Buffalo Bandits 12 – Colorado Mammoth 8

One of the two NLL finalists from last season were going to start the season 1-3, and the Bandits were out to ensure that it wasn’t going to be them.

Colorado had the start they were looking for after going down 5-0 really early against the Warriors last week as the game remained scoreless into the first five minutes. The Mammoth were able to get the first marquee chance of the game after the Bandits got called for an illegal substitution on a breakaway against, but Eli McLaughlin’s penalty shot was stopped five hole by Matt Vinc. The Bandits finally broke open the scoring with 7:55 left in the first quarter, as Josh Byrne scored from outside on a delayed penalty 6-on-5 to make it 1-0. The goaltenders continued to be in top form as the quarter continued on, but the Bandits were once again able to capitalize before the quarter expired. Chase Fraser ripped in his his first of the night on the powerplay with 10 seconds left to make it 2-0 after 15.

After play went 4-on-4 early in the second, Brad McCulley fired in a quick stick from Dhane Smith. Soon after the two penalties expired, Smith and Byrne played give and go in partial transition, with Byrne getting his second of the game with 11:08 left in the half. Byrne had another transition chance minutes later that Ward stopped, but the Bandits got the rebound and set up, leading to Chase Fraser’s second of the game. With 8:54 to play in the first half, the Mammoth were in the same starting predicament as the week before despite that better opening quarter. Colorado got another chance at a powerplay with 7:09 to go, but after the initial Tyson Gibson shot was stopped by Matt Vinc, it was the Bandits getting the best opportunities on the two minutes shorthanded. Smith fed a trailing Fraser to get net front, which Ward saved, but a pass from Robert Hope to Owen Down went astray, allowing Smith to get the ball back and let the Bandits kill more time before Byrne fed Tehoka Nanticoke in front to make it 6-0. Byrne was called for goaltender interference with 27 seconds left on the Mammoth powerplay, and Zed Williams finally gave the Mammoth their first goal of the game with 5:22 left in the first half on the 5-on-3. However the Bandits had one more left in them in the half. The Bandits got another save off the ensuing faceoff, and then Smith tried sending a pass to Chris Cloutier in front of the net that was fanned on…and went right into the net, making it 7-1 Bandits after 30.

Josh Byrne wasted no time adding to the lead to open up the second half speeding past the whole Mammoth transition unit off the opening faceoff and beating Ward in front 17 seconds in. Colorado was able to get their first even strength goal next thanks to Connor Kelly finding Eli McLaughlin in front, but the Bandits had another answer on their next possession thanks to Dhane Smith from deep as the last one off the bench. Play went two 4-on-3 after coincidental minors and then Paul Dawson getting a five minute illegal crosschecking penalty after Tehoka Nanticoke took a hit up high, but it was Colorado scoring in transition soon after play went to 5-on-4 thanks to McLaughlin in transition. Tim Edwards scored in transition after winning the ensuing faceoff and beating Vinc on a breakaway, paying the price after three Bandits went after him after he was checked into their goaltender once in the air. The Mammoth killed off the full five minutes and got one more shorthanded goal to make it 9-5 as Connor Kelly fired from his opposite side and snuck one past Vinc’s leg pad. Fraser got a five minute illegal body check penalty of his own with 22 seconds left in the Dawson penalty, as he took down Jalen Chaster up high in the fight for a rebound. Buffalo got a shorthanded goal just as the Dawson penalty expired, with Smith feeding McCulley in the middle of the Mammoth defense in transition to end the Mammoth run. The quarter ended with McLaughlin scoring once again for the powerplay tally, putting the score at 10-6.

Goaltending and defense took back over in the fourth quarter. Tehoka Nanticoke second of the game made it 11-7 with 7:27 to play. Connor Kelly had two quick goals in the next minute to cut the deficit to 3, but they wouldn’t get closer than that. Vinc continued to send shots aside, and Kyle Buchanan added some final insurance with 1:37 to play, giving the Bandits a 12-8 win to even their record back to 2-2.

Once again, it was Josh Byrne and Dhane Smith leading the way for the Bandits offense, with Byrne tallying 3 goals and 4 assists and Smith getting on the scoreboard twice and adding 5 assists. Brad McCulley had 2 goals and 4 assists and took the team’s championship belt for the game. In a game where the shots were recorded as an even 57-57, Matt Vinc was credited with 50 saves (yes this math doesn’t add up, but 50 is a nice even number despite what the scoresheet currently says) in the win. Eli McLaughlin was the top point-getter for the Mammoth with 3 goals and 2 assists, and Connor Kelly matched that goal total in a four point night. Dillon Ward took the loss but bounced back from a rough performance last week, making 45 saves. Colorado returns home looking to improve to 2-3, welcoming the Seals to town on their second night of a back to back.

Buffalo heads down the 90 this weekend to face the Knighthawks, who had a bye in week 6, but before we preview, we have Deals.

Deals

Looking to add more insurance with Rylan Hartley still on injured reserve, Dan Carey added another goalie to the Knighthawks room, sending a 2026 third round pick to the Bandits for the rights to Doug Buchan. With Vinc, Devlin Shanahan, Steven Orleman, and Evan Constantopoulos in the system, it makes sense for the Bandits to move on from Buchan, who hasn’t played for the team since the 21-22 season. He backstopped the Peterborough Lakers in their Mann Cup run in the Summer of ’22 (as coached by Mike Hasen) before suffering an injury that sidelined him for the entirety for the 2022-23 NLL Season. Back healthy, he will work to be the backup for Riley Hutchcraft once settled into his new digs.

Buchan had a .780 save percentage in 54:24 in relief on Matt Vinc across two seasons with the Bandits. He started his career as a rookie with the expansion Philadelphia Wings, playing in 17 games with a .749 save percentage. He was traded to the Bandits for the current Philadelphia starter, Zach Higgins.

Andrew Mossbrooks checked in with Dan Carey on the goaltending situation, which you can read more about here, including the plan for Kevin Orleman, who is also out long-term with injury.

The Bandits weren’t done with deals for the week, as Vancouver gave Steve Dietrich a call looking to add another young forward and got one with Victoria native, Brad McCulley. The Warriors sent their 2024 and 2026 second round picks to the Bandits for McCulley and the 2026 third that the Bandits got from the Knighthawks earlier in the week. McCulley returns home and will have a larger role in the Warriors offense while the Bandits continue to play a righty-heavy forward unit.

Game Preview: Buffalo Bandits @ Rochester Knighthawks – Saturday January 13, 7:00 pm, ESPN+ and WNLO

The Buffalo-Rochester rivalry kicks off its 2024 campaign with the two teams playing their first of two regular season matchups on Saturday Night. The two teams win their respective home games last regular season, and then the Bandits started their playoff run with a dominant win over the Knighthawks in the first round.

Runs collide whenever Buffalo and Rochester play each other, so the ability to control the other team’s runs and control the crowd is always a starting point for a key to a Bandits-Knighthawks game, especially in Rochester where the stands are tighter and the split is closer to a high school rivalry game split (one of the best atmosphere matchups in the NLL every year in my opinion). Another thing that sets the two teams apart.

As part of run control and possession optimization, the Knighthawks enter the matchup with the advantage in the faceoff dot, as Joe Post has exceeded 70% of faceoff wins in his two matchups against non-traditional faceoff takers and has been the only player to hold Trevor Baptiste under 70% of wins this season, which is the mark Baptiste finished last season at.

	Buffalo Bandits (2-2)	Rochester Knighthawks (3-1)
Goals	45 GF, 43 GA, 51.1% GF%	57 GF, 55 GA, 50.9% GF%
Shots On Goal	202 SOG For, 198 SOG Against, 50.5% SOGF%	220 SOG For, 209 SOG Against, 51.2% SOGF%
Team SV%	.783	.737
Team FO%	30.5% (Leader: Ian MacKay – 32.1%)	59.7% (Leader: Joe Post – 59.3%)

Week 6 Recaps

Albany FireWolves 12 – Halifax Thunderbirds 10

They’re still rolling! Albany is now 5-0 after a home win over the Thunderbirds, overcoming a 10-8 deficit in the fourth quarter with 4 straight goals to finish out the game. After being held out of the goal column for the first 48 minutes of the game, Alex Simmons scored the game tying and go ahead goals on his way to a team-leading 5 points. Travis Longboat also had 2 goals and 3 assists. Doug Jamieson’s 46 saves neutralized the Thunderbirds offense, especially into the fourth quarter as the Thunderbirds ended up outshooting Albany 56-45. Halifax falls to 2-2, as they received a trio of 5 point efforts from Austin Shanks (3G 2A), Ryan Benesch (2G 3A), and Randy Staats (1G 4A).

Georgia Swarm 12 – Panther City 10

Georgia ran out to a 4-1 lead in the first quarter and 9-4 halftime lead, but Panther City was able to tie the game using 5 goal run over the first 16 minutes of the second half before Shayne Jackson helped the Swarm pull away to a 2 goal win at home to go to 4-1. Jackson had a double digit performance to lead the Swarm with 6 goals and 4 assists. Andrew Kew had 2 goals and 3 assists, and Lyle Thompson added a hat trick. Brett Dobson made 48 saves in the winning effort. For Panther City, Callum Crawford did the heavy lifting with 3 goals and 5 assists. Cam MacLeod made 23 saves on 29 shots faced in 42:01 of relief of Nick Damude. Panther City is 1-3 following the loss, joining five other former western division teams who only have 1 win through 6 weeks of play (San Diego at 2-1 is the only Western team with a winning record so far).

New York Riptide 16 – Philadelphia Wings 9

After a fourth straight winless December, the calendar turn did everything it could to assist the Seamfoam-clad Riptide to enter the win column for the first time on the season with a road win in Philadelphia. Jeff Teat had his best game of the early season with 5 goals and 4 assists, as did Connor Kearnan with 3 goals and 4 assists. Cam Dunkerley stopped 31 of 40 shots for the Riptide behind pink eye in not one but two eyes. Mitch Jones led the Wings with 2 goals and 3 assists. Holden Cattoni and Blaze Riorden returned to the lineup from respective upper-body injuries but were limited to a combined 3 goals and 2 assists.

Week 7 Around The League Game Previews

Friday January 12

Toronto Rock (3-0) @ Halifax Thunderbirds (2-2) – 6:30 pm, TSN Game Of The Week

Toronto may be the least talked about team in the NLL right now despite their undefeated record because of the Albany hot start, but the early bye weeks have the Rock flying under the radar. They’ll look to remind the national audience they are still a (if not the) championship favorite as they head to the east coast to face the Thunderbirds. Each team won their regular season home game in last year’s matchups, and Toronto beat Halifax in the first round of the playoffs. This is the first of two matchups between the rivals.

San Diego Seals (2-1) @ Las Vegas Desert Dogs (1-3) – 10:00 pm

The first of two [Joe] Tsai bowls takes place Friday Night, as the Desert Dogs look for their first franchise win against the Seals, who swept last season’s three game head-to-head. This is also the first of two matchups to wrap up a doubleheader Friday Night in the NLL.

Saturday January 13

Saskatchewan Rush (1-3) @ Philadelphia Wings (2-3) – 7:00 pm

The Wings continue their 4 game homestand with a rare Saturday Night at Wells Fargo Center, aiming to pull back to .500 against a Rush team that is 1-3 but took the FireWolves to overtime on New Year’s Eve. The Rush have two five goal wins all time against the Wings in their all time matchups, with those games taking place on April 13, 2019 in Saskatoon and February 22, 2020 in Philly.

Panther City (1-3) @ New York Riptide (1-3) – 7:30 pm

With both teams off to slow starts, the Riptide host Panther City for the second time all time, with Patrick Dodds netting the OT winner for Panther City’s first franchise victory on January 15, 2022. It will also be Callum Crawford’s first game in New York since being traded to Fort Worth in the middle of last season.

Albany FireWolves (5-0) @ Georgia Swarm (4-1) – 7:30 pm

This week’s marquee game will take place in Duluth, with the FireWolves attempting to stay undefeated. With Doug Jamieson and Brett Dobson both playing very well to start the season, it’s likely going to be a strong defensive battle. Albany has only won one of the six matchups since moving to the Capital Region. Last year, the Swarm swept the three game head-to-head.

San Diego Seals (2-1) @ Colorado Mammoth (1-3) – 9:00 pm

The Seals cap off their back-to-back weekend in Denver, where they will look to drop their biggest rivals to 1-4. San Diego has won 8 of the 11 regular season matchups all time, but they have only won 1 of the 4 in the playoffs, which includes the Mammoth’s upset in San Diego in the first round of last year’s playoffs. They have played 10 total times since the end of the covid stoppage, with the matchup being an even 5-5 since December 2021.

Calgary Roughnecks (1-2) @ Vancouver Warriors (1-3) – 10:00 pm

Curt Malawsky will coach against the Roughnecks for the first time after taking the Vancouver head coaching job in the offseason. After road losses to Rochester and San Diego to open the season, Calgary handled Vegas for their first win last weekend, and they will be hungry to even their record up to 2-2 and set themselves aside from that collection of single win teams at the bottom of the standings. They swept the three game matchup last year, and since the Warriors rebranded in 2018-19, they have an 8-2 record over Vancouver. It’s actually the only time the two teams will face each other in the regular season, so Malawsky’s return to Calgary will rely on potential playoff matchups or be delayed to 2024-25.

Photo Credit: Mike Hetzel/NLL