Colorado Mammoth Top Buffalo Bandits to Send National Lacrosse League Championship to Decisive Game 3 Saturday
Published on May 29, 2023 under National Lacrosse League (NLL) News Release
DENVER - The Colorado Mammoth defeated the Buffalo Bandits, 16-10, to even their best-of-three National Lacrosse League (@NLL) Finals today at Ball Arena. The results sets up a winner-take-all Game 3 in Buffalo on Saturday, June 3, at 7:30 p.m. ET (TSN, TSN+, ESPN+).
It marks the second straight year that these teams go to a decisive third contest in the NLL Finals, with Colorado winning the championship last year, 10-8, in Buffalo in Game 3. Similar to last year, Buffalo took Game 1 at home before the Mammoth kept their hopes alive with a Game 2 win to force the Game 3 matchup back in Buffalo at KeyBank Center.
The 10,686 fans in attendance for Game 2 in Denver pushed the league's total attendance mark for the 2022-23 season, including the playoffs, to its highest total ever. In all, 1,147,232 fans have come through NLL turnstiles this season, surpassing the 1,138,225 set in 2007 with one game remaining.
Colorado outscored the Bandits 10-4 in the second and third quarters to propel them to victory. Eli McLaughlin (Surrey, B.C.) and Ryan Lee (Newmarket, Ont.) led the Mammoth with seven points each, followed by Zed Williams (Silver Creek, NY) close behind with six. Mammoth netminder and 2022 NLL Finals MVP, Dillon Ward (Orangeville, Ont.), saved 38 of 48 Bandits shots.
This game followed a nail-biting, 13-12 Buffalo win at KeyBank Center in Game 1 on Saturday, with Dhane Smith (Kitchener, Ont.) scoring five goals, Tehoka Nanticoke (Six Nations, Ont.) and Chase Fraser (Vancouver, B.C.) adding three each and Matt Vinc (St. Catharines, Ont.) recording 31 saves, including several in the final moments against a furious Mammoth challenge to secure the win.
To review the 2023 NLL Playoffs bracket, visit https://www.nll.com/standings/.
National Lacrosse League Stories from May 29, 2023
- Mammoth Beat Bandits in Convincing 16-10 Battle Behind All-World Ward - Colorado Mammoth
- Bandits Fall to Mammoth in Game 2 of NLL Finals - Buffalo Bandits
- Colorado Mammoth Top Buffalo Bandits to Send National Lacrosse League Championship to Decisive Game 3 Saturday - NLL
- Tickets for NLL Finals Game 3 Are on Sale Now - Buffalo Bandits
- Bandits Embrace 'Next Man Up' Mentality Heading into Game 2 of NLL Finals in Colorado - Buffalo Bandits
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