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Staff

Executive Staff

Terry Pegula – Owner/CEO/President
Pete Guilli
Pete Guelli – Chief Operating Officer
Rob Minter – Senior Vice President of Business Operations

NAME TITLE
Dave Zygaj Vice President Legal Affairs/Governor

Lacrosse Operations

Senior Director of Lacrosse Operations & Alternate Governor, Scott Loffler

In his position, Loffler oversees all aspects of the team’s day-to-day business operations including budgeting, team staff, payroll, travel, public and community relations, youth programs and initiatives, scheduling, and contracts. At the league level, Loffler represents the Bandits on the NLL’s Board of Governors as an Alternate Governor and is a member of the , Membership Committee, Scheduling Committee, and the Jr. NLL Tournament Committee. Loffler also serves as the Vice President of the WNY Lacrosse Foundation.

During his tenure with the Bandits, the team has enjoyed great success, qualifying for the postseason 11 times in 14 seasons, including six division titles and five trips to the NLL Finals and two NLL championships. Off the field, Buffalo has led the NLL in attendance ten times and has never finished below 2nd since Loffler joined the organization in 2009. As well, he was the driving force behind the implementation of Tucker Out Lymphoma Night, the Buffalo Bandits School Program, the Jr. Bandits Box Lacrosse League and travel teams, the Buffalo Bandits Wheelchair Lacrosse Team and the Upstate Collegiate Box Lacrosse League. A finalist for the NLL Executive of the Year Award in both 2015 and 2016, Loffler was also a recipient of Native American Community Service’s “Bundled Arrows Award” in 2014.

Born and raised in Ogdensburg, N.Y., Loffler is a 2003 graduate of Ithaca College, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Sports Management and followed that up with a Master's degree in Sports Administration from Canisius College in 2005. He and his wife, Amanda, reside in Plymouth, MI with their eight-year old son, Harry, two-year old daughter, Helen, and their golden doodle, Fred.

General Manager & Assistant Coach, Steve Dietrich

Dietrich was hired by the Bandits in 2012 as the team’s General Manager after spending two seasons as an assistant coach for the Toronto Rock. He also spent five seasons as general manager for the Kitchener-Waterloo Kodiaks of Major Series Lacrosse prior to joining Buffalo.

Following the 2016 campaign that saw the Bandits win the East Division and reach the Champion’s Cup Finals for the first time since 2008, Dietrich won his first NLL GM of the Year award. He went on to win the award two more times, doing so in 2019 and again in 2022 becoming only the second person to win the award three times.

In his ten full seasons as GM of the club, the Bandits have qualified for the post-season seven times, appearing in five NLL Finals (2016, 2019, 2022, 2023, 2024) and winning two NLL championships in 2023 and 2024.

Dietrich played 18 seasons in the NLL, with stops in Baltimore (1992), Detroit (1994), Rochester (1995-2001), Buffalo (2002-2007), Calgary (2008), Edmonton (2009) and Toronto (2009-2010). The four-time All-Pro selection won a league championship in 1997 with Rochester, and was named the Most Valuable Player of the championship game after the 15-12 win over Buffalo.

In 2006 he won the League’s Most Valuable Player Award, becoming the first goaltender to ever win the award. He had one of the best statistical individual seasons for a goaltender in league history that year, posting a save percentage of .808 and a goals against average of 9.97, leading Buffalo to the Champions Cup Finals. Dietrich became the first person to win the Goaltender of the Year Award in back-to-back seasons when he earned the honors in 2005 and 2006. He notched a career record of 60-47, while making 5,531 career saves and playing more than 8,300 minutes throughout his 18 seasons. His accomplishments in Buffalo earned him a spot on the Bandits All-Time Team as part of the franchise’s 25th anniversary celebration.

Dietrich was inducted into the NLL Hall of Fame in 2012

Coordinator of Lacrosse Operations, Dan Ristine

Dan Ristine started with the Bandits in 2013 as a game-day intern and later as a part-time equipment assistant until he was hired as the coordinator of lacrosse operations in 2016. Ristine got his start in sports as a ticketing intern with the Western & Southern Open tennis tournament in Cincinnati, Ohio before spending a season in the Buffalo Bills ticket office. He then took an internship and graduate assistant position for two seasons with the Buffalo Sabres community relations department before spending two years in the Sabres’ ticket office.

In his current role with the team, Ristine runs the Bandits Youth Lacrosse, Jr. Bandits, and UCBLL programs, Bandits School Program, community relations initiatives, Bandits auctions, and assists with the team equipment staff. Ristine also assists in all team services aspects, including team travel.

Born and raised in Hamburg, New York, Ristine is a 2008 graduate of Canisius University, where he earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Physical and Health Education and earned a master’s degree in Sports Administration in 2013 from Canisius. He currently resides in Blasdell, New York and is an active member of the Big Tree Volunteer Fire Department.

Coaching Staff

Head Coach, John Tavares


After being acquired from the Detroit Turbos prior to the 1992 season, Tavares played in Buffalo for the next 24 years, retiring in 2015 season as the NLL’s all-time leader in games played (306), goals (815), assists (934) and points (1,749), and finished second in league history in loose ball recoveries (2,169). He was named to the NLL All-Pro team a record 19 times and appeared in 10 All-Star Games, tied for the most by any player. He also won the league’s Most Valuable Player award in 1994, 2000 and 2001.

The native of Mississauga, Ontario served as an alternate captain for the Bandits for 18 seasons before being named captain prior to the 2013 season. He led the team in scoring in 17 of his 24 seasons with the franchise, including 10 consecutive seasons from 1999 to 2008.

Tavares has been a part of all six Bandits championship teams - 1992, 1993, 1996 and 2008 as a player and 2023 and 2024 as head coach - and tops the NLL’s all-time playoff list in games played (38), goals (84), assists (116) and points (200). As part of the team’s 25th anniversary celebration, Tavares was also named to the All-Time Bandits Team.

On September 27, 2016, he was enshrined in the NLL Hall of Fame, and on March 11, 2016 his number 11 jersey was retired to the rafters of KeyBank Center. He was elected to the Greater Buffalo Sports Hall of Fame in 2015, and was awarded the Order of Sport, marking his induction into Canada's Sports Hall of Fame on May 12, 2022. Tavares was also recently inducted to the Ontario Lacrosse Hall of Fame as part of the 2024 class.

Tavares is also head coach for Major Series Lacrosse’s Six Nations Chiefs, winning the Mann Cup in 2023.

Assistant Coach, Eric Vinc

The St. Catharines, Ontario, native spent 11 years with the St. Catharines Athletics prior to joining the Bandits organization. Vinc most recently served as the general manager for the Athletics’ Junior A team for three seasons (2011-2013) after spending three seasons as the team’s head coach (2008-2010). As head coach of the Athletics, Vinc led the team to a 45-27-2 record with three straight playoff appearances. Vinc started his career as the assistant coach for the Athletics’ Junior A team from 2001 to 2003 before being promoted to the head coach of the Junior B team, a role that he held for two seasons (2004-2005).

Goaltending Coach, Anthony Cosmo

After announcing his retirement prior to the start of the 2017-18 season. He appeared in 258 regular-season games with a record of 98-81, totaling more than 11,182 minutes and posting a career goals-against average of 10.96. His 7,222 career saves led the NLL at the time of his retirement. Cosmo played 4,381 minutes with the Bandits, posting a 12.20 goals-against average, a 38-31 record, and also adding 45 assists. The five-time NLL All-Star ended his playing career as the Bandits’ all-time leader in games played by a goaltender (97) and saves (3,043).

Eastern Scout, Dan Teat

Teat has served as an Assistant Coach with both the Buffalo Bandits and Panther City LC. He has also served as the coach of the Major Excelsior’s of Major League Lacrosse following an illustrious 14 year playing career that earned him a spot in the Ontario and Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame. During his playing career, Teat racked up 670 points in 211 games and won a Champions Cup with the Rochester Nighthawks during his rookie season in 1997.

Western Scout, Rob Buchan

Buchan is also currently the Vice President and General Manager of the Western Lacrosse Association’s Langley Thunder. He played 13 seasons in the WLA for the Langley Thunder and is the team’s all-time leader in goals, assists and points. Buchan won the Canadian Minto Cup Championship in 1994 with the New Westminster Salmonbellies.

Equipment

NAME TITLE
Ted Cordingley Equipment Manager
 Casey Deuser Assistant Equipment Manager

Medical

NAME TITLE
Michael Rauh, MD Medical Director and Head Orthopedic Surgeon
Michael Jordan, MD Head Team Medical Doctor
Clayton DelPrince, MD Assistant Team Orthopaedic Surgeon
Heidi Suffoletto, MD, FACEP Team Medical Doctor and Director of Emergency Medicine
Ryan Rajk Head Athletic Trainer
Nikki Rakoski Assistant Athletic Trainer
 Mike Maisano Assistant Athletic Trainer
 Matt Myer Team Massage Therapist
 Jon Beck, DC Team Chiropractor
 Dr. Chris Siuta Team Mental Skills Coach

Ticket & Merchandise Service

NAME TITLE
Frank Batres-Landaeta Vice President of Revenue Strategy
Marty Maloney Director of Ticket Operations
Mike Kaminska Merchandise Director

Arena/Game Operations

NAME TITLE
Stan Makowski Vice President of Arena Operations
Beth Guiliani Gatto Sr. Director of Arena Ops
Marc Brenner Director of Security
Dennis Hooper Director of Building Services
Kelsey Barrick Director of Game Presentation
Travis Fuller Senior Manager, Game Presentation
Chris Swenson Public Address Announcer

Communications/Social Media & Marketing

NAME TITLE
Cara Murphy Vice President of Marketing
Chrisanne Bellas Vice President of Broadcast
Jami Cohen Director of Media & Content
Mike Whitney Marketing Manager
Kurt Haumesser Social Media Coordinator
Colin Greenway Digital Marketing Manager
Ryan Gall Communication Coordinator
Bill Wippert Chief Photographer
Ben Ludeman Team Photographer
Dave Buchanan Sideline Reporter
Steve Bermel Broadcast – Color
John Gurtler Broadcast – Play-by-Play

Scoring Leaders

Pos Name G
1. Ian MacKay 15
2. Dhane Smith 10
3. Chase Fraser 7
4. Kyle Buchanan 5
5. Josh Byrne 3
6. Clay Scanlan 2
See All Stats ›
May. 22
Gurts Fast Break: Bandits, Rush Prepare for Winner-Takes-All Game 3
May. 22
Bandits return to Buffalo for decisive Game 3 against Saskatchewan
May. 18
Bandits fall to Rush 11-10 in Game 2 of NLL Finals
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