Bandits Strengthen Playoff Position with 15-12 Win Over Halifax

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NLL Buffalo Bandits

Bandits Strengthen Playoff Position with 15-12 Win Over Halifax

April 12, 2025 - National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Buffalo Bandits News Release


Dhane Smith's 11 points and Matt Vinc's 51 saves helped Buffalo clinch regular-season title and home-field advantage in the playoffs.

If you're going to swing at Banditland, you better not miss. And you better be prepared for a counterpunch from the two-time defending champions.

Despite the Halifax Thunderbirds' back-and-forth scoring efforts, the Buffalo Bandits scored three consecutive fourth-quarter goals to secure a 15-12 win Saturday, a fitting result on Fan Appreciation Night at KeyBank Center.

The Bandits clinched the NLL's regular-season title with the victory.

Dhane Smith dished out a season-high 10 assists in an 11-point effort, owning the primary assist on each of Kyle Buchanan's season-high four goals. Five defensive Bandits players recorded a point and helped Matt Vinc, who stood on his head in net with 51 saves.

"I talked to (the media) after Game 1 or 2 about our goals this year, and it was to go game-by-game, and then make playoffs, and then our second goal was to clinch playoff games throughout here in Buffalo," Smith said. "Our next goal is to win a championship, but we can't overlook our next game, so we're excited about it."

It was a defensive lockdown for the Bandits to start the game. While the offense looked to get a shot on goal, the defense made sure the Thunderbirds had a hard time getting quality shots of their own.

Vinc, named pregame as the team's co-MVP alongside Smith, starred early with 15 first-quarter saves.

"It's a game of swings, and we were able to control the momentum," Smith said. "Obviously, when you have Matt Vinc in the back of the net making saves like that, it helps our offense to get going."

The game opened up thanks to Thomas Whitty's taking one for the team. Two simultaneous Halifax penalties, both drawn by Whitty, gave the Bandits a 5-on-3 power play, an opportunity they made quick work of.

Ian MacKay, sixteen seconds into the penalties, got a Josh Byrne pass right on the doorstep and potted it for the first goal of the game, nearly 12 minutes in. Then, on the 5-on-4, Byrne netted his first of four goals in the game to make it it 2-0.

"It was nice to see our power play succeed," head coach John Tavares said following a perfect 2-for-2 night from the man advantage.

Halifax scored before the end of the quarter to make it a one-goal game.

The Bandits' offensive progress from the first quarter carried over to the second with another Byrne goal 34 seconds in; Byrne came from the bench, received a pass from Steve Priolo and scored. Three minutes later, Clay Scanlan ripped a shot from the KeyBank Center logo and got it past Drew Hutchinson.

"Clay just brings energy - it's a fresh face," Buchanan said. "It's tough to see (Chris Cloutier) out, and I think he's getting back to healthy. ... Clay has done an amazing job just filling (in) seamlessly."

Halifax responded with three consecutive goals to tie the game at four. Then the back-and-forth battle began, with each team responding to the other in quick succession.

Half a minute after the last Halifax goal, Buchanan, the Bandits' Teammate of the Year, toed the line and scored. Less than a minute later, Halifax scored. Forty-nine seconds after, Byrne scored a third goal to get a first-half hat-trick. To cap off the mad run of goals from both teams, Halifax scored with 1:11 left in the half to make it 6-6 at halftime.

The Bandits dominated the start of the third quarter.

Connor Farrell took the opening faceoff, which saw the Bandits battle for the loose ball after a 42-second tie-up in the faceoff circle. Buffalo used the momentum generated from the prolonged faceoff to its advantage, recording six consecutive shots over a 1:36 span. The sixth shot broke the seal and resulted in Byrne's fourth goal of the game.

Buchanan followed Byrne's goal up, cutting behind his defender and getting a pass from Smith to score his second goal of the game, making it 8-6.

"Buchanan is just really smart out there; he knows his gaps and spacing," Tavares said. "He knows when to hit the gap and he knows how to get open very well. Dhane was getting manhandled by two guys, and he found a way to maintain the ball and then pass it off to Buchanan."

Halifax responded to the two early Buffalo goals at the 9:12 mark, pulling back within one.

The Bandits and Thunderbirds continued their game of back-and-forth with a Chase Fraser goal and a Halifax goal within 34 seconds of each other. Halifax scored back-to-back goals to tie the game at 9-9 less than two minutes later.

Smith restored Buffalo's lead just over a minute later with his first goal of the game, but it lasted all of 39 seconds; Halifax went right back down the field and scored to make it 10-10.

Halifax scored 3:24 in the final frame to take its first lead of the game, but Buffalo quickly took it back with two goals in a 47-second span from Priolo and Buchanan. However, as had been the status quo all game from both sides, Halifax scored 25 seconds later to tie the game at 12.

Following Halifax's goal, it became all Buffalo.

Using their chemistry that has produced back-to-back championships, and feeding off the crowd noise on Fan Appreciation Night, the Bandits seized the lead for good.

"Coming in as a visiting player in the past, you feed off the energy in the building," Buchanan said. "It's certainly more on our side, and when we get into our roles, we see how valuable (the fans) are. And our fans support us. It's staying true to our gameplan and then riding that energy when it's important."

Byrne fired a behind-the-back pass to MacKay, who kept his stick low and zipped a shot past Hutchinson to retake the lead. Then, 1:18 later, Smith once again checked it down to Buchanan on the goal front for Buchanan's fourth goal of the game.

Cam Wyers put the game out of reach for Halifax, scooping up a groundball and zooming to the offensive end all by himself. He scored his second goal of the season to make it 15-12.

Nearly four minutes remained, but Buffalo's buttoned-up defense held the Thunderbirds' retaliatory offense in check, defended the lead and sent the (well-appreciated) fans home with an NLL regular-season championship to celebrate.

"Today we put up 15 goals, and (when) you put up 15 goals, you're more than likely going to win than lose," Tavares said. "And that was the difference: the guys put the ball in the net. We didn't really do anything different other than [capitalize] on our opportunities."

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