To quality for this list, a goalie has to play half of the possible minutes to quality. In this case, it's 18 X 30 minutes for 540. You may have heard that Brett Dobson set a league record at 7.86. You may not have heard that three other goalies joined the list this season. Sounds like goals per game as a league might have been down a little bit this season, for whatever reason.
Here's what we have so far, dating back to 2002:
Name - Team - Year - GAA
Brett Dobson - Georgia - 2025-26 - 7.86
Aaron Bold - Edmonton - 2014 - 8.73
Doug Jamieson - New England - 2019-20 - 8.80
Nick Rose - Toronto - 2022-23 - 9.03
Nick Rose - Toronto - 2021-22 - 9.05
Nick Rose - Toronto - 2025-26 - 9.17
Nick Rose - Toronto - 2023-24 - 9.18
Evan Kirk - Saskatchewan - 2019-20 - 9.26
Christian Del Bianco - Calgary - 2022-23 - 9.28
Bob Watson - Toronto - 2010 - 9.31
Frank Scigliano - Saskatchewan - 2024-25 - 9.40
Nick Rose - Toronto - 2019-20 - 9.41
Christian Del Bianco - Vancouver - 2025-26 - 9.42
Frank Scigliano - Saskatchewan - 2025-26 - 9.43
Aaron Bold - Edmonton - 2015 - 9.44
Zach Higgins - Philadelphia - 2019-20 - 9.44
Anthony Cosmo - Boston - 2010 - 9.50
Matt Vinc - Orlando - 2010 - 9.51
Matt Vinc - Rochester - 2014 - 9.56
Ken Montour - Buffalo - 2009 - 9.57
That starts at the top. Brett Dobson of Georgia smashed, clobbered and shattered the record for save percentage. He had a ridiculous year. But others weren't that far behind. Six names entered the all-time top 20 for save percentage. There are five still left from 2019-20, so those two years take up more than half of the list. I'm stumped for a reason.
Note: You need to play half of a team's potential minutes in a season to qualify:
Name - Team - Year - S/Pct. Brett Dobson - Georgia - 2025-26 - .847
Doug Jamieson - New England - 2019-20 - .829
Nick Rose - Toronto-Calgary - 2024-25 - .820
Nick Rose - Toronto - 2019-20 - .816
Dillon Ward - Colorado - 2019-20 - .816
Zach Higgins - Philadelphia - 2019-20 - .815
Nick Rose - Toronto - 2025-26 - .814
Ken Montour - Buffalo - 2009 - .813
Christian Del Bianco - Vancouver - 2025-26 - .813
Warren Hill - Halifax - 2025-26 - .813
Evan Kirk - Saskatchewan - 2019-20 - .812
Nick Rose - Toronto - 2023-24 - .812
Nick Damude - Philadelphia - 2025-26 - .811
Matt Vinc - Orlando - 2010 - .810
Christian Del Bianco - Calgary - 2022-23 - .810
Dillon Ward - Colorado - 2024-26 - .810
Warren Hill - Halifax - 2019-20 - .809
Ken Montour - Buffalo - 2008 - .808
Steve Dietrich - Buffalo - 2006 - .808 Matt Vinc - Buffalo - 2019-20 - .808
This has turned into the Christian Del Bianco show. The goalie was still on top of his game after playing a full season in Vancouver. Two other players cracked the all-time top 20 (and ties):
Name - Team - Year - No.
Christian Del Bianco - Calgary - 2022-23 - 19
Christian Del Bianco - Calgary - 2023-24 - 19
Christian Del Bianco - Calgary - 2021-22 - 17
Christian Del Bianco - Vancouver - 2025-26 - 17
Eric Martin - San Jose - 2007 - 16
Brad Kri - Toronto - 2018-19 - 14
Nanad Gajic - Colorado - 2010 - 13
Andrew Turner - Rochester - 2005 - 13
Robert Hope - Colorado - 2023-24 - 13
Trent DiRicco - San Diego - 2025-26 - 12
Chris White - Buffalo - 2011 - 11
Brian Reese - Colorado - 2004 - 11
Dillon Ward - Colorado - 2021-22 - 11
Tim Edwards - Colorado - 2022-23 - 11
Dylan Hutchison - Las Vegas - 2024-25 - 11
There are plenty of ways of figuring out the league's top players. Here's another that doesn't penalize someone for being on a bad team, at least to some extent. Take a player's goal total, divide by the team's goal total and get a percentage. Tanner Cook is the new champion:
Name - Team - Goals/Team - Pct. Tanner Cook - Calgary - 49/187 - 26.2 Jeff Teat - Ottawa - 44/185 - 23.8
Alex Simmons - Oshawa - 41/179 - 22.9
Keegan Ball - Vancouver - 45/200 - 22.5 Curtis Dickson - Calgary - 42/187 - 22.5
With that done, let's mix it in the results dating back to 2003. Cook is the only new addition to the list.
Name - Team - Year - Goals/Team - Pct.
Athan Ianucchi - Philadelphia - 2008 - 71/225 - 31.6
Jeff Teat - Ottawa - 2024-25 - 53/183 - 30.6
Dhane Smith - Buffalo - 2016 - 72/251 - 28.7
Curtis Dickson - Calgary - 2016 - 61/216 - 28.2
Jeff Teat - New York - 2023-24 - 58/206 - 28.2
Jeff Teat - New York - 2022-23 - 56/201 - 27.9
John Grant Jr. - Rochester - 2006 - 54/196 - 27.6
Gary Gait - Colorado - 2002-03 - 61/226 - 27.0
Kevin Crowley - New England - 2018 - 51/184 - 26.3
Rob Hellyer - Toronto - 2019-20 - 32/122 - 26.2
Thie W/L stat is more reflective of how the team plays in front of a goalie, of course, but it's fun to see how dominant a goalie is. Here's the list of goalies who had the most wins compared to losses in a season since 2003; it should be noted that these come from NLL statistics, which awards the wins and losses.
Christian Del Bianco of Vancouver led the way this past season with a 13-5 record, matching Matt Vinc's record with the Bandits a year ago. But +8 isn't good enough to crack the top 10.
Goalie - Team - Year - W/L - Diff.
Nick Rose - Toronto - 2023-24 - 15-2 - 13
Aaron Bold - Edmonton - 2014 - 15-2 - 13
Matt Vinc - Buffalo - 2018-19 - 14-2 - 12
Pat O'Toole - Rochester - 2007 - 13-1 - 12
Matt Vinc - Buffalo - 2022-23 - 14-4 - 10
Nick Rose - Toronto - 2021-22 - 13-3 - 10
Matt Vinc - Buffalo - 2021-22 - 14-4 - 10
Evan Kirk - Saskatchewan - 2018 - 12-3 - 9
Matt Vinc - Rochester - 2014 - 12-3 - 9
Gee Nash - Colorado - 2007 - 9-0 - 9
Now, the reverse:
Goalie - Team - Year - W/L - Diff.
Pat Campbell - Edmonton - 2006 - 1-11 - 10
Evan Kirk - New England - 2015 - 4-13 - 9
Doug Buchan - Philadelphia - 2018-19 - 2-11 - 9
Doug Jamieson - Albany - 2022-23 - 3-12 - 9
Matt Disher - Anaheim - 2004 - 1-9 - 8
Angus Goodleaf - Rochester - 2018-19 - 2-10 - 8
Aden Walsh - Calgary - 2025-26 - 4-12 - 8
Chris Levis - Colorado - 2010 - 2-9 - 7
Gee Nash - New York - 2003 - 3-10 - 7
Alex Buque - New York - 2019-20 - 1-8 - 7
Landon Kells - Las Vegas - 2023-24 - 5-12 - 7
Riley Hutchcraft - Rochester - 2025-26 - 1-8 - 7
Admittedly, it's easy to remember what indoor lacrosse team has the best record by winning percentage in a season - the 1993 Buffalo Bandits. After all, they are the only unbeaten team in league history.
But there must be some other good teams that deserve a mention. None of them played in 2025-26. Vancouver led the way at .722 - good but not good enough.
Year - Team - Pct.
1993 - Buffalo - 1.000
2014 - Edmonton - .889
2007 - Rochester - .875
2002 - Albany - .875
1995 - Philadelphia - .875
1993 - Philadelphia - .875
1987 - New Jersey - .833
2023-24 - Toronto - .833
2004 - Colorado - .813
2002 - Rochester - .813
1996 - Buffalo - .800
1996 - Philadelphia - .800
1991 - Detroit - .800
2001 - Toronto - .786
2015 - Toronto - .778
Say, where did all of the contenders go for this list of one-two goal-scoring punches in the NLL over the years? Nobody cracked the all-time top 10. Rochester came the closest with Fields and Lanchbury teaming up for 83, but that's not very close.
Year - Team - Players - Total
2016 - Buffalo - D. Smith and Benesch - 111
2002 - Washington - P. Gait and G. Gait - 104
2009 - Buffalo - Steenhuis and Tavares - 102
2023-24 - Rochester - Fields and Smith - 102
2008 - Philadelphia - Iannucci and Bergey - 100
2015 - Edmonton - Matthews and Greer - 97
2001 - Buffalo - Tavares and Williams - 97
2007 - Rochester - Grant and Evans - 96
2015 - Calgary - Dickson and Evans - 95
2014 - Calgary - Dobbie and Dickson - 95
2024-25 - Rochester - Smith and Fields - 95
It's a similar story in points. At least we had a couple of additions in points. The lawfirm of Smith and Byrne didn't break their own record, but 231 points is still good. They have five of the top ten totals. Anyone doubt they are the best combination of the present day? Fields and Lanchbury are back on the list for a second time.
It would take a lot of work to do this stat by average points per game; the Gait Brothers might show up a lot more often.
Year - Team - Players - Total
2023-24 - Buffalo - Byrne and Smith - 269
2024-25 - Buffalo - Byrne and Smith - 268
2024-25 - Rochester - Fields and Lanchbury - 239
2022-23 - Philadelphia - Jones and Resetarits - 236
2021-22 - Buffalo - Smith and Byrne - 234
2024-25 - Philadelphia - Resetarits and Jones - 231
2025-26 - Buffalo - Smith and Byrne - 231
2016 - Buffalo - Smith and Benesch - 229
2002 - Washington - P. Gait and G. Gait - 226
2022-23 - Buffalo - Smith and Byrne - 225 2025-26 - Rochester - Fields and Lanchbury - 225
Buffalo Bandits general manager Steve Dietrich had plenty on his mind
entering the 2015 season. First, he had to figure out whether his team
was the squad that had come within a single goal of playing for the
National Lacrosse League championship, or the squad that had finished
the 2014 regular season with an eight-game losing streak - or. more
likely. a little of both.
Then he had to find a way for the team to get younger without slipping
in the standings. Since the Bandits drew big crowds to First Niagara
Center, there was always financial pressure to keep the seats full. A
major restructuring of the roster - in other words, a step back to take
two steps forward - wasn't much of an alternative.
"It's incredibly difficult," Dietrich said. "As guys get older, you've seen them compete. I've played with some of them, and Troy (Cordingley) has coached some of them. It's hard to let some of those guys go. But with the salary cap, you almost have to. And some of the young kids deserve a chance."
The NLL Draft usually is the first chance for teams to start to retool
for the upcoming season, and the Bandits completed a good-sized deal on draft might. Rory Smith had been a rugged defender during his one season
in Buffalo, and became a favorite of coach Cordingley. That gave
him some trade value at the age of 28, and Dietrich opted to cash in on
it.The Bandits sent Smith along with goaltender Eric Penney and a
second-round pick in 2014 to Vancouver. The Stealth gave a first-round
draft pick in 2014, a second-rounder in 2014, another first-round choice
in 2018, and transition player Nick Weiss.
Then it was time to draft players, and the Bandits had an eye on Brandon
Goodwin with that first-round pick. Goodwin at least knew Buffalo was
interested in him when he turned on his computer that night.
"I sat down and watched the draft with my parents,” he said. “I
was pretty excited. I was getting updates with texts from the coaches so
I knew what was going on. I kind of had an idea” the Bandits were
interested, “but it could have gone any which way. I’m glad about the
way it did go.”
Buffalo had been on the older side when it came to left-handed shooters
in 2014, with John Tavares and Shawn Williams both above the age of 39. This was a chance to add some youth to that spot. Williams
eventually walked away from the team as a free agent, in part because of
the failing health of his son, Tucker. The eight-year-old passed away
in December 2014, and Williams took the 2015 season off.
Tavares, however, was ready to come back for another season. "They (the Bandits' front office) thought I contributed enough last year to want me back this year. They left the decision to me. They thought I could still help out."
The roster didn't go through too many revisions for the start of the
2015 season. Aaron Wilson and Glen Bryan were released. One old face
returned in Alex Kedoh Hill, a transition player who had taken 2014 off
while he searched for his passion for the game. Hill said he had found
it again, and was ready to go. Rookie Jerome Thompson, the brother of ex-Bandit Jeremy, was the surprise of camp and made the team. Kurtis Wagar retired to spend more time
with his family, throwing open the job of backup goalie. It was won by
Davide DiRuscio, who if nothing else brought size to the roster.
DiRuscio was about as big as an NFL lineman at 6-foot-7, 270 pounds.
However, the biggest change of the offseason might have been one that
didn't affect the roster at all. Dhane Smith, who had been used in a
variety of roles in his Bandit career, was told his days as a utilityman
were over. Smith had become a full-time offensive player.
The league's only change in its team lineup couldn't have been too
unexpected. The Philadelphia Wings hadn't played well in the previous
few years, and playing in a large big-city arena with a shrinking fan
base is a recipe for a shrinking bank account. The destination was a
surprise, though: Uncasville, Connecticut, better known for its casinos
and the home of the WNBA's Connecticut Sun. No one knew how that would
work out, and no one knew how well the team would do. The Bandits were
given the first chance to find out.
Opening night drew only 5,768 in Uncasville, and they watched the New
England Black Wolves win the first game in their history. The Bandits
fell, 12-8, with Dhane Smith providing one of the lone offensive bright
spots with four points.
With powerful Edmonton coming into Buffalo a night later, the prospects
for a bad start by the Bandits seemed good. But Buffalo jumped out to a
9-5 lead after three quarters, gave up three goals early in the fourth
period, and blanked the Rush in the final 9:20 to win by a 9-8 count. Goalie Anthony Cosmo made a save in the final seconds to preserve the win, and had one thing on his mind: "Please squeeze it, just squeeze it." Here's how opening night looked:
After a week off, Buffalo flew to British Columbia for a game with
Vancouver. This was a back-and-forth thriller, with Smith and Benesch
scoring eight points each. The game came down to the final possession,
with Buffalo up a goal. When a rebound appeared in the final seconds,
Hill was there to grab it to preserve a 14-13 win. "Fortunately I was in the right place at the right time," he said about the play. The above-.500
record only lasted until Game Four on Jan. 22, when Toronto had an 8-4
edge in the second half to win, 13-11. Benesch had five more goals. Tavares suffered a calf injury in the opening minutes and missed the rest of the game and several weeks of play.
So the Bandits were again at .500, and that was to repeated often during
the first few months of the season. Buffalo had a Jekyl-and-Hyde game
with Minnesota on Jan. 30, jumping out to a 11-3 lead at the half and
having some anxious moments before taking a 15-12 win. Thompson had four goals and an assist in beating the team of his brother Miles. A night later in
Rochester, the Knighthawks were the ones with the 10-4 lead at the half, only
to see the Bandits outscore Rochester, 6-0, in the third quarter. The
burst seemed to empty the gas tank, as the Hawks scored the game's final
seven goals to win, 17-11. Dan Dawson had no goals and 11 assists for
Rochester
Rookie Jeremy Thompson had his biggest thrill of the season on Feb. 7 in
Calgary against the struggling Roughnecks. The Bandits gave up a tying
goal to Jeff Shattler with nine seconds left in regulation. Thompson
responded at 4:18 of overtime with the winner in a 15-14 contest. Dhane
Smith had 10 points for Buffalo. ("I'm a firm believer that this kid is going to be the best player in this league in a couple of years," Cordingley said about him.) Back home a week later, Rochester again
took over a close game in the fourth quarter to beat the Bandits,
15-10. The highlights:
A scheduling quirk brought Buffalo and Rochester together again on Feb.
21, and the story was about the same. A big third quarter gave the
Bandits an 11-7 lead after three periods, but Cody Jamieson of the
Knighthawks scored twice in the final 3:05 to tie it. Then the league's
defending MVP struck again at 3:02 of overtime, and the Bandits had
finished the season-series 0-3 with a 13-12 loss. "Rochester just seems to have our number," Hill said. At that point of the
season, Buffalo had shown a disturbing tendency to collapse late in games, as they had been outscored, 40-16, in the final quarter. But the team found a cure against Colorado on Feb. 28,
outscoring the Mammoth, 6-1, in the final 20 minutes to win, 14-11, and
get back to .500 ... again. DiRuscio earned his first start of the
season in that game because of a minor injury to Cosmo, and won it.
The Bandits knew they had to sweep the Toronto Rock in a home-and-home
series on March 13-14 in order to have any chance of winning the East
Division. They earned the first half of that result with a thrilling,
emotional 15-12 win. Buffalo had trailed, 11-7, with 16 minutes to go.
Hill had a natural hat trick in the comeback, and he even led some cheers in Banditland during a postgame interview on the public address system. Benesch had four
goals and five assists. "I had never been in a building that loud. Andrew Watt must have been 10 feet away from me on the floor, and I couldn't hear him," Nick Weiss said.
But the Bandits couldn't finish the job the next
night, as Toronto tied the game in the final minute and Brett Hickey scored at 2:07 of overtime to give the Rock an
11-10 win.
The Bandits were sitting at 6-6 after 12 games, but were done with
Toronto and Rochester for the season. Their remaining games were against
teams that had losing records, which represented a golden opportunity
to earn some wins, clinch a playoff spot, and get ready for the
postseason. Step one was a 12-8 win over Minnesota, with the Bandits
taking a 9-3 lead after 21 minutes. Mark Steenhuis led the way that
night with six points. "It was nice to keep them at a distance for most of the game," Steenhuis said.
The trading deadline arrived before the team's next game, and the
Bandits pulled a small surprise. Buffalo sent Joe Resetarits to
Rochester for Jamie Batson and draft choices. Resetarits had been
considered a building block when he came from Calgary in a trade, but
seemed to fall out of favor and had been scratched for the Minnesota game. The deal opened up a spot for Hill to become a full-time offensive player.
April 4 represented the low point of the season, as lowly New England
came in and handed the Bandits a frustrating 12-11 defeat in the First
Niagara Center. "We were awful. It's just plain and simple. It's frustrating," Cordingley said. Buffalo's record had gone from 1-1 to 2-2 to 3-3 to 4-4
to 5-5 to 6-6 to 7-7. Has any pro sports team ever done that? It would take some checking to find out, but it has to be rare.
On April 11, in what was Buffalo's last trip to Minnesota for at least a
while (the Swarm moved to Georgia after the season), the Bandits earned
a 12-9 win. Smith and Benesch had seven points each. They looked in
danger of slipping back to .500 when they played a close game at home
against Vancouver. However, Buffalo closed with a 10-3 in the final 27
minutes of the game to win, 17-9. Finally, the team was two games above
.500, and the win clinched a playoff spot.
The team hopped on a bus for Connecticut right after the game, but a
lack of sleep didn't hurt the Buffalo offense. The Bandits had five
players with at least five points each in a 20-9 romp over the Black
Wolves the next night. A week later, Buffalo concluded the regular season with another
outburst against New England, a 20-10 win with Benesch having 12 points
and Steenhuis and Hill adding eight. Tavares even chipped in with four
goals. That win put the team's record for the season at 11-7. If you like Bandit goals, you'll enjoy this highlight package:
Benesch finished with the league lead in goals with 55, breaking the team record of 51 in the process, and Smith (107 points) and
Steenhuis (95) joined Benesch (113) in the league's top 10 in scoring. Jay Thorimbert set league records
for faceoffs won (338) and for loose balls (246). Hill had become a unique weapon, someone who could supply speed and offense (49 points) no matter where he played. Tavares finished with 32 points in 10 games. On defense, Steve Priolo had picked up his game another notch, and the team had some transition players that could create offense when the chance came. Optimism was running high as the Bandits entered the playoffs clearly playing their best lacrosse of the season.
However, Rochester was in the way. The Knighthawks had finished second in the NLL East, and thus hosted the one-game playoff series to determine which team would play Toronto in the next round. The Bandits had already lost three games to Rochester, and probably needed a good start as a confidence boost. They didn't get one. The Knighthawks jumped out to a 5-1 lead after 10 minutes. Buffalo got within a goal a couple of times, but couldn't maintain the momentum long enough to take the lead at any point. Resetarits, in his first game against his old teammates, had four goals.
"It's hard to beat anyone three times in a season, let alone four," Tavares said. "We did make some strides this season, but we need to get on our home floor for those games. It would give us that extra bit of confidence." Cordingley added, "They outwilled us in every way. It's a bitter pill to swallow."
The Bandits had taken some positive steps in 2015. Young players like Smith, Priolo and Hill looked like the young nucleus that the team needed to develop. Still, the Bandits were looking up at old rivals Toronto and Rochester - mostly because they were 1-6 against them combined when the postseason game is included. The offseason figured to be a time when Dietrich would be working on ways to find some depth and move up the ladder. Be notified of new posts via Twitter @WDX2BB.
