Bandits Fall Behind Early in Loss to Mammoth
Published on January 31, 2026 under National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Buffalo Bandits News Release
The Bandits went 4-for-6 on the power play in the loss.
Andrew Kew recorded a game-high seven goals and Jack Hannah added nine points as the Colorado Mammoth beat the Buffalo Bandits 20-9 on Saturday at Ball Arena.
Colorado won its fifth straight game and moved to 6-2 despite playing without leading scorer Will Malcolm. Kew led all players with 11 points and the Mammoth received goals from eight players including four who had multi-goal performances.
The Mammoth tied their team record for single-game goals as Braedon Saris had a hat trick with seven points and Dylan McIntosh added four goals.
The Bandits fell to 3-4 and dropped their third consecutive game for the first time since February 2024. Tehoka Nanticoke paced the Bandits with five points, Dhane Smith and Josh Byrne each had four points and the Bandits power play went 4-for-6.
Colorado jumped out to a quick 3-0 lead in the opening 3:35 of the first quarter as Kew scored back-to-back goals and Hannah followed with one of his own.
Buffalo trailed 4-0 after the first quarter as the Mammoth scored a 6-on-5 goal with four seconds remaining.
The Bandits went the opening 19:36 of the game scoreless and Kew recorded a first-half hat trick to put Colorado ahead 6-0 before Nanticoke scored Buffalo's first goal.
Nanticoke scored twice in the first half, but after Colorado took an 8-3 lead with 5:17 to play in the second quarter, goaltender Matt Vinc was pulled for Evan Constantopoulos who made his NLL debut. Vinc was reinserted to the game after McIntosh scored his second consecutive goal to extend Colorado's lead to 9-3.
Colorado closed the half with five of the last six goals, including three in 1:58, to take a 12-4 lead into halftime as MacIntosh registered a hat trick in the quarter. After Colorado's 12th goal overall and eighth of the quarter, Vinc was relieved for Constantopoulos once again and the latter played the rest of the game.
Byrne and Smith were both held scoreless until the third quarter but the Mammoth outscored the Bandits 5-2 in the stanza to take a 17-6 lead to the fourth quarter.
Ryan Benesch and Ian MacKay each scored in the fourth quarter, but the Mammoth closed out their 20-9 win and the Bandits allowed their most goals in a game since 2017.
Defenseman Matt Spanger made his return to the lineup for his first game since Feb. 15, 2025 and recorded three loose ball recoveries.
Up next
The Bandits return to KeyBank Center for Native American Heritage Night against the Philadelphia Wings on Feb. 7.
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