The 2024-25 Season

It didn't take long after the Bandits won their second straight championship to realize what would be ahead of them in the following season. 

One title was nice. Two was very good. Three would be historic.

Three-peats are very unusual in professional sports. It's difficult to keep all of the players together financially. Players get hurt. Coaches and executives move on. Luck is involved. Complacency can creep into the picture. Only one team in the history of the National Lacrosse League (and its former configuration, the Major Indoor Lacrosse League)  had done it - the Rochester Knighthawks, who won titles in 2012, 2013, and 2014. The last team before the Bandits to win even two in a row besides Rochester was the Toronto Rock (2002 and 2003). 

If the Bandits were going to make it three in a row, they'd have one less team to beat. The Panther City franchise in Fort Worth, Texas, was an experiment in a part of the world where indoor lacrosse was generally unknown. Its attendance was always terrible even if the team itself was middle of the pack, and ownership mercifully decided to pull the plug in the summer of 2024. There was an attempt to find a spot for the team on short notice. Charlotte came close to landing the franchise, but there wasn't enough time for it all to come together. 

The next stop was the dispersal draft, which was quite a prize for some of the losing teams in the NLL. Colorado, for example, picked up a top scorer in Will Malcom. The Bandits didn't have any pressing needs, and a new player might have trouble making the roster. So they dealt the pick to Philadelphia for a second-round draft choice in 2025.

"You look at Colorado – two years in a row they’re in the league final," Bandits general manager Steve Dietrich said. "They have a tough year last year, and their present was Will Malcom – a 100-point scorer. Every team got two guys better. Obviously with us picking late (No. 14), things worked out that we ended up getting a draft pick (second-rounder from Philadelphia in 2025). The guy we wanted went a couple of picks earlier. It just makes a competitive league more competitive, when teams get two players."

Buffalo's biggest preseason transaction probably was the trade of forward Brandon Robinson to Rochester for defender Thomas Whitty. Then the Bandits dealt Justin Robinson to Ottawa for a conditional draft choice. If nothing else, having two fewer Robinsons around would make it easier for broadcasters to describe the play. Whitty proved to be a good fit, but otherwise the team chose to stand pat. The nucleus would be intact. 

"We’re lucky," Dietrich said. "Scott (Loffler of the team's front office) and the ownership group give us a lot of leeway to financially keep a lot of these guys together. Getting Matt Spanger back was going to be a big one for us. We knew we had to do a couple of things. Getting Thomas Whitty is going to help. The kids we drafted will help. We wanted to keep a lot of the same team, but we also wanted to make changes so that you’re always keeping up with the Joneses. You’re always trying to stay young while staying competitive." 

The Bandits did stash away three first-round draft picks for the fall of 2024 selection session. They took Lukas Nielsen, Luca Antongiovanni and Taylor Dooley with them, and could afford to let them develop slowly so they could contribute down the road. Dooley played four games, while Nielsen participated in two.  

The schedule-makers at the NLL office didn't do the Bandits any favors. The dates were back-loaded. Buffalo was scheduled to play two straight games on the road in early December, take a week off and finally play the home opener (and accompanying banner-raising ceremony) on December 28. Then they followed a pattern of week on/week off that lasted until mid-February. But from there, Buffalo played 12 games in 10 weeks with no byes. 

It took all of three quarters in the opener against Rochester for the defending champions to get serious about the season. With the score 7-6 for Buffalo, the Bandits went on an 8-1 rampage in the fourth period to take a 15-7 win. Dhane Smith had 11 points, and Matt Vinc stopped 54 of 61 shots for a save percentage of .885. Kyle Buchanan started his season off with three goals, setting the tone for a very successful season. 

It was even easier a week later. The New York Riptide became the Ottawa Black Bears in the offseason, but the Bandits overwhelmed them. Buffalo had a 9-3 lead at halftime, and threw in the final six goals of the game to come away with an 18-7 triumph. Noteworthy was a five-goal performance by Ian MacKay; there's be more of that as the season went on. 

After a week of rest, Buffalo finally got around to a last celebration of its previous title.

 

Suitably inspired, the Bandits simply scored the first six goals of the game. Josh Byrne was the only one to have two goals in that run, as scoring came from everywhere. Byrne had 11 points, and Tehoka Nanticoke added a hat trick in an easy 13-6 win over Rochester. The Bandits were three games into the season, and they had outscored their opponents by a 46-20 margin.  

“It’s one of those games when you’re a little uncomfortable during the day,” Vinc said about the home opener and accompanying ceremony. “You want to get that part of it over with. It means so much to everyone, but we’re here to play a game. It’s one of those things when you’ll look back and be very proud of that moment.” 

Toronto was tough on January 10, 2025. The Rock, which had been playing second fiddle to the Bandits for the past few years, usually gave Buffalo a tough game. This qualified. Neither team had more than a two-goal lead. The Bandits found themselves down by a goal with five minutes to play when Chase Fraser and Nick Weiss turned the tables. 

With the score tied, Steve Priolo completed a last-minute (literally) pass to Weiss, who went alone when the defense adjusted slightly to guard against a pass to Byrne on the right side. “I’m glad I looked back when I did,” Weiss said. “The ball was already in the air. It would have been pretty awkward if it hit me in the head and didn’t get a shot. I caught it, and they went straight to J.B., and I had a lane. I went through a couple of fakes and shot, and it went in. When you have a great offense like we do, sometimes we don’t push it. But when we have the chance, we can go.” 

Dhane Smith added an empty-netter in a 15-13 win. Smith had 10 points and MacKay had five goals. 

During the next two games, Buffalo returned to its dominating ways. It scored 10 goals in the second period alone to take a 13-5 lead on Philadelphia; Byrne had six goals on seven shots at intermission as everything he touched turned to goal. The Wings scored six straight goals to make the second half a little interesting, but a pair of power-play goals by the Bandits in the final five minutes finished the win. Byrne went 7-5=12, while Smith was 1-9=10. 

“You hear about guys like Steph Curry and LeBron (James) talking about being in a flow state,” Byrne said about being in the zone. “You’re not really pressing. You’re not trying too hard. Everything is working.  I didn’t have to do a whole lot. Guys were setting seals and setting picks. I think something that’s underrated is that they are so focused on Dhane (Smith), because of how great a facilitator and goal scorer he is, that sometimes I get more room. Suddenly, it’s a wide-open shot.”   

Buffalo put on another burst against Albany on February 1, taking a 6-2 lead late in the first quarter. The margin grew to 11-4 and finished at 16-10. The Bandits were 6-0 and dominating the NLL.

“It’s a cool feeling for sure,” Byrne said about the big runs. “It includes the defense, with (Vinc) as the best ever. The defense is unreal. A lot of guys don’t get recognized enough. Our offense is insanely talented. You take any one of our guys, and they could be a No. 1 (forward) on any other team.” 

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Buffalo's next game was in Toronto, and it took a period to get the Bandits' attention. Five straight goals by the Rock opened the game, and it was still up by a pair early in the fourth quarter. Buffalo responded with six goals in under eight minutes in a 13-12 win. 

Another bad start was an omen, as visiting San Diego had a 4-0 lead before eight minutes had elapsed a day after the Toronto game. The Bandits fought back and led by a goal in the final moments. But Zach Currier tied the game with six seconds left, Wes Berg ended it in overtime, and the Bandits had finally lost (14-13). The team's 16-game winning streak was over. 

“It was a little déjà vu,” MacKay said. “We knew we had fallen behind the previous night, but we also had the memory of fighting back through it. Obviously, we don’t want to start like that. In the first quarter we had three or four good chances. … It wasn’t for a lack of effort. We just weren’t hitting our shots.”

Buffalo returned the favor a week later, outlasting the Seals in San Diego by a score of 13-12. Kyle Buchanan scored the game-winning goal with 4:25 left. Next up was Saskatchewan, the surprise team of the league and one that was battling the Bandits for first place overall. Buffalo trailed 5-2 late in the second quarter, and then ripped off a 7-1 run through the fourth quarter. The Bandits were fully in charge of the league after a 9-7 win.

The Bandits traded back-to-back wins with Calgary in a home-and-home swap. The Roughnecks had a 7-2 edge in the fourth quarter to take a surprisingly 17-11 win in the KeyBank Center on March 8. The one-sided wins for Buffalo had disappeared for the moment, and it was easy to wonder if the other teams were learning to play with each other as the season went on. Buffalo had that edge early in the season because it had so many returning players.

“Teams get together more (as the season progresses), and the dispersal draft of the Texas team (Panther City) made a lot of teams stronger,”  coach John Tavares said. “They added some new pieces to the puzzle, and it takes some time. So maybe these teams are starting to get better with these new additions. … I think there’s parity throughout the entire year, but now it’s getting even tighter. If you look at the standings, there are a lot of teams around .500 – 6-6, 5-6. 7-5. On any night, anybody can win.” 

A week later, Buffalo bounced back with five straight goals in the first half to take control. The Bandits ended up 11-6 winners. 

In between those two games, the NLL trading deadline took place. Dietrich thought his roster was a little thin, especially with the loss of Matt Spanger for the season to injury. The Bandits' GM realized he had a chance at another title, and gave up a little of the future for some immediate help. A second-round pick in 2028 went to Vancouver for Kiel Matisz and a low-round pick. Buffalo also picked up Western New York Ron John and a draft pick from San Diego for Sam Le Roue and a second-rounder in 2026. 

If it's a good start to a game you wanted, the Bandits provided one against Las Vegas. They scored the first eight goals of the first quarter and had an 11-2 lead at halftime - the largest such margin by the team since at least 2005. The Bandits were never in danger after that, even though the Desert Dogs closed with five straight scores to make the game a more reasonable 13-10. “It’s just a lot of fun,” Chris Cloutier said about the team's ball movement. “Those are the goals you get up for. Those are the goals that you all celebrate together. … It looks like Christmas morning on everyone’s face.”

Buffalo had to travel to Albany for another game the next night, and fell short in spite of tying the game with three straight goals to close regulation time. Future NLL Rookie of the Year Dyson Williams scored eight minutes into overtime to give the Firebirds the win. It was the second-longest game in Bandits' history.    

A poor fourth quarter led to a home loss to the suddenly hot Vancouver Warriors led to a 13-12 loss. But Buffalo rebounded nicely with a 15-10 win in Colorado. That meant the Bandits only needed to win at home against Halifax on April 12 to clinch first overall and home-field for the playoffs. They did that by scoring five of the game's last six goals to pull out a 15-12 win; Buchanan (his fourth) scored the game-winner.

“Most of our losses have been one-goal games, except for maybe one of them,” Buchanan said. “You want to play tough lacrosse. You want to get those tough wins. It was nice to pull away in the fourth quarter.” 

 

That win made the season's final game meaningless. The Bandits dropped an 14-11 decision in Georgia to finish 13-5. It was the 10th time the team had been the No. 1 seed entering the playoffs, more than any other team. It didn't guarantee anything, since Buffalo had won only four championships in its nine previous seasons on top. 

It turned out to be a good year for the Bandits in terms of postseason hardware. Smith was picked as the offensive player of the year, and Buchanan won the sportsmanship prize. A nice surprise came when team broadcaster John Gurtler earned the Tom Borrelli Award as the "Media Person of the Year." Gurtler had been broadcasting the team's games since 2004, but it took 21 years for him to be recognized by the league for his fine work. 

Individually, Byrne and Smith tied for the team and NLL scoring lead with 134 points each. Their total of 268 points was the second-highest total by two teammates in league history - one behind their number of 269 a year ago. Buchanan had 34 goals in an outstanding season, and Ian MacKay topped that with 37 goals. Vinc wound up playing all but 12 minutes, and his goals-against average of .10.71 and save percentage of .791 were typically good. 

And how about the attendance? The team averaged 18,471, a record for the franchise and a jump of 1,497 per game from 2023-24.  

The Bandits opened the playoffs with a first-round game against San Diego, which already had a win at the KeyBank Center in 2025 to its credit. To put it mildly, it was an unusual night at the office. The Bandits' defense smothered the Seals right from the start, and scored four straight goals in the fourth quarter to take a 5-2 lead at halftime. Then the offense simply stopped. Buffalo was blanked for the final 30 minutes. However, the defense gave up only two goals, and one came with a second to go. Vinc had a save percentage of .930 - No. 2 on the Bandits' all-time (2005-2025) list. The 5-4 win was one of the lowest-scoring games in NLL playoff history, and it was the fewest goals the Bandits had ever scored in a victory. 

 

Buffalo's defensive wizardry continued into the semifinals against Vancouver. The Bandits jumped out to a 6-1 lead 10 minutes into the second quarter, and the rest was easy. MacKay had four goals in a 9-3 victory that featured Vinc stopping 35 of 38 shots for a .921 save percentage. 

The same two teams had to cross the continent for Game Two in the best-or-three series with only a day off in between. But Buffalo erased a two-goal lead down the stretch and took an 11-9 win to capture the series in two straight. MacKay led the scoring with six points. 

Meanwhile, Saskatchewan had taken care of its business on the other side of the bracket. Therefore, it was No. 1 versus No. 2 for the NLL championship. Game One was played in Buffalo, and the Rush showed no signs of nervousness. They had the better of the play for most of the game, and had a lead of 10-8 with 6:48 left in the third quarter. Buffalo's veterans answered the call, as Smith and Buchanan scored two goals each in a 12-10 win. It was a particular impressive performance by Smith, who took charge of the game at a crucial time. It may have been his finest moment as a Bandit.  

“Talking about Dhane, he’s the one of the best because he’s very determined to be the best,” Tavares said. "No matter what the score is, he never gives up. He always wants the ball when it matters most. He showed it today why he deserves to have the ball.”

Smith finished with eight points. Vinc and his defense also deserved credit for shutting down the Rush without a goal for the final 21:43. 

"They're our backbone, and have been throughout the year," Smith said about the team's defense. "Obviously Matt Vinc is the best goalie for a reason. He shut the door. There's probably a few that he wants back. As an offensive group, we get so much motivation because we know the defense is going to make that next stop."

 

Two days later in Saskatoon, the Rush started the game quickly again by taking a 3-0 lead after 10 minutes of play. Buffalo immediately answered with two goals by Smith and one by MacKay. And back and forth we went. The score was tied 6-6 at the half, and Buffalo led 9-8 with a quarter ago. Soon the Bandits were 10 minutes from a championship, and it looked as if we might have a rerun of Game One. Instead, Austin Shanks continued his great play in Game One, when he had three goals and five assists. Shanks had two goals and an assist at game's end as Saskatchewan took a two-goal lead with three minutes to go. Buchanan got one of those back, but the Rush held on in the final minute for an 11-10 win. 

Both teams headed back to Buffalo for the deciding Game Three. It was a close series, and the Rush had shown no sign of backing down. There was no reason to think the final game of the season would be anything but tight. Sure, enough Shanks set the tone with a goal 24 seconds into the game. Buffalo had a 3-2 lead after the first quarter, as Byrne was playing with aggressiveness again and Cloutier was back in the lineup after mostly recovering from an injury. 

The Bandits started the second period with four straight goals with the usual suspects involved - Byrne (twice), MacKay and Buchanan. The sellout crowd of 19,070 was threatening to carry the Bandits on a wave that would lead to a championship. But Robert Church of the Rush scored 13 seconds after Buchanan had made it a four-goal game, and two more Saskatchewan goals reduced the margin to 7-6 at the half. The Rush would not go away. 

At halftime, Vinc wasn't particularly satisfied with the way the first half had gone for him. He decided he needed a "reset." The veteran, who usually only took off a couple of pieces of equipment at halftime, started over in putting on his gear. 

The Bandits probably needed a spark beginning the second half, and Fraser provided one with the latest in a series of spectacular goals only 1:34 into the period. Byrne added his fourth of the game 53 seconds later, and Buffalo was on the verge of starting another run. The Bandits were 22-1 in playoff games since 2014 when they had a three-goal lead, and it seemed very unlikely that this group of veterans would take their foot off the gas. Sure enough, Smith and Cloutier each scored twice within four minutes, and the score was 13-6 Buffalo. 

In the meantime, a re-set Vinc was invincible. He stopped everything the Rush threw at him. The veteran was not going to let this opportunity get away. Even after the Bandits stopped pressing for goals in the fourth quarter, Vinc and his defense weren't allowing anything to go in the net. 

The team's future obvious Hall of Famers - Smith, Byrne and Vinc - had raised their game a few notches when it mattered most, and the rest of the team followed along. The Bandits played a perfect half, essentially - a fitting cap for a game that will be remembered by the team's followers forever. Byrne finished with nine points, Smith had eight, and Vinc stopped 42 of 48 shots. 

“The leadership group stepped up and said, ‘We’re not losing tonight,” Dietrich said. 

Soon it became a matter of letting the clock run out, and eventually it did. The Bandits won by a score of 15-6, and had won three championships in a row. They passed Toronto and Philadelphia for all-time championships with seven, and they had appearance in a record five straight NLL Finals. 

  

“It’s been in the back of your mind that we have the same squad here, and the opportunity for it (a three-peat),” Priolo said. “But it wasn’t real until the horn went off.” 

“It’s unbelievable,” said MacKay, who picked up the Most Valuable Player award for the NLL Finals. “Obviously the goal every year is to win a championship. To do it for the third time (in a row) is unheard of. There’s only one other team to do it. To cement ourselves in history is an unbelievable feeling.”

The Bandits had put together a nucleus in 2019, and rode it to some of the greatest moments in team history. Here are its members: Dhane Smith, Josh Byrne, Chase Fraser, Ian MacKay, Steve Priolo, Chris Cloutier, Nick Weiss, Matt Vinc, Matt Spanger, Justin Martin, and Bryce Sweeting.

The win did have a bit of a "Last Dance" feeling, as it is difficult to keep any sports team together almost indefinitely. If this is the group's last ride together, no one can say it wasn't the most best finish possible.