After a heartbreaking one-goal loss in Game 2 of the NLL Finals delayed the Buffalo Bandits’ plans for a three-peat, they’ll get another chance in Game 3 back in Buffalo.

After losing 11-10 against the Saskatchewan Rush, the Bandits will make the trip back to Western New York for the championship decider on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. at KeyBank Center.

Here’s everything you need to know before the series clincher on Saturday:

How to watch

TV: ESPN2, TSN

Streaming: ESPN+, NLL+, TSN+

Radio: WGR 550

First to Seven

If the Bandits manage to win Game 3 on Saturday, they’d surpass the Philadelphia Wings and Toronto Rock for most titles in league history.

The Wings, Rock and Bandits are currently tied at six championships. A win on Saturday would give the Bandits their record-setting seventh title and make them the second team in league history to complete a three-peat, joining the Rochester Knighthawks from 2012 to 2014.

First to One

After allowing Saskatchewan to score multiple goals to begin Games 1 and 2, Bandits head coach John Tavares said he’d like to see his team get the first goal of the game this time around.

“Getting out to a lead could definitely help us and maybe make them play a little bit faster and speed up their offense,” Tavares said. “That stuff can pay dividends towards the end of the game, whether you’re playing with the lead or catching up for the entire game. It’s not going to control the outcome of the game, but it can certainly help.”

With Banditland at Buffalo’s back, getting the first few goals of the game would provide a mountain of momentum that Saskatchewan would have to overcome early in a game with enough pressure already surrounding it.

Home Cooking

Since the beginning of the Bandits’ run through the playoffs in 2023, they haven’t lost a postseason game at home. In fact, the sole game that the Bandits have lost during that time was Game 2 of the NLL Finals in 2023 against the Colorado Mammoth in Colorado – sound familiar?

KeyBank Center has been one of the hardest places to play in the NLL with 18,000-plus fans on top of you and screaming, and it gets even harder in the playoffs. With a third consecutive title on the line, Buffalo isn’t going to quiet down anytime soon, especially with Game 3 on Saturday being sold out.

“It’s hard not to put your best foot forward at home in Buffalo,” head coach John Tavares said. “Not that we’re not trying on the road, but it gives you that little extra boost having the crowd behind you, maintaining that momentum, or if you fall behind, they’re cheering you on.”

Meanwhile in Saskatoon, the Rush are doubting the impacts that Banditland truly has on the game.

“It’s not like anyone in the crowd is going to come set a pick on us,” Rush transition player Jake Boudreau said.

Removing the Excess

Tavares pointed to multiple things following the team’s 11-10 loss in Game 2 that they needed to fix going into this Saturday, including getting ground balls and taking smarter penalties, but there are positives to take into Game 3 as well.

“Our work ethic, the amount of hustle the guys showed throughout the game,” Tavares said. “We got a lot of resets on offense. As many groundballs as we did miss, we did get a lot of offensive groundballs to create some free possessions. Overall, we did a great job of staying in that game.”

Matchup to Watch: Bandits Defense vs. Austin Shanks

Austin Shanks produced carbon-copy scoring performances in the first two games of the series. In both games, he had eight points, both made up the same way – three goals and five assists.

He is by far the points leader on the Rush throughout the finals with 16, outpacing Zach Manns by six points in the series.

With both games so far in the series having been decided by one goal, slowing down Shanks’ production on the offensive end and limiting his scoring chances is crucial to allowing the Bandits to potentially run away with the championship decider.

“He’s getting open off ball and he’s capitalized on some opportunistic plays, broken plays off groundballs that we’ve missed or fortune bounces,” Tavares said. “He’s a great goal scorer, he’s got a great shot. He’s obviously playing with a lot of confidence right now and we definitely have to pay a little more attention to him.”

While shutting down Shanks, the Bandits still have to be wary of the other potent forwards that the Rush have like Manns as well as Robert Church – who has yet to score this series – and Ryan Keenan.

Tavares warned that putting too much attention on Shanks opens the door for other players to punish the Bandits, allowing someone else to fill the role that Shanks has had in the first two games of the series.

“Saskatchewan is an offense that attacks by committee,” Tavares said. “They have Church who hasn’t scored yet but he’s a phenomenal player so you pay too much attention to Shanks and Church is going to kill you, so you have to pick your poison a bit here. We’re definitely trying to pay a little more attention to Shanks but everybody else is a threat too.”