The Buffalo Bandits will take on the Albany FireWolves in a best-of-three series for the NLL Cup, beginning this Friday, May 17.
The Bandits swept their semifinal series against Toronto to advance to the NLL Finals for the fourth consecutive postseason and are seeking their sixth championship in franchise history after defeating the Colorado Mammoth to win the NLL Cup last season.
As we approach Game 1 of the 2024 NLL Finals, let’s take a look at how we got here.
December 9 – Bandits fall to FireWolves in season opener
The defending NLL champions kicked off the 2023-24 campaign with a season-opening loss to Albany for the second consecutive season.
The FireWolves went on a four-goal run in the second quarter to take the lead and never looked back, defeating the Bandits 17-13 inside MVP Arena.
From there, Buffalo posted a 3-2 record over its next five games to sit in sixth place in the standings entering Week 9.
January 24 – Byrne signs five-year contract extension
Josh Byrne, who is in his sixth season with the Bandits, signed a five-year contract extension in January after posting 40 points (17+23) through the team’s first six games of the season.
The forward wrote about why he chose to sign an extension in Buffalo in a letter to Banditland following the signing.
“This city and team have been through so much together over the last few years. We’ve shared tears. We’ve shared laughs. We’ve become a family. And it’s something I want to be a part of for the rest of my career,” he wrote.
January 27 – Bandits take down undefeated Rock
Toronto was the only undefeated team in the league entering its Week 9 matchup with Buffalo, but that didn’t hold the Bandits back.
Despite a 10-9 Rock lead at the end of the third quarter, the Bandits tallied seven straight goals en route to a 16-14 victory over Toronto.
Buffalo improved to 4-3 with the win and climbed to fourth in the league standings while Toronto dropped to second with a 5-1 record through its first six games.
February 24 – Vinc placed on injured reserve
Matt Vinc missed the first game of his career since becoming a starting goaltender in 2007 when he was placed on injured reserve prior to the team’s game against Albany on Feb. 24.
The Bandits lost 13-10 to the FireWolves at KeyBank Center before falling to Vancouver 13-12 the following week, with Vinc still on IR.
The game in Vancouver marked Buffalo’s third consecutive loss, which put the Bandits in seventh place in the NLL with seven games remaining in the season.
March 6 – Farrell signs two-year deal
The Bandits signed transition player and faceoff specialist Connor Farrell to a two-year contract after they recorded a .298 faceoff win percentage through the first 11 contests of 2023-24.
Farrell previously played collegiate lacrosse at LIU Post, where he ranked first in the nation with a .814 faceoff win percentage and was named the DII Faceoff Player of the Year in 2019. He also played in 45 career games with the Chrome Lacrosse Club of the Premier Lacrosse League, posting a .570 faceoff win percentage.
March 8 – Vinc returns to lineup; Farrell makes NLL debut
Vinc made 47 saves in his return to the lineup and Farrell won 27 of 33 faceoffs before Tehoka Nanticoke scored the overtime winner to lead the Bandits to a 15-14 win over the Saskatchewan Rush.
Farrell, who also recorded 19 loose-ball recoveries in the win, got his first taste of Banditland in his NLL debut.
“Oh my gosh, I’ve never seen anything like that before, that was nuts and I’ve never seen a crowd go that crazy it was unreal,” Farrell said after the game.
March 12 – Bandits acquire Dawson from Colorado
Buffalo acquired defenseman Paul Dawson and a third-round pick in the 2024 NLL Entry Draft from Colorado at the trade deadline.
Dawson, who is in his 18th season in the NLL, brought a veteran presence to a young defense that was dealing with injuries to Matt Spanger, Adam Bomberry, Justin Martin, and Justin Robinson throughout the season.
April 20 – Bandits clinch No. 4 seed, home playoff game
As the defense became healthier, the Bandits won five of their last six games, including their regular-season finale in Las Vegas, to clinch the No. 4 seed and secure a home playoff game.
Alternate captain Dhane Smith recorded 10 assists in Vegas to break the NLL assist record and lead the team to a 14-5 victory.
Captain Steve Priolo reflected on the regular season in a letter to Banditland following the win.
“Repetitions were everything this season. The more we played together, the better we were. It took time to get on the same page, but we stayed the course and kept a clear sense of direction with one goal in mind: raising the Cup once again,” he wrote.
April 27 – Byrne scores OT winner in NLL Quarterfinals
Buffalo opened the 2024 NLL Playoffs with a single-elimination quarterfinal matchup with the Georgia Swarm at KeyBank Center.
The Bandits found themselves down 9-8 with 6:34 remaining in the game but Kyle Buchanan put away a rebound in front of the net to tie the score with 5:55 to go and force overtime.
Byrne scored the game-winning goal 4:01 into overtime to secure a 10-9 win over the Swarm and advance to the best-of-three NLL Semifinals against Toronto.
May 5 – Bandits sweep semifinal matchup with Rock
Vinc and the Buffalo defense locked it down in the Bandits’ semifinal series with the Rock, allowing a total of just 12 goals between Games 1 and 2 to lead the group to a 2-0 series sweep.
Vinc made 54 saves and Buchanan tallied a hat trick in Buffalo’s 12-4 win in Game 1 at FirstOntario Centre on May 3 before the Bandits scored six unanswered goals in a 10-8, come-from-behind win over the Rock on May 5 to advance to NLL Finals against the FireWolves.
May 8 – Byrne, Smith, and MacKay named finalists for NLL Awards
Byrne, Smith, and transition player Ian MacKay were named finalists for the NLL’s end-of-season awards.
Byrne and Smith were each nominated for both the Most Valuable Player and Offensive Player of the Year awards while MacKay was nominated for Transition Player of the Year for the first time in his career.
The winners of each end-of-season award will be announced ahead of Game 1 of the NLL Finals.
