The Buffalo Bandits are back at KeyBank Center for Tucker Out Lymphoma Night, honoring the life of Tucker Williams and supporting the cause against cancer, as they face the Las Vegas Desert Dogs on Saturday at 7 p.m.
The opening game of the Tucker Out Lymphoma Cup – a three-game series during the 2025-26 season that features the Bandits, Desert Dogs and Oshawa FireWolves – will provide fans the chance to participate with jersey auctions, sweepstakes and “Braver Than Brave” placards to fill out with a special ceremony during the third quarter.
More information on Tucker Out Lymphoma Night and ways to be involved can be found here.
“It’s one of the biggest nights of the year for our team,” Bandits coach John Tavares told Bandits.com about Tucker Out Lymphoma Night. “That night is close to a lot of people; a lot of people are affected by cancer. Shawn Williams, Tucker’s father, played in Buffalo and (was) a big part of the organization. We’re happy to continue to support Lymphoma night and the Williams family. … It’s bigger than the game itself. It brings everybody together and brings the lacrosse community together for a great reason.”
The Bandits are coming off a dominant second-half performance in their 13-7 road win over the Calgary Roughnecks on Dec. 28. Buffalo scored eight of the final 11 goals despite leading scorers Dhane Smith and Josh Byrne being held scoreless until the third quarter.
Buffalo scored four goals in less than six minutes in the third quarter and expanded its 5-4 halftime lead with four tallies in each of the final two quarters.
Entering the Calgary contest, Tavares talked about looking for a “winning combination,” and he turned to a formation he used all of last season with seven forwards and nine defensemen.
Tavares transitioned away from the eight forwards and eight defenseman he used in the opening two games and found strong continuity on both ends of the floor, especially in the second half.
“What I liked a lot about the second half is the ball movement,” Tavares said. “The ball wasn’t getting stuck on one side of the floor or on one stick. It was swinging back and forth. It gets the defense moving a lot. And more important than the defense, the goaltender moves post to post. Most goalies when they’re stationary can set their feet, have a better chance of making a save. When you get the goalie moving side to side, he tends to lose the net a little bit, and I thought that helped tremendously with capitalizing on opportunities.”
Smith finished with a hat trick and a game-high nine points, while Byrne had a goal and seven assists despite their atypical starts. The duo had just two points each in the first half but acted as catalysts for Buffalo’s second-half explosion.
Calgary’s close attention to Byrne and Smith allowed Buffalo’s secondary options to shine as every forward recorded a goal, and transition player Nick Weiss had his first multi-goal game since 2023.
After being held scoreless for the first 10:07 against Calgary, Buffalo will search for a quicker start against a Vegas team that’s allowed just four first-quarter goals in three games. To do so, Buffalo will need to continue its “attacking by committee” approach that Tavares described.
“Not every shot is going to go in for them (Smith and Byrne), and this is the beauty of having secondary scoring,” Tavares said. “When other guys are scoring, you need to start focusing on those players. When that happens, that just gives more time and space for your top players like Josh and Dhane.
“You get more time and space, with that comes more accuracy. When everybody’s going, everybody’s going to be better. Dhane and Josh are both very confident players, so missing a couple shots here and there definitely isn’t going to prevent them from continuing to shoot.”
Here’s everything you need to know before the Bandits battle the Desert Dogs.
How to watch
TV (Buffalo broadcast market): CW23
Streaming: ESPN+
Radio: WGR550 AM
Bandits’ simplified approach driving power play success
A key reason for Buffalo’s success offensively against Calgary was its 2-for-2 mark on the power play. One of those came from second-year forward Clay Scanlan, whose last-minute power-play tally sent the Bandits to the locker room with a 5-4 halftime lead.
Kyle Buchanan added the second power play goal in the late stages of the third quarter to move the Bandits to 6-for-10 on the power play this season. The Bandits are 5-for-7 in their last two games but will face a Vegas team that’s allowed three power-play goals on 12 penalties taken.
“When you get your chance, that’s what separates the wins and the losses; it’s capitalizing opportunities,” Tavares said.
Tavares said improving the power play’s efficiency has been a focus this season and noted that his group still had key opportunities they didn’t convert on in the first two games. His message to his offensive unit: don’t be fancy, put shots on goal.
“I think sometimes we spend so much time passing the ball around looking for that perfect shot, sometimes it’s just shoot the ball,” Tavares said. “Volume was a key word I was using for the power play. Let’s shoot the ball more often. … Maybe we’re getting two possessions and two shots, let’s try to get five, six shots if we need to on one power play as opposed to two or three.”
Scouting the Desert Dogs
The lone matchup with the Desert Dogs this season marks the return of former Bandits Chase Fraser and Chris Cloutier, who were key parts of Buffalo’s three consecutive championships.
The former has five goals and five assists, while the latter has 15 points this season. Fraser, Cloutier and leading scorer Mitch Jones – who was acquired via trade from the Philadelphia Wings – have formed a formidable newcomer trio for the Desert Dogs.
“Vegas is playing very confident,” Tavares said. “Chase [Fraser] and Chris [Cloutier] have brought a lot of charisma or confidence to that offensive unit. They’ve always had some good players, I think this puts them over the top with them and Mitch Jones. When you add three players of that quality to an offense, all the other players are going to pick up their game.”
Jones is tied for seventh in the NLL with 19 points, and the Desert Dogs boast returnees Jonathan Donville, who has 16 points, and 2025 NLL Rookie of the Year finalist Adam Poitras.
Las Vegas also has Tyrell Hamer-Jackson, who is second amongst qualified players in faceoff wins with 56 and third in faceoff percentage at 68.3 percent.