It all comes down to trust and familiarity for the Buffalo Bandits defense.
Nick Weiss, Paul Dawson and Steve Priolo have all stood guard for Matt Vinc for multiple seasons, figuring out what he likes and doesn’t like from his defenders. Dawson’s relationship with Vinc stems back to Rochester, when they were teammates on a Knighthawks team that won three consecutive championships from 2012 to 2014.
Now, they’re starting to break records.
After tying the franchise record for fewest goals allowed in last week’s quarterfinal win, Vinc and the Bandits defense broke the record with a 9-3 win over the Vancouver Warriors in Game 1 of the NLL Semifinals at KeyBank Center on Friday.
Game 2 of the best-of-three series is Sunday in Vancouver.
“That familiarity when you have a guy like Paul Dawson in front of me or Steve (Priolo),” Vinc said. “I’ve played a lot of games with those guys, and they know what I like, and I know where they want to be, so we try to work game plans around those types of things. A lot of those guys have had great careers because they play big in big moments and tonight’s just a small sample size of that.”
VN🚫#LetsGoBandits | @NLL pic.twitter.com/Mtj6OzFJeO
— Buffalo Bandits (@NLLBandits) May 3, 2025
Vinc made 35 saves in the win, which was the latest example of the Bandits’ ability to clamp down defensively in the playoffs. They won their quarterfinal matchup over San Diego last week 5-4 – the lowest-scoring game in NLL history – and previously held opponents to four goals in the deciding Game 3 of the 2023 NLL Finals and in Game 1 of last year’s NLL Semifinals against Toronto with Vinc in net.
“We have a big, tough, physical defense and it’s hard to get into prime scoring areas on us,” head coach John Tavares said. “And when teams get the opportunity, we have one of the (best) goalies in the world in Matt Vinc. I thought that was evident today. They had a hard time getting in there and they had to start shooting a lot more outside shots than they wanted to.”
Vinc’s 35 saves on Friday bring his total across the two Buffalo playoff games to 83. He’s stopped 92.22 percent of shots he’s faced, 10 percent higher than any goaltender still in the playoffs.
In front of him, Weiss blocked four shots while Priolo blocked three. Dawson, who set the NLL single-season record for blocked shots this year, didn’t have to accumulate as many bruises as he’s been used to; he finished the night with two blocks.
“We hold each other accountable,” Priolo said ahead of the game on Friday. “That’s what’s nice of having a team full of veterans and full of old heads. We all know we have this special moment of time, and that it’s limited.”
After having to endure a single-elimination game against San Diego, the Bandits continued to hold each other accountable with more breathing room in a best-of-three series, but also played with a sense of tranquility.
Without having the end of the season stare them in the face for 60 minutes, they were able to play looser knowing they had a little more rope to hold onto.
“They played (settled today). Even myself too,” Tavares said. “Those one-game eliminations, it’s just like going to into a playoff series in Game 7 and you never know what can happen and you saw last week, a five-goal game is anybody’s game.”
After starting last week’s quarterfinal game against San Diego quiet offensively, the Bandits lit the lamp numerous times in the first half.
Following Vancouver scoring a goal to open the game on the power play, the Bandits went on a 6-0 run to quell the Warriors.
“Especially here in front of our fans, doing that is huge to get them in the game,” Ian MacKay said. “As much as you as a player want to get into the game, to get the fans into the game is a huge advantage for us too. We knew they were going to come out flying.”
MacKay faked out his defender and zipped one over Vancouver goalie Christian Del Bianco’s shoulder to tie the game at one. Then, a five-minute illegal cross-checking penalty on Vancouver opened up the floodgates.
Dhane Smith threw multiple fakes, slowly making his way closer to the goal before ripping a shot into the twine. Chase Fraser followed his lead and scored his first playoff goal right below the KeyBank Center logo to put Buffalo up 3-1 at the end of the first quarter and start 2-for-2 on the power play.
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— Buffalo Bandits (@NLLBandits) May 3, 2025
Another illegal cross-check opened the door for another power play opportunity and 17 seconds into the man-up, MacKay buried his second goal of the game. Over a minute later, he secured a first-half hat-trick, bouncing a shot off Del Bianco’s shoulder and in to put the Bandits up 5-1.
HATTY ALERT. 🧢🧢🧢#LetsGoBandits | @IanMacKay_94 pic.twitter.com/J1Ald09q2q
— Buffalo Bandits (@NLLBandits) May 3, 2025
“They’re a pretty good team, they’re on a roll,” Tavares said. “I thought we did a good job answering (their first goal) and then we went on a run, and we did a great job of not letting them answer.”
Forty-eight seconds after MacKay notched a trio of goals, Tehoka Nanticoke got in on the action and snuck one by Del Bianco. Vancouver capitalized on a power play and brought the lead to four goals but Josh Byrne before the half brought it back up to five, putting the score at 7-2 at halftime.
Byrnzy’s ballin’ 😤#LetsGoBandits | @NLL pic.twitter.com/JF7wbdqDDD
— Buffalo Bandits (@NLLBandits) May 3, 2025
Vinc dominated the third quarter, making 10 saves to keep the Warriors off the scoresheet. He made a save on a 1-on-0, going low to stop the shot and keep it a five-goal game. Five minutes later, he stood tall and used his extensive padding to stop a Warriors shot on the crease.
MacKay had the only goal of the quarter, shooting into a wide-open lane after receiving a quick one-handed pass from Byrne.
“I didn’t see how it developed, I just know Dhane (Smith) took a hit to make a play and Josh (Byrne) followed up on it and got a great loose ball and flipped it over,” MacKay said. “I don’t know what the time was on the shot clock, but I know it was late, so it was just a matter of getting it off quick. I think Del Bianco stepped out to play the ball as well, so it opened up the net.”
Vancouver and Buffalo both notched one more goal in the final frame to bring the final tally to 9-3, sending Buffalo to Vancouver on Sunday for a chance to clinch their spot in a fifth consecutive NLL Finals.
“We’re just going to try to do what we did tonight and just try to carry it over,” Tavares said. “We usually play a game a week but this is two games in three days and some travel time.”
GAME 1 WIN‼️#LetsGoBandits | @NLL pic.twitter.com/JOlzzd6Q5n
— Buffalo Bandits (@NLLBandits) May 3, 2025