said. “That part was a frustration of not fully knowing what the defense was going to throw at us.”

Buffalo went to work whittling down the lead in the third quarter. MacKay scored 1:19 into the frame, faking out his defender and pinpointing his shot into the back of the net.

Pickin’ corners! 🎯#LetsGoBandits | @IanMacKay_94 pic.twitter.com/PUtRLMHFRX

— Buffalo Bandits (@NLLBandits) March 30, 2025

Vancouver responded to restore its three-goal lead, but a give-and-go between Nick Weiss and Dylan Robinson on a breakaway made the score 8-6 and, 43 seconds later, MacKay worked the pick and roll with Josh Byrne to perfection, capitalizing with his second goal of the game and 29th of the season.

Vancouver scored again to extend its lead out to two goals, but Buffalo stayed persistent.

With 1:02 left in the quarter, Buchanan doubled his goal total and brought the lead back down to one to head into the fourth.

Weiss toed the crease, jumped and finessed the ball past Del Bianco’s stick to tie the game early in the fourth quarter.

Less than four minutes after Weiss’ goal, Byrne – after being held scoreless for the first 50:29 of the game – found his flame and started torching the net, scoring twice in 29 seconds to give the Bandits their first multi-goal lead of the game.

“I thought we started picking it up, especially in the fourth quarter when we took the two-goal lead,” Tavares said. “I thought we had some nice rhythm and flow.”

Vancouver answered the Bandits’ run with a four-goal run of their own, beginning when Kevin Crowley scored with 7:56 remaining. Ryan Martel scored the next goal on the crease, drawing a five-minute penalty against Dylan Robinson for an illegal cross-check in the process. The Warriors added two goals on the ensuing power play.

“I thought we played pretty good, but we can’t be taking stupid penalties,” Tavares said.

The Bandits went to work with 4:01 remaining in need of two goals to tie the game. MacKay completed his hat trick to bring them within one with 3:37 left on the clock.

Del Bianco held his line, however, stopping the final five shots he faced for a Warriors team battling for playoff positioning. The Bandits, meanwhile, still hold the top spot in the league standings but will have to wait at least another week to clinch a home playoff game.

“We’re still trying to maintain that first playoff spot,” Tavares said. “I reminded the guys it’s a tough league and there’s a lot of parity. It doesn’t matter where you are in the standings, it’s going to be a tough, tight game and (Vancouver) showed it tonight.”