Third Time’s A Charm
I started this season off with an article titled “Third Time’s A Charm”. I predicted a rare championship rematch between the Colorado Mammoth and the Buffalo Bandits. Now, with the season officially in the books, the Buffalo Bandits are your 2023 National Lacrosse League Champions. The third time truly was the charm for this team finding a way to its third straight NLL finals and finally bringing it home, back where it belongs.
The Buffalo Bandits were able to take game one of this series in a thrilling 13-12 victory. The game was closer than I expected but the Bandits played very well and seemed to have control of the game the entire way. The second game of the series the Bandits went down early in the second quarter and never recovered. The emotions ran too high from the coaches to the players. The game got away from them in a 10-16 loss. This set up another game three at home in Buffalo against the Colorado Mammoth. The Bandits seemed like a different team all season long, however, it was hard not to be nervous headed into this game.
The Bandits crushed the Rochester Knighthawks and the stingy Toronto Rock earlier in the playoffs. After two games of the finals, we were left wondering where that team went. What is it about the Mammoth that the Bandits cannot figure out? After the first half of game two, the Bandits were down 5-8 with the Mammoth grabbing the first goal of the third quarter as well. This time around, the Bandits were winning 4-2 at half and it was Josh Byrne scoring just 28 seconds into the third quarter to extend the lead. The Bandits fifth goal of the game ended up being a surprising game winner. That is the Bandits team we saw in the first two series of the playoffs. Not simply winning a game but doing it in a dominating fashion.
I am not sure what side of the ball was more impressive in the final game of the series. The offense used a balanced attack of inside goals, outside goals, from the right side, and from the left side. Josh Byrne returning to the lineup was massive to help unlock the depth of the offense. The defense and Matt Vinc held the Mammoth to a finals record low four goals. The Bandits outshot the Mammoth 34 to 22 in the first half and had an extra 10 loose balls to go with it. We talk a lot about how important it is to get off to a good start in a game, this one was no different and the Bandits were able to do just that.
The offense made the necessary changes from game two to have a great game three. The return of Josh Byrne was incredible as he scored 4 goals and added 3 assists, however, the Bandits were able to score 13 goals without him in game one. The Bandits depth on offense needed to find a way to score outside of Josh Byrne and Dhane Smith and they did just that. Tehoka Nanticoke, Chris Cloutier, Max Adler, Brad McCulley, and Matt Spanger all scored one goal. Chase Fraser and Dhane Smith each added two as well. The ability to score transition goals and spread the offense out was a big key to scoring thirteen goals against Dillon Ward and the Mammoth defense.
Speaking of defense and goaltending, my goodness was the Bandits defense and Matt Vinc on fire in this game. As I stated earlier, the Bandits defense was able to hold the Mammoth offense to only 22 shots in the first half. However, the Mammoth had many great in tight chances with the shots they were able to find. Every time Matt Vinc had an answer. Vinc would not be denied in his third straight championship series with the Buffalo Bandits. He made incredible save after incredible save. The adjustments he made from game two to game three were very evident. The Mammoth were able to find ways to the crease for diving shots and Vinc was ready to go with them every time.
Max Adler deserves a lot of credit for his playoff performance as well finishing the series with a 64.5 faceoff win percentage. We have said face-offs don’t matter until they do. There are times throughout a game where winning a faceoff is very important. However, the way Adler was able to dominate in the championship series deserves recognition. In game three, the Bandits changed their face off format and switched to a split set up with two players on defense and two players on offense. That kind of switch only happens because of the way Adler was dominating in the faceoff circle. He was also able to score his first ever playoff goal in game three, straight from a faceoff victory to put the game away.
The Buffalo Bandits are the 2023 National Lacrosse League Champions. It is still surreal to type, to say, to think, and to talk about. The Bandits and the Buffalo community have been waiting for this for a long time. The way the players talked in the post-game on field interviews about what it meant to bring it home and win in Banditland, the fans and players felt the years of waiting finally turn to victory. Now is not the time to think about next year, who is staying, who is going, can they repeat? Now is the time for celebration. Through the loss and pain over the years the NLL cup is finally back home. Enjoy this Banditland, we’ve earned it.