The quest for a third straight NLL championship begins on Saturday for the Buffalo Bandits when they travel east to Rochester to take on the Knighthawks at Blue Cross Arena at 7 p.m.
The game will be broadcast locally on CW23 and nationally on ESPN+ (U.S.) and TSN+ (Canada) as well as Canadian viewers being able to watch the game live on the new NLL+ streaming platform. You can listen in on the radio locally on 1520 AM.
The Bandits swept the Knighthawks in last season’s series, winning 15-13 and 15-14 in Rochester and Buffalo, respectively. Chris Cloutier, Dhane Smith and Josh Byrne all had five-plus points in both wins.
In the first game, Byrne scored twice in 24 seconds to extend Buffalo’s lead to 14-12 before Cloutier got his hat trick, scoring with 3:49 left to put the game on ice.
At Banditland, Cloutier broke up a four-goal Rochester run, scoring the game-winning goal with 3:36 remaining. This gave him his second hat trick against the Knighthawks and made it 15-13.
Here’s everything you need to know ahead of the Bandits season opener:
The Squad
All but two players on Buffalo’s opening night active roster appeared for the team last season. Names we all know and love like Chase Fraser, Chris Cloutier, Kyle Buchanan, Nick Weiss and Steve Priolo all return to Banditland after signing deals with the team in the offseason, including a three-year deal for Priolo.
The new two faces in 2024-25 include 2024 NLL Draft first-round pick Lukas Nielsen at forward and Thomas Whitty in transition.
Nielsen won MVP of the BC Junior A Lacrosse League in 2024 after leading the league with 50 goals and notching 75 points in 18 games. Whitty comes by way of Rochester and was acquired in September for Brandon Robinson. Last season, he recorded five assists, 81 loose-ball recoveries and 14 blocks in 16 games for the Knighthawks.
“When we look at our team, we always think of what kind of personalities we have on the team, and we want team guys first,” head coach John Tavares said. “We’re not looking for ‘me guy’ individuals, we’re looking for team players and we have a lot of them.”
Hey Banditland, meet your 2024-25 Buffalo Bandits! 🔥
More info here: https://t.co/15WzUpGpvq pic.twitter.com/uMAC82Ppki
— Buffalo Bandits (@NLLBandits) November 25, 2024
The Build Up
To prepare for the upcoming season, the Bandits had training camp in St. Catherines, Ontario, where they filed down the roster and played some preseason lacrosse.
Buffalo played two preseason games against the Las Vegas Desert Dogs and Georgia Swarm on Nov. 16 and Nov. 23, respectively. The Bandits beat the Desert Dogs 14-10 but narrowly lost to the Swarm, 13-12.
However, Smith feels more confident than ever about the makeup of the roster and the talent that Buffalo harbors.
“We’re excited about (the season). I feel like we brought back pretty much everybody from last year,” Smith said. “I feel like from training camp from day one, I feel like we could have been thrown into a game and felt ready to play. It’s the first time I felt this in a long time and everyone’s getting healthy.”
Scouting the Knighthawks
Rochester won its season opener on Nov. 30 against the Desert Dogs, 14-12. Former Bandit Connor Fields (3+7) and Ryan Smith (5+3) led the way for the Knighthawks in the win, scoring the last two goals of the victory.
Riley Hutchcraft made 50 saves on 62 shots for the Knighthawks.