Bandits' and Opponents' Fastest Scored First 10 Goals (2005-2026)

The Buffalo Bandits piled up the goals early in the game with the New England Black Wolves near the end of the 2015 season, reaching 10 goals before halftime. That begged the question, how fast have the Bandits hit double digits in the recent past? 

I have scoresheets dating back to 2005:

Time - Opponent - Date
20:57 - Minnesota - 1/20/07
21:04 - @Minnesota - 3/4/07
22:02 - @New England - 4/26/15
22:02 - @Philadelphia - 12/15/18
22:09 - Minnesota - 1/30/15
23:20 - @Georgia - 2/14/16
23:41 - @Vancouver - 3/5/16
24:02 - Philadelphia - 4/7/12
24:12 - New York - 1/12/07
24:36 - @Georgia - 4/16/22

And here's the reverse - fastest 10 goals allowed from 2005. Funny how games at Toronto dominated the list:

Time - Opponent - Date
22:30 - New York - 1/19/24
23:08 - @Toronto - 12/30/17
24:39 - @Toronto - 2/20/09
24:45 - @Toronto - 4/1/23
24:59 - Georgia - 4/22/17
25:39 - @Saskatchewan - 2/26/16
26:35 - @Rochester - 12/23/17
26:41 - @Rochester - 3/10/12
26:41 - Rochester - 2/24/18
27:00 - @Minnesota - 4/6/13

Updated on March 1, 2026

The 2013-14 Season

Following the end of the 2013 season, there was something of an earthquake in the National Lacrosse League's coaching fraternity. It involved a well-respected coach who was a member of the 1993 Buffalo Bandits team that had a perfect season.

The center of the shakes was in Toronto, where the Rock surprised practically everyone. Troy Cordingley was shown the door by the team on May 31, in spite of a first-place finish in the NLL East. The departure came just after Cordingley had been selected as the league's coach of the year. Assistant coach John Lovell was promoted to replace him.

The Rock had won the championship under Cordingley in 2011 and reached the championship game in 2010. There was talk that Cordingley had "lost" the locker room, whatever that meant. There wasn't much of a sign of it on the field until the playoffs.

Certainly Steve Dietrich was paying attention to that news out of Toronto. While no one was aware of it at the time, the Buffalo Bandits' general manager had coaching matters on his mind too. He and other members of the front office were trying to decide whether to keep Darris Kilgour in that job.

Kilgour had become part of the furniture in Buffalo lacrosse, first as a player and then as coach starting in 2003. Kilgour also had been general manager until he lost those duties before the 2013 season. When the Bandits missed the playoffs on the final day of the 2013 season, many wondered if Kilgour's job was safe. As the weeks went by, Kilgour's job seemed to be getting more secure by the hour.

Therefore, it was another thunderbolt when on June 10, the Bandits announced that had relieved Kilgour of his duties. It's fair to say that this was a unique event in Buffalo sports history. Usually coaches and executives depart with a quick public statement that's on the vanilla side - if at all. Not only did everyone involved have something to say, but Kilgour made the most memorable exit speech in Buffalo sports history.

"I have no feelings toward the team right now. The last thing I said to them is to take my number out of the rafters. I don’t want anything to do with them," he said.

Once the shock of all that wore off, the usual guessing game began about a successor began. It began with Cordingley, since Dietrich had been an assistant coach under Cordingley in Toronto. However, the team did go through the process of putting out the "help wanted" sign to see who might be interested. The Bandits reportedly narrowed the field of candidates down to four: Cordingley, assistant coaches Dan Teat and Rich Kilgour, and Colorado assistant Ed Comeau.

But Cordingley was always the favorite. On July 3, he was named to the position. The connection between the two men was so strong that Dietrich had to erase a possible impression that Kilgour was fired only because Cordingley had become available.

"We thought it needed a new voice," Dietrich said about the team. "We were in the process of putting together a list of names. When we heard the unfortunate news about Troy, he was another name on the list. This process was well underway. It was going to happen no matter who was available."

"It's been a ride for the last four or five weeks, but I can't tell you how exciting it is to be back in Banditland," Cordingley said upon arrival.

The next order of business was to select the major assistant coaches, and Cordingley had something of a surprise in store there. He brought back both Kilgour and Teat. Kilgour's return probably was the bigger surprise, since his brother had just exited. But if he wanted to stay in coaching in the National Lacrosse League, this was the best option for him.

"I held nothing against Troy," Kilgour said. "We threw our names in the net and they picked him. I don't think he back-stabbed anyone. He's got Cups on his resume. There were no hard feelings. ... If it hadn't been Troy, who knows if I'd be here? ... We know each other. We have similar views."

It didn't take long for Dietrich to get to work for the upcoming season. His first move was a stunner, getting Ryan Benesch and Andrew Watt from Minnesota for two first-round picks and a third-rounder later in July. Benesch was one of the league's top offensive players, and Watt was a good transition player. Still, it certainly was a deal that meant the Bandits were giving up some of their future for a better present, and there had been a lot of that in recent years. It's hard to know if the swap was a reaction to missing the playoffs in the previous year. After all, the Bandits certainly would see a good-sized drop in attendance unless moves were made and the team won some games.

Soon after that, Dietrich added another veteran. Defender Rory Smith and a low pick came over from Colorado for Carter Bender and two future second-rounders. Smith was known as one of the toughest players in the league, and the Bandits suddenly had a defense (Smith, Billy Dee Smith, Derek Suddons, Steve Priolo) that could make life miserable for any offense.

Buffalo took August off and then completed more details as the draft approached in September. Luke Wiles was shipped to Philadelphia for a pair of second-round picks. Wiles had a great first year in Buffalo, but slumped badly in 2013 and had fallen off the roster at one point. There was a feeling he had worn out his welcome, so it wasn't a surprise to see him go. On draft day, Dietrich used his resources superbly in acquiring Joe Resetarits from Calgary. The forward not only was a first-round pick of the Roughnecks the year before, but he was from Western New York. He and a second-rounder came to Buffalo for two second-round choices. Mitch Jones was acquired from Vancouver (freshly moved from Washington) for two second-rounders. We can only hope the league was able to keep track of where the Bandits' second-round picks for the next few years had landed when all was said and done. There was one other roster spot opening for training camp, as Alex Kehoh Hill took the year off.

That sounded like a great deal of activity, but in reality there wasn't much turnover as the new season approached. The new collective bargaining agreement lowered the number of players to 20, with 18 dressing on a given night. After a year of "creative tension" with too many players for too few roster spots, the lineup required little tinkering throughout the season. John Tavares did indeed return for another season at the age of 45, although some wondered about that when he took the summer off. Cordingley's biggest contribution might have been to move Mark Steenhuis back to forward after he been on transition for the most part for the previous few years. Moving a 50-goal scorer to that role was like asking Albert Pujols to bunt.

"Yes, I was absolutely confused," Steenhuis said about the position move. "It's been a super-weird three years for me. ... I couldn't tell you why it happened. It was like a bomb blew up."

The league expanded the schedule again, moving to 18 games from 16. That meant starting the season in 2013, and the Bandits did that with a home game against Philadelphia. The Wings weren't supposed to have much talent, but they put up 17 goals on Buffalo in a relatively easy win. In fact, the Bandits trailed, 16-9, until they put on a late, meaningless burst to lose by four. ("To be quite frank, we were terrible today," Cordingley said.) It was their seventh straight loss over two seasons in the First Niagara Center.

Two weeks later, it didn't look like anything had improved in a home game with Toronto. The Rock scored the game's first four goals, and led by 6-2 with 10 minutes gone in the third period. Suddenly, the Bandits' offense threw a switch. Buffalo scored six straight goals in less than six minutes, and went on to a 12-10 win. Tavares scored what proved to be the game-winner in the team's first home win since Jan. 26, 2013. The highlights:



Suddenly, the Bandits were off and running. Two days later, they went into Philadelphia and knocked off the Wings, 12-11, with Tavares scoring the overtime goal. Buffalo's trip in Denver the following weekend went even better, a 16-9 romp over a Colorado Mammoth team that was struggling and would soon change coaches.

That set up the biggest test of the season to date, as Rochester came to town on Jan. 25. The Knighthawks had won the last two championships, and figured to be in the hunt for a third. For three quarters, the Bandits played some of their best lacrosse of the season. Goalie Anthony Cosmo had a fabulous night. His team jumped out to a stunning 10-3 lead after three quarters, then had to hang on as the Knighthawks scored five goals in the final four minutes. Buffalo's 11-10 win moved the team to 4-1 on the season, and added another win the next week over Toronto by scoring three straight goals in the final period to pull out a 12-10 decision. Steenhuis had four goals and two assists in leading Bufffalo to its fifth straight win, the team's longest such streak since 2009.

The Knighthawks figured to be in a nasty mood when the Bandits arrived on Feb. 8, and that proved to be the case. Buffalo did not score a single goal in the first half. That had only happened one other time in team history; Rochester goalie Matt Vinc also was in the nets for that one while playing for Orlando in 2010. The Bandits scored four straight goals in the third period to get back in the game, but eventually took a 9-6 loss.

It was back home for three straight home games against teams that weren't league powerhouses, and the Bandits took advantage. They outscored Philadelphia in every period in taking a 13-7 decision. Buffalo showed a finishing kick with a 4-0 fourth quarter to beat Minnesota, 12-9. In a game of runs against Colorado, the Bandits again pulled away in the final period to win, 12-9.

Just past the halfway point of the season, the Bandits found themselves in first place in the East with a record of 8-2. Cosmo was considered one of the top candidates for the league's most valuable player award at that point, as he had been brilliant in those first 10 games. The veteran was enjoying the ride.

"Part of being a goaltender in this league is that you live by the sword and die by the sword. You're a hero or a zero," Cosmo said. "I'm playing well now, and I'm a hero. But last year I was a zero."

Yes, the schedule had been loaded with home games (seven of 10) and weak opponents, but the games still had to be won - and the Bandits won them.

"We've had some guys who had down seasons last year come back and play more at the level we'd been accustomed to," Dietrich said. "We've had some guys who were young last year who continued to step forward. So we're happy so far with what we've got, but we're only 10 games in. We have the tough part of our schedule coming up."

The Bandits were out to embark on a string of three straight road games, a home matchup with a fine Calgary team, three more road games, and a closing home date with Rochester. That would determine if the Bandits were for real.

And they weren't.

In a meeting of first-place teams, undefeated Edmonton thumped the Bandits, 14-5. The Rush scored six power-play goals, and took control with a 7-1 burst in the second quarter. The only Buffalo highlight was a save by Cosmo that caught everyone in the building by surprise, including the officials:

Two days later, Minnesota and Buffalo played a rare scoreless first period. The Bandits had a two-goal lead with 6:30 left, but the Swarm tied it in regulation and won in overtime, 10-9, on Callum Crawford's goal. 8-4.

It was on to British Columbia on March 29 against lowly Vancouver, but the Stealth handled the Bandits easily, 12-8. 8-5. Buffalo came home to the First Niagara Center on April 5. It was an emotional night, as the Bandits dedicated the game to the son of Shawn Williams. Tucker came out of he hospital to see the game, and got a huge ovation when he was introduced to the crowd. But it was Calgary that had something left in the tank at the end, scoring six straight goals in the fourth quarter to win, 16-13. 8-6.

Surely a game against the lowly Swarm would help, even if it was in Minnesota. Nope. The Swarm won, 10-9, on a goal by Logan Schuss with 4:37 left in a game that had another scoreless quarter. Almost unnoticed was the fact that John Tavares was a healthy scratch. While coaches had talked about having him rest up once in a while, this was the first time it had actually happened. Tavares said a few days later that it make him wonder about retirement.

"I wondered about my lacrosse career," he said. "I've struggled a bit lately, and maybe that's why I didn't play. ... It puts a question in your mind. It hits you in your confidence. At 45, the writing is on the wall that you can't go on too much farther. ... I feel like I'm at the same pace the team is. I'm part of the problem."

Buffalo still needed only one win to clinch second place in the division. On April 18, Toronto scored the final three goals of the game to pull away for a 13-9 win. That made it 8-8 and six straight losses, tying the franchise record. A night later, Rochester's defense held the Bandits to one goal in the first half, and four goals in the entire game. Three of the scores came on the power play. The Knighthawks took a 8-4 win, and the Bandits were 8-9 and couldn't even finish with a winning record.

With the Bandits finally back home again, the same two teams that had scored 12 goals the previous week combined for 19 in the first half alone. Rochester's four-goal run in the fourth quarter proved decisive in a 16-14 win.

That made it eight losses in a row, breaking the team record for consecutive losses. They had three straight losing seasons; they had never had more than one in a row before. Buffalo allowed Toronto to catch it for second place, costing the team home field in the first round of the playoffs.

Individually, Benesch led the team in scoring with 78 points. Steenhuis was first in goals with 31. Tavares chipped in with 24 goals and 51 points. Resetarits had 25 goals, and had at least one in the final 12 games of the season. Cosmo's 10.77 goal-against average and .797 save percentage were his best statistics in three years with the team.

The Bandits clearly needed to reverse course at playoff time, in order for the history books to be kind in describing the season. While Buffalo had gone 0-5 in April, Toronto had been 4-0 in the same time span. When the first-round playoff game was played, though, everything was flipped around. Perhaps Cordingley set the tone when he gave his pregame speech in John Tavares' home jersey, saying he wanted to see the legendary player perform in it one more time.

Toronto's defense took much of the night off, allowing the Bandits to get great scoring chances from close range. Benesch capitalized on the breakdowns by scoring seven goals. The game was tied after three quarters, but this time Buffalo was ready to take possession of a game that was up for grabs. Tavares had two of his three goals in the final period, and the Bandits came away with a 15-13 lead. It was Cosmo's first career official playoff win.

Cordingley always took the high road when it came to games with Toronto, saying he didn't take any extra satisfaction from beating a team that fired him. To his credit, he did that one last time when sending his old team home the summer.

"There are character guys in that room (of Toronto's), and I know what they are going through," Cordingley said. "But I'm really happy for our guys."

Next up were the Knighthawks, relaxed after a week off. The "best-of-three" series started in Buffalo on May 10, The game went back and forth, depending on which team was on a run. Tavares gave his team a boost along the way when he scored his signature goal, a stuff shot starting with a jump from behind the net.



Still, the game was tied with 6:10 left after Tavares' third goal. Then the Bandits stepped on the gas, as Dhane Smith scored twice and Steenhuis and Tavares added insurance in a 12-8 win. If this was his last game in Buffalo, Tavares had given the fans something to remember.

"I think he's 21," Cosmo said about Tavares. "I don't want him to retire. He's saying he's frustrated with his play, but he's producing when it counts."

The series shifted to Rochester a week later. The first quarter featured some of the most intense indoor lacrosse seen in years, featuring eight evenly-divided goals and a ton of action. The Knighthawks continued to apply pressure from there, scoring six of the seven second-quarter goals to take a 10-5 lead at the half. The Bandits never got closer than four goals from there and lost, 13-8.

Therefore, each team had a win. How was the tie broken? A "mini-game."

The NLL opted to try something new in the final two rounds of the playoffs. In case of a split of the first two games, a 10-minute mini-game would immediately follow Game Two. If that didn't settle anything, it was on to sudden death. No one in the sport seemed to like the competitive aspects of the rule - anything can happen in 10 minutes - but it did give each team a home game and didn't stretch the season into June.

When the mini-game began, the energy level on both sides and in the building went up three notches. Each possession became more important by the second, and every shot or pass could prove decisive. It may have been less than satisfactory as sport, but it was riveting theater. Resetarits scored with 4:38 left to give the Bandits the lead. A short time later, Derek Suddons came down on a breakaway. with plenty of time to think about what he'd do with the shot. The defenseman beat Matt Vinc, but the ball hit the goalpost and bounced high into the air and out of harm's way.

It proved to be a crucial quarter of an inch. Joel McCready answered for Rochester with 2:22 to go, just when it started to look as if Buffalo would be going to the finals. Regulation time ended 1-1, so it was on to sudden-death overtime - which was almost painful to watch for everyone involved.

Almost mercifully, the drama only lasted about two more minutes. Cory Vitarelli had the ball deep on the left side. The Bandits defense looked a little confused about who should pick him up, and Vitarelli charged toward the net. His open shot went just over the shoulder of Cosmo and into the top corner of the net. Game, set, match.

The finish felt a little like a re-run from 2007, when John Grant Jr. scored in overtime to give Rochester the series over Buffalo in the semifinals. To come that close to a trip to the finals was heartbreaking and frustrating for the Bandits and their fans.

Later, reality set in. The team had mortgaged some of its future with the acquisitions of Benesch and Rory Smith. They helped Buffalo get back into the playoffs, and the team was a shot away from playing for a championship. Still, the Bandits lost more games than they won over the course of the year, and their nucleus became a year older. Was it worth it? Perhaps. But with Tavares and perhaps Shawn Williams considering retirement and with much of the nucleus close to 30 years old or older, moving the Bandits forward in the coming years figured to be a even more difficult task.

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Bandits' One-Season Records for Goalies

Matt didn't break his own team record for minutes, but he was back in the all-time top 10 list. That's six of the top eight seasons now:

Goalie - Year - Minutes
Matt Vinc - 2024-25 - 1,081
Anthony Cosmo - 2014 - 1,064
Matt Vinc - 2021-22 - 1,064
Matt Vinc - 2025-26 - 1,054
Matt Vinc - 2022-23 - 1,048
Matt Vinc - 2018-19 - 1,036
Anthony Cosmo - 2015 - 1,014
Matt Vinc - 2023-24 - 963
Steve Dietrich - 2003 - 838
Steve Dietrich - 2002 - 845

But Cosmo still holds the record for saves in a season.

Goalie - Year - Saves
Anthony Cosmo - 2014 - 752
Matt Vinc - 2021-22 - 747
Matt Vinc - 2022-23 - 742
Matt Vinc - 2024-25 - 729
Matt Vinc - 2018-19 - 705
Anthony Cosmo - 2015 - 681
Matt Vinc - 2025-26 - 654
Matt Vinc - 2023-24 - 652
Steve Dietrich - 2002 - 586
Steve Dietrich - 2006 - 568

Those two numbers obviously depends on games. Let's take a look at "first-string goalies" over the years, and see who has made the most saves per 60 minutes of work in a given year. Matt was down to 37.2 saves per 60 minutes.

Goalie - Year - Saves - Minutes - S/60M
Matt Vinc - 2019-20 - 476 - 627 - 45.6
Anthony Cosmo - 2017 - 437 - 583 - 45.0
Matt Disher - 2000 - 381 - 523 - 43.7
Alex Buque - 2017-18 - 515 - 710 - 43.5
Ken Montour - 2008 - 346 - 481 - 43.2
Bill Gerrie - 1992 - 159 - 222 - 43.0
Matt Vinc - 2022-23 - 742/1048 - 42.5
Anthony Cosmo - 2014 - 752 - 1,064 - 42.4
Anthony Cosmo - 2016 - 501 - 711 - 42.3
Matt Vinc - 2021-22 - 747 - 1,064 - 42.1

(Minutes are rounded off for convenience.)

Here's one last list - top 10 in save percentage by a Bandits "regular" goalie, and Vinc breaks into the top 10 again:

Goalie - Year - SPct.
Ken Montour - 2009 - .813
Mike Thompson - 2010 - .809
Matt Vinc - 2019-20 - .808
Ken Montour - 2008 - .808
Steve Dietrich - 2006 - .808
Matt Vinc - 2021-22 - .807
Matt Vinc - 2018-19 - .803
Matt Vinc - 2022-23 - .803
Anthony Cosmo - 2014 - .797
Matt Vinc - 2024-25 - .791
Matt Vinc - 2025-26 - .791

Updated on April 23, 2026

Bandits' Recent Win/Loss Streaks

Sometimes it's difficult to find out when the Bandits had lost won or lost a specific number of games in a row on relatively short notice. This saves me a step. The streaks are of an exact length. Obviously, a team that wins eight in a row also had a seven-game streak, six-game streak, etc. It's also regular season only.

Winning streaks
Last three-game win streak - 4/15/23 to 4/29/23
Last four-game win streak - 3/30/24 to 4/20/24
Last five-game win streak - 1/11/20 to 2/7/20
Last six-game win streak - 1/27/23 to 3/10/23
Last seven-game win streak - 2/27/26 to 4/11/26
Last eight-game win streak - 2/11/07 to 4/7/07

Longest multi-season win streak - 17 (2/8/92 to 2/5/94 - regular season only)

Losing streaks
Last three-game losing streak - 2/16/24 to 3/1/24
Last four-game losing streak - 1/10/26 to 2/7/26
Last five-game losing streak - 3/6/99 to 4/10/99
Last six-game losing streak - 3/1/13 to 4/6/13
Last eight-game losing streak - 3/21/14 to 4/26/14

Longest multi-season losing streak - 9 (3/21/14 to 1/2/15 - regular season only)

Updated through April 22, 2026

The 2012-13 Season

The Buffalo Bandits figured they needed a change of course as they prepared for the 2013 season.

They were coming off a disappointing 7-9 season in 2012, a rare losing campaign that featured a first-round playoff loss. It was the latest step backwards for a team that had taken a slow decline since winning a championship in 2008.

Bandits' management announced that Darris Kilgour would give up his duties as the team's general manager, and thus stick to the coaching job. Therefore, any new boss would oversee the old boss as a precondition of employment. That's an unusual arrangement in pro sports, although indoor lacrosse isn't typical in terms of such dynamics.

Still, the position was attractive, The Bandits were one of the league leaders in attendance, and thus had resources that other teams didn't. The team also announced that assistant general manager Derek Graham had been relieved of his duties.

The "help wanted" sign certainly caught the attention of Steve Dietrich, a former Bandits' goaltender who had worked as an assistant coach in Toronto. Dietrich had worked in management for Kitchener-Waterloo of Major Series Lacrosse in Ontario.

Dietrich decided to apply the job, but be completely honest about what he planned to do with the team if he took control. The Bandits had been mortgaging their future in the form of trading draft picks for veterans for years. Considering how the draft was sending the league a stream of bigger, stronger athletes, that had to stop.

"I knew the talent on the team well. I knew the age on the team," Dietrich said later. "... I thought, if I'm going to do this, I will say that this is how I feel."

Perhaps to Dietrich's surprise, he discovered that Bandits' upper management had the same thoughts that he did. Dietrich was hired on July 19, 2012.

It didn't take long for Dietrich to make an impact. He had one large asset to use, as the Bandits owned the third overall pick in the fall draft as a result of the Chris Corbeil trade. Dietrich dealt that pick to Minnesota, which was collecting top draft choices. In return, Buffalo acquired Shawn Williams, who had been with the team more than a decade before this, Brendan Doran, a first-round pick (fifth overall), and two second-round picks. That was quite a haul for moving back two spots in the first round.

On July 31, Mike Thompson announced his retirement. He would always be remembered in Buffalo as the winning goalie in the 2008 championship game, and could brighten a locker room merely by stepping inside of it. While the news was a surprise, it was easy to wonder if the Bandits had some advance warning of it based on the midseason deal for Anthony Cosmo in 2012.

Two more trades came in early August. Buffalo added some depth by picking up Glen Bryan and Jamie Rooney from Toronto for a second-round pick. Later the Bandits sent Kevin Buchanan and a third-rounder to Philadelphia for Mike Hominuck and David Brock. Veteran Chris White surprised practically everyone by leaving as a free agent for Toronto. The captain said in interviews that he wanted to be closer to home. Kilgour described the defenseman's departure as "a huge loss for us."White was in a sense later replaced by Derek Suddons, formerly of Edmonton.

The draft brought more new faces. The biggest was Dhane Smith, considered one of the top young players in Canada. If they needed a full scouting report on him, they only needed to ask Dhane's cousin - veteran Bandits' defenseman Billy Dee Smith. Buffalo used its second-round picks on Carter Bender, Hayden Smith and Jordan Critch.

By that time, the Bandits clearly had enough players to stock a team and a half, so they started cleaning out the roster even before training camp began. Ian Llord, Roger Vyse and Tom Montour were released. Jeremy Thompson was sent to Edmonton for Aaron Wilson and a second-round draft pick. More cuts came in December, as Brandon Francis, Travis Irving and Angus Goodleaf - beaten out of the backup goalie job by newcomer Kurtis Wagar - were dropped. Meanwhile, Derek Hopcroft came in from Colorado for a conditional fifth-round pick.

Whew.

"I still think we have a championship-caliber team," Kilgour said on the eve of the season. "There are only nine teams in the league, so there's enough talent out there. We have to put things in place."

Some familiar faces were still around - John Tavares (the new captain), Luke Wiles, Mark Steenhuis, Billy Dee Smith, Jay Thorimbert, Jon Harasym, Scott Self, Chad Culp, etc. Even so, when the proverbial dust had settled, half of the 2012 team was gone for the start of the 2013 season. Therefore, the new edition of the team had something of an air of mystery when it took the field for the first time on Jan. 11 in Philadelphia.

By the second quarter, we had a hint of Buffalo's biggest problem in the new season. The Wings scored five straight goals in the first half to take a 7-2 lead, and coasted to a 13-8 win. Buchanan, who for some reason hadn't been a good fit in his one year as a Bandit, had three goals and three assists. The highlight of the game for Buffalo was a goal by Tavares, who scored on the hidden ball trick.



A night later, the Bandits didn't look much better against Minnesota. The Swarm scored the first three goals of the game and had a 10-7 lead early in the fourth quarter. But Buffalo rallied to win, 13-12. Culp had the tying goal with 4:34 left, and Dhane Smith followed with the winner 23 seconds later. "I sort of closed my eyes and shot it. It went in," Smith said.

A week later, the Bandits played the most exciting game of the season in Rochester. The teams kept trading goals and leads throughout most of the games. Culp had another clutch score with 2:55 to tie it, and Buffalo had the ball in the final minute. Tracey Kelusky picked up a loose ball in the slot as the shot clock was winding down. With little time to do anything but shoot, he threw a behind-the-back shot on Rochester's Matt Vinc. The goalie missed it, and Kelusky had a game-winner with 11.8 seconds left.

"It was a lucky goal. But we were not going to be denied tonight," Kelusky said. "It's pretty exciting to score a goal like that, but only because it helps the team."

The thrills kept coming on Jan. 26 against Philadelphia. It was another back-and-forth game. The Wings' Drew Westervelt scored a short-handed goal with 43 seconds left to tie the game at 13-13. But Buffalo was still on the power play, and Wiles got the goal back with 23.6 seconds to win it. The Bandits found themselves at 3-1.

"This is a little hard on the heart, but I like being on this side of the outcome," said Williams after the game, his 200th consecutive contest in the NLL to add to his league record. 

Toronto's Colin Doyle almost personally brought the Bandits back down to earth, scoring eight points on Feb. 2 in a 14-12 win in Buffalo. Two major penalties were particularly damaging to the Bandits' hopes, as the Rock scored four power-play goals. Seven days later, the Knighthawks came to Buffalo and returned the favor by spanking the Bandits, 15-7. It wasn't the worst home performance in history - a 22-11 loss to the Knighthawks in 2002 was still the champ - but it was close enough. Rochester had a 9-2 lead early in the third quarter to take away any suspense. Yet Buffalo bounced back on Feb. 16 with a 10-6 win back in Rochester. Cosmo made 54 saves and Wiles had three goals.

After a week off, Buffalo went to Toronto and played a topsy-turvy game with the Rock. After an even first half, Toronto scored five straight goals to take a 10-7 lead late in the third quarter. But it was Buffalo that went on the run in the fourth quarter to score five straight goals and win, 15-13.  Thorimbert was outstanding, winning 25 of 31 faceoffs, grabbing 17 loose balls and scoring two goals. Tavares said about Thorimbert, "That's probably the best game I've ever seen him play." The Bandits had finished the first half 5-3 and were right in the middle of the race for first place in the East Division.

It was right back to work the next night, March 1, as Philadelphia returned to play in the First Niagara Center. The Bandits played an excellent first half, holding the Wings to two goals, and had a three-goal lead early in the fourth quarter. Philadelphia cut the lead to 10-9 with 4:40 left, and the Bandits' David Brock picked up a holding call with 2:09 left to add to the nervousness. However, Buffalo got through the Wings' power play with nine seconds left, and Brock raced into the defensive zone to help out. A tie for first place was only a few ticks of the clock away. What could happen in such a short time?

A goal, that's what - a goal that turned the Bandits' season completely around for the worse. Jordan Hall scored with 3.7 seconds left to send it to overtime. Drew Westervelt tallied the game-winner for Philadelphia at 2:14 of OT, and the Wings were 11-10 winners.

"Three seconds - it's so frustrating to lose those sorts of games," Wiles said.

Next up was Colorado, only the second West team on the schedule. The Bandits stayed with the Mammoth for three periods, and then fell apart in the fourth. Colorado scored six straight goals to win going away, 12-6.

"We had no energy, no desire, no will to compete," Kilgour said.

The end of the game was marred by a "line brawl," with everyone on the floor squaring off. Here's how it looked:



The two teams were scheduled to play again in Colorado on March 16, but not all of the players turned up for the rematch. The NLL trading deadline was between the games, and the Bandits completed some moves. Self was shipped to Rochester for Alex Kedoh Hill, a promising young forward who was on the Knighthawks' practice squad. Jimmy Purves also went to Rochester for a draft choice. The deals were made with the future in mind, but they didn't figure to offer much immediate help to a team that had looked shaky at times.

"I had a feeling there would be a shake-up, based on what was said after practice Tuesday night," Self said after receiving word of the trade. "So it didn't catch me completely by surprise."

Wiles, who couldn't find his scoring touch for most of the season to that point, was placed on the practice squad. It was a stunning comedown for the forward, who was second on the team in scoring in 2012. He had missed part of training camp with a contract dispute and then had visa problems for a while which limited his practice time.

The most memorable transaction of the week, though, was when Dietrich - needing a goaltender in case of an absolutely dire emergency - acquired his own rights from Toronto for a low 2015 draft choice. One can only imagine how that negotiation went.

The slightly new cast had more fourth-quarter troubles in Denver on March 16. The Mammoth broke open the game with four straight goals, held off a Buffalo rally, and won by a 16-13 count. Then on March 23, Edmonton came in to Buffalo and showed what the future of indoor lacrosse looked like. The Rush was big, strong and fast. On offense, Edmonton went wherever it wanted, and on defense the Rush pushed Buffalo out of the way with ease. Edmonton had a 6-2 lead after the first period, with a 22-9 edge in shots to go with it. That was the game, a 14-7 rout.

"I'm glad we have five wins, because I don't know when we're going to get another one," Kilgour said.

Oddly, several Bandits players mentioned during the course of the losing streak that they noticed that the team had lost its confidence. When Buffalo gave up a goal, its players almost expected another one or two or three to follow. It's extremely unusual for pro athletes to talk this way.

"We had them and we let it slip away," Williams said later. "We never could put a finger on what happened after that."

March ended on another low in the form of a trip to Toronto. The two teams were separated by a single goal at the half, and then the Rock outscored the Bandits, 7-0, in the third quarter to go up, 14-6. Buffalo looked as if it expected things to go badly for long stretches. The 18-11 loss completed the first 0-5 month in Bandits' history.

"Just before you go to bed, you go over the things that you do and what you did wrong," Steenhuis said. "It makes for a real crappy week, let me tell you."

Was that the low point of the season? Only for a week. On April 6, the Bandits hit bottom in Minnesota. After an even first period that featured Cosmo banging his head on a goal post and suffering a concussion, the Swarm had a 7-2 edge in the second quarter to go up, 10-5. Then Minnesota scored the first nine goals of the second half to make it 11 in a row overall - you read that correctly - and went on to a 21-7 win. It was the most one-sided defeat in team history. The Swarm was an amazing 8 for 10 on the power play. That made it six straight losses, tying the team record. The highlights, if that's the right word:



The Bandits had fallen to 5-9 and were staring at elimination from the National Lacrosse League playoffs. They played in Washington on April 13, and before long they heard the news that they needed to win the game in order to avoid the embarrassment of being the one team in the nine-team  league to miss the postseason. Impressively, they did it. Buffalo scored eight goals in the fourth quarter to win, 15-10, ending the six-game losing streak. Wilson had four goals, and Williams had five points.

There was one game left on the regular-season, at home against Rochester. Amazingly, the Bandits only needed to win that game in order to reach the playoffs. If other games broke correctly, Buffalo could even host a first-round postseason game by virtue of the tiebreaking formula. After the second half it had endured, Buffalo couldn't have asked for a better opportunity. It was only the third time in team history that the Bandits' playoff hopes came down to the final game. What's more, Rochester needed to win the game as well to be sure of making the playoffs.

Adding to the drama was the status of Tavares, the team's veteran star who was finishing his 22nd year in the league. Tavares had been bothered by injuries throughout the season. He had torn a calf muscle against Washington, but decided to try to play if only to add a boost to the power play.

The Bandits jumped out to a 4-1 lead, with Dhane Smith scoring two goals. But an old problem of Buffalo's this season - long runs by opponents - popped up again as the Knighthawks scored six straight goals. Rochester held on to the lead in a game in which both teams seemed nervous and ineffective on offense. Buffalo's last chance came after Mark Steenhuis had cut the Knighthawks' edge to 10-9 with 15 seconds left. The Bandits won the faceoff and set up a play. But Rochester's defense broke up the attempt, and Buffalo's 6-10 season ended with a whimper.

Here's Tavares after the game, talking about the loss, the season and his future:



Wagar added a postscript to the season when he was asked after the game about missing the playoffs. He said that if the team could have held on for a few more seconds against Philadelphia, "we wouldn't be having this conversation."

Williams led the team with 65 points, followed by Wilson and Dhane Smith, whose 24 goals was first for Buffalo. Tavares and Steenhuis had 39 points each, and Wiles was down to 21 points. Cosmo finished behind Wagar in goals-against average, and that's in spite of the fact that Wagar gave up 18 goals in less than a game against Minnesota. Thorimbert had a team-record 180 loose balls and won more than 60 percent of the faceoffs. Steve Priolo's play picked up and he finished third in voting for NLL defender of the year, although he still was learning to pick his spots when it came to penalties.

Kelusky played in only seven games during the season, and he finished with 10 points. His time as a Bandit was over. In April 2015, Kelusky revealed that he had been suffering from symptoms of Post-Concussion Syndrome during his entire career as a Bandit. That certainly offered a partial clue as to why his production dropped so quickly when he came to Buffalo for three seasons.

The team statistics were downright disheartening to any Bandits fan. The team set a franchise record for losses in a season with 10. The Bandits had a losing record for a second consecutive year, which had never happened before. Kilgour missed the playoffs for the first time as a coach in Buffalo, and the team missed the postseason for only the fourth time ever. The Bandits finished 1-7 in the second half, their worst such record ever, and 2-6 at home, their worst such record ever. The squad used a total of 31 players, the most since the 1999 team used 31. The power play was the league's worst.

Here's the catch: The Bandits finished last overall for the first time in history, and didn't even get the first overall draft pick from it. Buffalo had traded that choice to Minnesota for Cosmo.

It probably wasn't the worst season in Bandits' history; that distinction might belong to the 1999 team (4-8). But considering the finish, it might have been the most disappointing year.

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