Dhane Smith recorded a team-high seven points, including a game-winning shorthanded goal with 2:24 remaining in the fourth quarter, and the Buffalo Bandits beat the Halifax Thunderbirds 11-10 at Scotiabank Centre on Saturday.
Halifax had erased a 7-2 Bandits lead with seven of the previous 10 goals prior to Smith’s, which was his lone tally of the game. Jason Knox capped a three-goal run from Halifax in the fourth quarter with a shorthanded goal to tie the game at 10-10 with 3:43 left before Smith’s game clincher.
The Bandits had nine different goal scorers including Ian MacKay, who had six points with a goal and five assists. Josh Byrne and Tehoka Nanticoke each had two goals to help snap the Bandits’ four-game losing streak.
Buffalo moved to 4-5 this season with 13 different players recording at least one point, including goalie Matt Vinc, whose sequence of key stops in the waning minutes highlighted a 41-save night.
Randy Staats and Clarke Petterson paced the Thunderbirds with seven points each, as the former recorded five assists.
The Bandits opened the scoring 38 seconds in with a transition goal from Kyle Buchanan, and Clay Scanlan added on 4:44 in with an acrobatic tally; he lied through the crease and tucked his shot past Warren Hill for a 2-0 lead.
Nanticoke scored two consecutive goals, including one shorthanded, following back-to-back goals from Staats. Tavares successfully challenged Petterson’s goal, which was overturned due to a crease violation, and Nanticoke’s second tally put Buffalo ahead 4-2 at the end of the first quarter.
The Bandits scored five unanswered goals from the 12:11 mark of the first quarter to the 5:59 point of the second quarter. Ryan Benesch potted one, another successful challenge from Tavares awarded Byrne a goal and Matt Spanger scored after catching a stretch pass from Vinc inside the opposite restraining line to make it 7-2 Bandits.
Spanger scored his first goal since Feb. 1, 2025, in his third game back from injury. Halifax’s Warren Hill – who entered tied for third in the NLL in save percentage among qualified goaltenders – allowed seven goals on 21 shots and was pulled for Drew Hutchinson. Hutchinson made 24 saves on 28 shots for Halifax.
The Bandits – who entered with an NLL-best 70-percent power-play percentage – pushed their lead 8-3 with a man-up goal from MacKay. Cody Jamieson scored twice in 43 seconds for Halifax as the Bandits led 8-5 at halftime.
Halifax stormed back and cut the Bandits’ lead to 8-7 with four consecutive goals, including two from Petterson, who reached a hat trick. Byrne’s second of the game ended a scoring drought of 15:33 as Buffalo entered the fourth quarter ahead 9-7.
Cam Wyers scored the third goal of his career and first of the season 4:37 into the fourth quarter immediately after serving a penalty. The Bandits survived with just three second-half goals amid the Thunderbirds’ trio of fourth quarter tallies to tie it inside four minutes left.
Mitch de Snoo returned to the lineup for the first time since Jan. 3 against the Las Vegas Desert Dogs after missing the last four games with an injury. De Snoo had a team-high 14 loose-ball recoveries and was a potent force in transition.
Up next
The Bandits are back on the road with a matchup against the Vancouver Warriors on Friday, Feb. 20 at 10 p.m.