Dhane Smith and Josh Byrne combined for 22 points as the Buffalo Bandits defeated the Philadelphia Wings 18-12 at Wells Fargo Center on Saturday afternoon.
“I’m super proud of this group,” Byrne said postgame on the ESPN+ broadcast. “We’ve been saying it for a while that we were really set to blow there. So, proud of our guys really battling and flying around.”
Smith scored a game-high five goals – three of which came during the first quarter – as part of a 13-point outing. Byrne led the charge late and finished with 10 points (3+7). Chris Cloutier (1+4) had a five-point night as did Chase Fraser (2+3) in his return from injury.
Ian MacKay (1+3) and Kyle Buchanan (2+2) both posted four-point nights. Matt Vinc tied a season high with 51 saves and had a .809 save percentage.
The Wings were led by Joe Resetarits and Holden Cattoni, both with eight points. Former Bandit Mitch Jones had seven. Zach Higgins made 48 saves.
Smith’s fourth goal of the game broke a 9-9 tie with 4:40 remaining in the third quarter and the Bandits led the rest of the way. The Bandits finished the game on a 9-3 scoring run.
The Bandits opened the game firing on offense. Smith scored in the opening minute of the game, then added his second goal from the top of the key on the power play. Tehoka Nanticoke added on next as he came flying out of the door in transition and Buffalo was up 3-0 in the opening four minutes of play.
It took five more minutes before Joe Resetarits snuck a shot inside the near post to put the Wings on the board. The teams traded two goals apiece for the remainder of the quarter, sending the Bandits into the break with a 5-3 lead.
Philadelphia opened the second-quarter scoring but any momentum it could gain was quickly stymied by the Bandits’ veteran forwards. Buchanan ignited a 3-1 run to finish the quarter with a highlight-reel, behind-the-back goal.
The Wings mounted their comeback in the third. Cattoni was on fire as he buried the first two goals of the half before managing a hat trick eight minutes into the quarter. Buffalo tacked on goals of its own from Fraser, Smith and Buchanan and emerged with an 11-9 lead.
The Wings cut the deficit to one with 11:54 remaining in the fourth quarter, but Byrne and Smith combined for six points from that point on.
The Bandits improved to 8-7 and moved into sixth place in the NLL standings, half a game ahead of Panther City.
“Every game’s a playoff game,” Smith said on the broadcast. “We know it’s gonna come down to the wire, it’s gonna come down to little things. We played well tonight but we gotta focus on the next one.”
Here’s more from the win.
Smith and Byrne against the world
Byrne and Smith are officially No. 1 and 2 in the league in points this season. With their totals against the Wings, both moved over Jeff Teat as Byrne has 111 and Smith has 109.
Smith’s day went beyond his goals and assists. Along with his 12 points, he tallied 11 loose-ball recoveries. His seven assists put him at 84 on the season. With three games left, he is on pace to beat his record of 96.
Next time out
The Bandits will head to Colorado to take on the Mammoth for the 10th time in three years.
Buffalo came away with the win at home last time these two teams played. Vinc was a key in that 12-8 win with 50 saves for a .862 save percentage. Byrne and Smith each had seven points. Read more here.
Faceoff is set for 9 p.m. EST at Ball Arena in Denver.