Biggest Second-Half Comebacks in Bandits' History (2005-2023)

Some halftime leads weren't safe during the 2022-23 season. Buffalo erased four margins of at least two goals, and couldn't hold a three-goal edge over Rochester.

Let's look at the top comebacks from halftime deficits by the Bandits first - and I now have added playoff games to the mix. Notice the rallies against Philadelphia:

Goals - Date - Opponent - Final Score
6 - 1/19/18 - @Saskatchewan - 16-15o
6 - 2/20/09 - @Toronto - 17-16o
4 - 1/10/14 - Toronto - 12-10
4 - 5/5/13 - @Toronto - 7-6
3 - 4/14/17 - @Toronto - 13-8
3 - 3/16/12 - @Toronto - 21-14
3 - 2/16/08 - Minnesota - 16-14
3 - 4/9/05 - @Calgary - 14-9
3 - 4/16/05 - San Jose - 13-10
3 - 1/27/23 - @Philadelphia - 13-9
3 - 2/18/23 - Philadelphia - 13-12
3 - 5/1/10- @Toronto - 13-11x

Now, the blown leads:  

Goals - Date - Opponent - Final Score 
4 - 3/1/13 - Philadelphia - 11-10o
3 - 1/20/23 - @Rochester - 15-12
3 - 3/25/17 - @Rochester - 11-10
3 - 4/5/14 - Calgary - 15-13
3 - 4/16/10 - @Orlando - 9-7
3 - 4/18/09 - Boston - 13-12
3 - 3/19/05 - @Rochester - 12-11o
2 - 4/15/17 - @Georgia - 17-16
2 - 2/19/16 - @Toronto - 14-12
2 - 2/20/16 - Georgia - 19-15
2 - 4/15/16 - @Toronto - 12-9
2 - 1/23/15 - @Toronto - 13-11
2 - 1/13/07 - @Colorado - 11-10o
2 - 1/7/05 - Toronto - 15-13
2 - 6/11/22 - @Colorado - 11-8x

o - Indicates overtime

x - Indicates playoffs

Updated through May 5, 2023

Biggest Fourth-Quarter Comebacks by Bandits (2005-2024)

Lacrosse fans may have noticed that the Bandits trailed Saskatchewan, 6-0, after the first period of their game on Jan. 19, 2018. They also trailed, 12-5, later in the game. Yet Buffalo rallied to win the game, 16-15.

That raised a question - how great a comeback is that?

We don't have all the game scoring sheets for Bandits' games; they only go back to 2005. And - let's face it - it would be really tough to go through every single goal and game in team history to see if there was a bigger comeback.

But there is a simpler way to make something of a judgment. What was the biggest fourth-quarter comeback in recent years? (By that we mean, rallying from a deficit at the end of the third quarter.) Let's take a look back a bit and see; keep in mind that you have to win the game and not just tie it at some point to make this list:

Goals - Date - Opponent - Final Score
4 - 1/19/18 - @Saskatchewan - 16-15o
3 - 3/13/15 - Toronto - 15-12
3 - 2/28/13 - @Toronto - 15-13
3 - 3/8/19 - @Philadelphia - 12-11o
2 - 1/12/13 - Minnesota - 13-12
2 - 2/20/09 - @Toronto - 17-16o
2 - 1/31/20 - Rochester - 16-15
2 - 2/18/22 - Albany - 13-8
2 - 1/13/24 - @Rochester - 15-13
1 - 4/2/16 - @Georgia - 18-14
1 - 2/23/16 - @Rochester - 15-13
1 - 2/7/15 - @Calgary - 15-14o
1 - 3/18/14 - Minnesota - 12-9
1 - 1/19/13 - @Rochester - 14-13
1 - 3/13/10 - @Boston - 9-8
1 - 2/24/07 - Philadelphia - 9-8
1 - 3/18/06 - @Rochester - 14-13o
1 - 4/14/06 - Philadelphia - 8-7
1 - 2/16/19 - Calgary - 12-10
1 - 1/27/24 - @Toronto - 16-14

That's certainly not as many as you'd think - it's an average of a little more than one a year. Since we already are looking up things, let's do the biggest blown leads in the fourth quarter as well. The same rules apply, and - sure enough - we have an addition to the list from 2023:

Goals - Date - Opponent - Final Score
4 - 2/21/15 - @Rochester - 13-12o
3 - 3/25/17 - @Rochester - 11-10
3 - 4/5/14 - Calgary - 16-13
3 - 4/30/22 - Toronto - 10-7
2 - 4/29/17 - Toronto - 19-15
2 - 3/1/13 - Philadelphia - 11-10o
2 - 1/27/12 - Philadelphia - 13-10
2 - 3/19/05 - @Rochester - 12-11o
2 - 4/1/05 - Rochester - 11-9
2 - 4/16/05 - San Jose - 13-10
2 - 3/10/23 - Halifax - 10-9o

o - indicates overtime game

Updated through February 1, 2024

Most goals allowed by Bandits in back-to-back games

Buffalo didn't come close to changing this in 2022-23. The top number was 28, mostly due to the 18-7 loss to Toronto. The list:

No. - Season - Opponents
42 - 1992 - New York and Detroit
41 - 2018 - Rochester and Toronto
40 - 1992- New York and New York
39 - 1999 - Philadelphia and Baltimore
39 - 2013 - Toronto and Minnesota
39 - 2017 - Georgia and Toronto
38 - 2000 - Toronto and Syracuse
38 - 2000 - Syracuse and Albany
37 - 2001 - Rochester and New York
37 - 2016 - Georgia and Saskatchewan
37 - 2017 - Georgia and Georgia

Seasons such as 2017-18 are called 2018 here.

Updated as of April 30, 2022

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