The Buffalo Bandits will travel to Nova Scotia this Friday to take on the Halifax Thunderbirds. Faceoff is set for 6:30 p.m. inside Scotiabank Centre.
The Bandits hit the landing strip for the first time this season following their bye week, with their three previous road games all having been driving-distance trips to play Albany, Rochester, and Toronto.
The trip to Halifax, despite being a flight, still feels like one of those close rivalries for Bandits players that remember the Thunderbirds as the Rochester Knighthawks before 2020. (The original Knighthawks franchise relocated to Halifax, with a new Rochester team joining the league in its place.)
“We’re prepared for sure, never easy coming off a bye week but every team has to do it so there’s no excuse there,” forward Dhane Smith said. “But you can always get up for a Halifax game, they’ve been a rival for us for a very long time even dating back to them being Rochester so I’m excited for the challenge ahead.”
Halifax and Buffalo are tied in the standings at 5-3, trailing third-place San Diego – which is idle this week – by half a game. Albany and Toronto are tied atop the standings at 6-2.
Halifax caught up to Buffalo last week during the Bandits’ bye. In the last three weeks, Halifax has defeated Rochester, Philadelphia and Las Vegas. The Bandits know the key is closing out in the fourth quarter.
“I think our biggest challenge is playing a full 60 minutes, I don’t think we’ve done that yet,” transition player Ian MacKay said. “You look at our last couple games, they’ve been a lot better, but the endings haven’t been the way we wanted. If you were in our locker room, it’s not necessarily a sour taste because we won the game but we’re not the happiest with how we’re winning the games.”
In both of Buffalo’s wins over Toronto and Rochester before the bye, the fourth quarter was the focus. Even though the Bandits won those games they allowed late runs that brought each game from a blowout to a close game on the score sheet. Veterans in Buffalo know that a full 60-minute effort is the key to beating a team like the Thunderbirds and ultimately getting back to the promised land in 2024.
“Defensively I think we can help out [goaltender Matt Vinc] a bit more and limit as many shots as he’s seeing,” MacKay said. “He’s obviously the best goalie in the world and we trust him back there but if we can limit the amount of shots he sees it’s only gonna make his job easier.”
Faceoff is set for 6:30 p.m. at Scotiabank Centre in Nova Scotia. TV coverage can be found on CW23 and ESPN+ while radio coverage can be found at WWKB 1520.
Here’s more before the game.
Bandits during the bye
Unlike most NLL teams, many Bandits live in and around the Buffalo area. That is the case for players like MacKay, Chris Cloutier, Smith, and Josh Byrne. During a bye week there’s no surprise that some players still fill their life with lacrosse.
“For me I just try to relax as much as possible,” MacKay said. “On the weekend I just watched some games. … I went over to Josh’s place on Saturday and watched games with him and Clooch. Still getting together with the guys but pretty relaxed.”
Some players take that bye week for a true break during a season. That was the case for Smith this February.
“I actually just went away with my fiancé, it was a nice little reset,” Smith said. “We legit just sat by the beach, ate some good food, just relaxed and it was much needed for my body. I know for myself I go to the gym five to six days a week and I can’t not workout hard if I’m there, so it was a nice three days rest for my body which was much needed but I’m definitely missing lacrosse and ready to get back at it.”
However they may spend it, the Bandits will come off the bye with new energy. Buffalo is 5-1 off a bye since the 2022-23 season.
Scouting the Thunderbirds
The Halifax Thunderbirds are one of the most consistent teams in the NLL. They moved from Rochester after the 2019 season and played their first year in 2020. Since then, they have never posted a losing season and have made the playoffs every year.
At the heart of that success is Jake Withers. Last season he led the NLL in faceoff wins with 360, two shy of tying the league record. He also suits up for Team Canada as their faceoff specialist, having won a silver medal at the world games last year. MacKay knows the battle he will have to deal with in Halifax.
“Jake Withers is one of, if not the best, faceoff guy in the league,” MacKay said. “The situations we’ve been in this year with the faceoff game, knowing that we’re not gonna win a ton and the challenge that presents is always a fun and unique one especially because I am taking faceoffs a lot more, but going against a guy who’s arguably the best in the league? It’s gonna be a battle there for sure.”
The Thunderbirds have stars at every end of the floor. Offensively they are led this season by Clarke Petterson and Ryan Benesch. Petterson leads the team in points with 42 while Benesch leads the team in goals with 21 at 39 years old.
Defensively the Thunderbirds are backstopped by six-year veteran Warren Hill. His numbers aren’t the impressive part about their defense though. Halifax allows an average of 46 shots on goal per game. For reference, the Bandits have averaged shooting just over 54 shots per game this season. The Thunderbirds have only allowed one team to take that many shots on them, last week in their win over Vegas.
A big factor of the Halifax defense is a man some call “The Cyborg,” Graeme Hossack. He was the NLL Defender of the Year in 2018. The Bandits know they need to spread the ball around and make every shot count.
“He’s a great defender, I’ve played with him and I’ve played against him many years and he’s one of the top defenders in the league for a reason,” Smith said. “It’s a team effort at the end of the day, it’s not gonna be me versus him by any means and it’s not gonna be Josh versus him. It’s gonna be everybody as an offensive group and I just feel like we’ve been playing well just moving the ball and trying to put the ball in the back of the net especially early.”