Buffalo Bandits head coach John Tavares put it plainly following Saturday’s 14-13 overtime loss to the San Diego Seals:
“The goal wasn’t to go 18-0.”
After seven consecutive wins to start the 2024-25 NLL season, the Bandits were finally on the wrong side of the box score. They were playing on the second of back-to-back nights and had erased a 5-1 deficit early to carry a lead into the final minute of the contest. The Seals tied the game with six seconds remaining and won early in overtime.
“I’m proud of the effort the guys have put over the last several years and it just happens that we were on a pretty good run, and it ended today,” Tavares said following the game. “I’m still proud of the guys, I can’t fault them for effort, they gave it their all.”
It took a full six weeks – 42 days – after the last undefeated NLL team, the Georgia Swarm, lost on Jan. 4, for the Bandits to lose.
If you include last season, the winning streak extended to 11 regular season games – 16 including the 5-0 postseason run. The streak spanned 322 days, just outside of 11 months.
It brought a lot of good memories, especially this season.
A takeover of Rochester and Blue Cross Arena began the season with a 13-6 win and then 21 days later, the Bandits raised a sixth championship banner to the rafters and beat Rochester again, sweeping them in the season series.
Forever champions! 🤩#LetsGoBandits | @NLL pic.twitter.com/sqJbm7cQRF
— Buffalo Bandits (@NLLBandits) December 28, 2024
Then, last Friday, for a second time this season, the Bandits came from behind to beat the Toronto Rock with a fourth-quarter comeback, winning 13-12 and sweeping the Rock by way of two physical games.
And on Feb. 1, Banditland saw Connor Farrell take a penalty shot with 47 seconds left against Albany and subsequently come out on the power play unit, looking to grab his first career goal.
Two weeks later, Farrell got another opportunity against San Diego, converting this time and scoring the long-awaited goal. He threw his hands up in celebration and took in the moment, even if he couldn’t remember it after the game.
“I really don’t remember it,” Farrell said. “It was just so loud. It was unbelievable and a really cool experience.”
The moment you’ve all been waiting for…
Connor Farrell’s first goal as a Buffalo Bandit! 🔊#LetsGoBandits | @ConnorFarrell41 pic.twitter.com/BjAGgIgJvI
— Buffalo Bandits (@NLLBandits) February 16, 2025
While the goal from the Milkman ultimately came in a losing effort, it signifies how the team is approaching the loss.
Think back to when the 11-game winning streak started. It came after a 12-11 overtime loss against Panther City LC in a game that Ian MacKay still remembers as “the worst game of (his) career.”
“I can vividly remember the game in Fort Worth last year where we lost in overtime,” MacKay said. “It might have been the worst game of my career and that’s why I remember it so well but that was when the run started, and you want to end the season being the only team to end with a win.”
Nearly two months after that loss, the Bandits had won nine straight games to not only make the playoffs but roll through their playoff opponents, not losing a single game. MacKay played an integral part in Buffalo’s sweep of Albany in the 2024 NLL Finals, helping win back-to-back championships for the Bandits.
So, if last season is any indication, there are still more good times to come, especially with nine consecutive weeks of the Bandits having a game, beginning with a chance for revenge next Saturday. On Feb. 22, just a week after losing to the Seals, the Bandits travel to San Diego for their ninth game of the season, giving them a chance to redeem themselves and right the wrong.
“It will make it easier to get up to play against them and San Diego is a great place to visit,” Tavares said. “It’s business first and the loss gives us even more of a reason to preach that.”
Then, with six of the 10 remaining games coming on the road, it means more team road trips and more time to bond for those who make the trip.
“We had six weekends where it was all spread out and it was really hard to get into a groove,” MacKay said. “Now we get to go on some road trips and fly with the whole team and travel and team meals and hopefully we can continue to get comfortable and maybe go on another run.”