The Buffalo Bandits will travel to FirstOntario Centre on Saturday at 7:00 p.m. to take on the Toronto Rock. The Bandits will go on the road at 3-3 and face their highest-ranked opponent this season in the 5-0 Rock.

One player will enter the game following an exciting week as forward Josh Byrne signed a five-year contract extension with the Bandits on Wednesday. Byrne joins alternate captain Dhane Smith in being able to call Banditland home for the next five years.

“It’s an honor to have this organization put its trust in me as a cornerstone piece of this team for the long-term,” Byrne said. “Banditland, I’m here to stay.”

Read more from Byrne’s letter to Banditland here.

The Bandits’ last game marked the team’s third loss of the season. Despite going down by seven goals in the second quarter, Buffalo came from behind to tie the score with two minutes left in the game. Jeff Teat scored for the New York Riptide less than 30 seconds later before the Riptide added an empty netter to defeat the Bandits 15-13.

Forward Chase Fraser was honored with the NLL Play of the Week after making a swim dodge onto the crease and a fake as he dove across the crease and scored on the near side.

Now Buffalo will look ahead to Toronto, the only undefeated team left in the league.

“They want to beat us, and I get why. We need to be the underdogs. We need to play like that,” Smith said. “Toronto’s a great team so we’re looking forward to the matchup. It’s very easy to get up for Toronto. We don’t like them, and they don’t like us.”

The Bandits and Rock have played each other 65 times in the regular season since 1999. In the last 10 years, they have played a total of 34 times including playoffs, with Buffalo holding a 19-15 record in that time. It is a rivalry through and through and there is no love lost when the Bandits head up north.

Even rookie Cam Wyers has felt the energy between the two teams before he takes on Toronto for the first time in his career.

“I’m just excited,” Wyers said. “You know it’s gonna be a bloodbath. From hearing their history to how intense the games were and I’m pretty excited to see where we’re gonna pick up from last year.”

Faceoff is set for 7:00 p.m. on CW23 and ESPN+. Radio coverage can be found at 1520 WWKB.

Here’s everything you need to know before the game.

A dynamic duo

Smith and Byrne have continued their production as the Bandits’ dynamic duo. Going into the weekend, both players are currently tied for the league lead in points with 40. Each forward has averaged 6.67 points per game so far this season, which is tied for fourth in the NLL.

“Those points don’t surprise me at all,” Bandits forward Kyle Buchanan said. “I know Dhane wants some more goals to fall but he still does his job and sets people up and makes them better. Then Josh is exactly what we expect, one of the top goal scorers in the league and he’s so dynamic.”

Individually, Smith currently leads the league with 35 assists in 2023-24, with the next closest being 28. Byrne currently ranks fourth in goals (17) and fifth in assists (23) among all NLL players.

Wyers finding his feet

As a rookie among the Bandits’ veterans, Wyers has quickly found comfort and camaraderie with his new teammates in Buffalo.

“I was a little rusty for sure but with the leadership we have on the defensive side of the ball, it’s been really easy to transition,” Wyers said. “Guys on this team made it really easy for me to transition and taught me a lot. Every week has been a learning process for me so far, just taking steps, getting more confident, and doing whatever I can to be more of an asset for our team.”

Taking things week by week has worked for the 24-year-old, who has been working closely with Justin Martin and Ian MacKay. Now against Toronto, Wyers will face not only a rival, but one of the biggest rivalries in the NLL. He didn’t realize it until he got to Banditland in the fall.

“I have a few buddies that I play with in the summers that play on Toronto,” Wyers said. “They mentioned it to me a couple times last summer before I got here and I kind of didn’t understand much. Then I got here and got in with the guys and started talking to the guys on the team and they were like, ‘Oh yeah, these guys do not like each other at all. So, I’m pretty excited to be a part of that now and get into that rivalry.”

Wyers has tallied 16 loose ball recoveries, four caused turnovers, and four blocked shots so far this season. He notched his first career point in the Bandits’ last road game against the Rochester Knighthawks.

Milestones

Many team and league milestones have been achieved by Bandits over the last few weeks.

Goaltender Matt Vinc now comfortably holds all three NLL goalie records, leading the league in goalie minutes by almost 4,000, saves by over 2,500, and wins by 43. He needs 29 more minutes in goal to pass his general manager and assistant coach Steve Dietrich for second all-time in Bandits goalie minutes.

As for other Bandits, Smith passed Mark Steenhuis last week for the second most points by a Bandit ever. He now sits behind only his coach, John Tavares.

“I probably won’t play him as much now,” Tavares said chuckling. “No, Dhane’s a great player. He’s very coachable and he’s changed his game over the years, which makes him relevant today. … It’s a huge feat to be second all-time in Buffalo scoring and he still has many years to go and I’m sure it will catch up to me eventually.”

Byrne passed Rich Kilgour in assists for fourth all-time for Buffalo last week. Chase Fraser’s four-goal effort against New York sent him to eighth all-time in goals for the Bandits.

Scouting the Rock

The Rock improved to 5-0 after topping the Georgia Swarm last week 12-9 following a fourth quarter run. The Rock were down 8-7 going into the fourth before taking a 5-1 edge in goals in the final quarter.

Toronto is led by three forwards in scoring. Dan Craig currently leads the team in points with 22. Corey Small leads the team in goals with 13 and Mark Matthews was a summer trade acquisition who currently ranks second in points with 19.

Goaltender Nick Rose, who has recorded 204 saves and a 5-0 record in the campaign, is expected to start in goal for Toronto.

“Rosey has continued to prove himself each year, He really makes you hit your shot, he’s obviously a bigger guy and he plays his angles really, really well,” Buchanan said. “It’s a combination of their defense and how Rosey plays but he makes you play up and down the posts. He doesn’t give you a whole lot straight on and when he gets hot, he can get really hot.”