Bandits Take on Warriors in Game 1 of NLL Semifinals

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NLL Buffalo Bandits

Bandits Take on Warriors in Game 1 of NLL Semifinals

May 1, 2025 - National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Buffalo Bandits News Release


The Buffalo Bandits are one step closer to a three-peat but now face the red-hot Vancouver Warriors, winners of seven straight, in a best-of-three series for a spot in the NLL Finals.

After beating the San Diego Seals 5-4 in the lowest-scoring game in NLL history, the Bandits are at it again this Friday for Game 1 against the Warriors at KeyBank Center. Opening faceoff is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

Here's everything you need to know before Buffalo's opening game of the NLL Semifinals.

Tickets for Game 1

How to watch

TV (Buffalo broadcast market): CW23

Streaming (out of market): ESPN+, NLL+, TSN+

Radio: 1520 AM

Series overview

After Friday's Game 1, the Bandits and Warriors will fly to Vancouver for Game 2 at 9 p.m. on Sunday. If they split the first two, Game 3 will be played on Saturday, May 10 at 7 p.m. at KeyBank Center.

"We have to protect home-floor advantage and take advantage of having home floor in Game 1 and potentially the third game, so we want to hold court and come out to a great start and win," Bandits head coach Tavares said. "We understand that they're on a huge roll and they have a great team and that it's going to be a tough battle, but we're ready."

ConVincing win

Matt Vinc had one of the best games of his life in the quarterfinal matchup with San Diego, making 48 saves on 52 shots to earn first star of the game. As a result, his save percentage of 92 leads NLL goaltenders in these playoffs.

Tavares outlined what the Bandits must do to ensure Vinc has similar success against the Warriors, whose offense scored 15 goals last Saturday against Rochester.

"The key is that Matt Vinc continues to perform like he always does," Tavares said. "Defensively, we need to force them to bad-angle shots that we can handle. We need to clear the ball and minimize their second and third possessions. We don't want to give them resets."

Key matchups

In the last matchup, March 29 at KeyBank Center, two 10-minute Bandits penalties helped the Warriors capture the momentum and steal a 13-12 win.

This time, Tavares wants his team to play a clean, penalty-free game; he said 5-on-5 play will be the key, citing last week's win over San Diego.

"As you saw in the last game, it was tight 5-on-5 play, we had four goals," Tavares said. "Being 5-on-5, it's tough to score when everybody is set up and playing tough defense. I'm interested to see how we compare with Vancouver in our 5-on-5 play."

Scouting the Warriors

The Warriors reached the NLL Semifinals by beating the Rochester Knighthawks 15-10 last Saturday in a matchup between No. 4 and No. 5.

Vancouver has an ace up its sleeve in goalie Christian Del Bianco, who held out before being acquired from Calgary at the trade deadline. In six regular season games, he went 6-0 with an 82 save percentage and 8.77 goals-against average.

Del Bianco made four key, last-minute saves in the March 29 win at Buffalo, but with a 76.8 save percentage and 12 goals allowed, it was statistically his second-worst game of the season.

"He's a goalie - he hasn't won every game he's ever played, but he's on a roll now obviously," Tavares said. "We definitely have to shoot with confidence and not second-guess ourselves."

On the offensive side, Keegan Bal commanded a lion's share of the Warriors' offense, leading the team in both goals (43) and assists (68) in the regular season. Bal had 11 points (5+6) in Vancouver's quarterfinal win and 10 (4+6) in the March matchup with Buffalo.

His right-hand man is Adam Charalambides, who tallied five assists Saturday. Against the Bandits earlier this season, he had a goal and six assists.

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