The Buffalo Bandits take on the Colorado Mammoth on Saturday at 9:00 p.m. at Ball Arena, looking to clinch that coveted first-round home playoff game and rebound from back-to-back losses.
The game will be broadcast on CW23, while you can stream the game on ESPN+ or, if you’re in Canada, on either TSN+ or the new NLL+ streaming platform. The game will be broadcast on the radio locally on 1520 AM.
Here’s everything you need to know before the game.
Last Time Out
The Bandits fell 13-12 to the Vancouver Warriors last Saturday at KeyBank Center.
Both teams combined for seven goals in the first seven minutes of the game.
The Warriors scored first before the Bandits had back-to-back goals 25 and 50 seconds later, respectively. Vancouver responded with a trio of goals in a 2:45 span to take a 4-2 lead.
Tehoka Nanticoke scored at the 6:53 mark in the first to get within one and then Chase Fraser’s goal to begin the second quarter tied the game at four. Vancouver again had back-to-back-to-back goals, scoring to cap off the quarter and take a 7-4 lead into halftime.
Buffalo plotted its comeback at halftime, outscoring Vancouver 4-2 in the third quarter to move within a goal. Ian MacKay had two goals in the quarter and the Bandits didn’t allow the Warriors to chain goals together. They continued their hot scoring run to begin the final quarter, scoring three goals in a row, including Byrne scoring twice consecutively to take an 11-9 lead.
However, Vancouver was able to take back the lead thanks to a five-minute major penalty, scoring four consecutive goals to pull ahead 13-11. Buffalo’s comeback effort fell short in the final minutes.
Leader of the Pack
Dhane Smith leads the NLL in points with 111 (27+84) heading into the final three weeks, leading second place Connor Fields by one. Josh Byrne is in third place with 108 (37+71).
Smith needs 17 assists to tie his single-season assists record of 101 set last season. He has a five-assist lead over Rochester’s Ryan Lanchbury (79), who has one fewer game left to be played.
Paul Dawson is the other Bandit who leads a statistical category, leading the NLL in blocked shots (42). He extended his lead in the category to 11, holding a 42-to-31 lead over Rochester’s Ian Llord.
On the Road Again
Buffalo is 6-1 in road games this season, outscoring their opponents 89-62 and winning by an average of 3.85 goals per game.
Their sole defeat came on March 22 at Albany in an 11-10 overtime loss, the second leg of a back-to-back set.
The Bandits’ best stretch on the road came in the first two games of the season when they beat Rochester in the season opener 15-7 and then the next week beat Ottawa 18-7.
Third Time’s the Charm
For the third straight week, the Bandits will have a chance to clinch a home playoff game.
Buffalo would clinch a first-round game at KeyBank Center with a win at Colorado OR with losses by Vancouver (vs. Albany), San Diego (at Halifax), and Georgia (vs. Philadelphia).
Scouting the Mammoth
The Bandits played the Mammoth twice last season, winning both times.
They won 12-8 in their first matchup of the season at KeyBank Center before going to Colorado in the final weeks of the season and beating the Mammoth 13-11 in a game that helped the Bandits eventually clinch a playoff berth the next week.
Thus far this season, the Mammoth are 8-7, including a 4-3 record at home.
Ryan Lee is Colorado’s top scorer with 82 points (30+52). Will Malcom is second on the team in goals and tied for second in assists with 29 and 41, respectively.
Dillon Ward is the man between the pipes for his 11th NLL season, all of which have been in Colorado. He’s fifth this season in goals-against average (10.89) and tied for second in save percentage (79%).