The Buffalo Bandits Complete the Three-Peat
The Buffalo Bandits defeated the Saskatchewan Rush in the deciding game three of the finals by a score of 15-6. It was a very close game, for the first half. Up by only one goal at half with the score 7-6, the Bandits came out of locker room looking like the team we came to know all season long. The defense locked it down, the offense turned it up and Matt Vinc was Matt Vinc. The Bandits would go on an 8-0 run for the final 34 minutes of the game to win with ease. We said on the podcast that if the Bandits were playing their best game and the Rush were playing their best game, it would be the Bandits who would come out on top.
As cliche as it is, the offense saved their best performance for last. They scored more goals than they had in any game of the playoffs. There was a lot of chatter about Josh Byrne not scoring enough goals and not performing up to the lofty standards he is held to. All of that was wiped away with a team leading 4 goals to go along with 5 assists for a 9-point night. We were asking him to shoot more, his team was asking him to shoot more, and he did just that. Byrne’s playoff shooting percentage going into the game was 7.3%. In comparison, from 2019-2024 in the playoffs he was shooting 25.6%. In game three, he finished shooting 36.3% including a classic Josh Byrne crease diving goal. His partner in crime Dhane Smith finished his impressive finals series scoring 3 goals and 5 assists for another 8-point performance. The dynamic duo led the Bandits with 21 points for Dhane and 18 points for Byrne in the series. As great as they were, the depth scoring was right there with them. Chris Cloutier missed game two due to an injury. It was hard to know if he was going to play in game three. He worked hard to get into the lineup and put on his best performance of the playoffs scoring a hattrick and adding 1 assist for 4 points. Ian MacKay (1g, 2a), Kyle Buchanan (2g, 2a) and Chase Fraser (1g, 1a) added to the depth scoring. MacKay was awarded the finals MVP and it was well deserved. There were plenty of players who the Bandits could not have won without, but MacKay arguably stepped up more than anyone else. Fraser scored a highlight reel goal in all three games of the series. Buchanan continued to do what he does best, be quietly very productive. The offense came to play, and it showed.
I said it before game three and I agree with it after game three. This game was going to come down to the defense and Vinc. It seems hard to say when the offense scored 15 goals, and the Bandits won a runaway game (great call by Steve Bermel). However, without the Bandits defense locking it down the way they did, the offense would not have had the freedom they had to operate. The game winning goal was scored with 10:46 left in the second quarter. The Rush did not score for the final 34 minutes of the game. Sure, the Bandits offense took off, but the defense and Vinc shut the Rush down after allowing them to score double-digit goals in the first two games of the series. There were a few stand out players on the defense such as captain Steve Priolo (8lb, 1blk), assistant captain Nick Weiss (3a, 10lb, 3blk) and young gun Cam Wyers (1g, 1a, 4lb, 2blk, 3 CTO). However, to me, it was the performance of every defender on the back end that truly stood out. In game three especially, there was not a single player you can point to as a weak link in the defense. Every single defender played their best game when it mattered most. Speaking of players playing their best, Matt Vinc did it once again. Vinc put on an incredible performance saving 42 of 48 shots for an 87.5 save percentage. 42 saves for the 42-year-old on 48 shots for number 48, talk about destiny. Vinc finished the entire playoffs with a 7.17 goals-against average and an 84.8 save percentage. The defense and Vinc led this team early in the playoffs and came back to finish the job.
Take it all in Banditland. This kind of run, this level of success does not happen often. Only one other time in NLL history to be exact. The three-peat may not have been discussed in the locker room, but it was discussed in the media all season long. The Bandits completed that journey and took a piece of history along with them. It is a great time to be a fan, to be an analyst, to be a coach, to be a player, to be any part of this organization. Enjoy this win and leave the thoughts of the future where they belong, in the future. One question we don’t have to worry about anymore, is this team a dynasty? The answer is yes. Congratulations to the three-peat champion Buffalo Bandits.
Goaltender Breakdown
In this segment, I will breakdown how the goalies, offense and defense all performed on the goals in the game. How many were impressive goals, breakdowns in the defense or on the goalie.
Frank Scigliano
Inside – 5
Mid-Range - 5
Outside – 5
Transition - 2
*0 goals were on the penalty kill
*0 empty net goals
Matt Vinc
Inside – 3
Mid-Range - 2
Outside – 1
Transition - 1
*1 of the goals was on the penalty kill
Goal 1 – Looked like an opening set play off a faceoff win, the Rush ready to go when the Bandits weren’t (D)
Goal 2 – PP Goal – Vinc was simply not ready for a shot, and this may be the easiest goal anyone has scored with Vinc in the net (V)
Goal 3 – Manns beats Wyers one on one with a swim move and then has a great finish past Vinc
Goal 4 – Quick shot from Church as he finds himself open in the middle of the field on a quick cut
Goal 5 – A great individual effort by Keenan to get past Matisz and score a goal in tight
Goal 6 – The Rush run a great 3-on-2 transition play and set Church up for a great opportunity that he buries
1/6 on Vinc
1/6 on the defense
Challenges by the Bandits – None
Referee Corner
Like many of the fans out there, I find myself often questioning what the refs are doing on the field. From no goals and players being ejected, to calls that simply do not make sense. In this segment, I will attempt to use the rulebook and my best judgement to understand some hot topics from the previous game.
Bandits – 0-0 on the PP
Rush – 1-3 on the PP
J. Byrne – Goaltender Interference – I don’t know if I have ever seen a 5-minute major called on a goaltender interference call, let alone one where the player comes nowhere near the goalies' head. This was an awful call all the way around. I am happy it was reduced to a 2-minute, but even that is a bit questionable. Byrne was hit in the head and held on the play with no penalty, but he gets one for interference – bad call
S. Priolo – Roughing – Happy to have Priolo go after Jay who was mixing it up with Byrne on a shift just before this call. I didn’t think the referees needed to take either of them, but happy they took both – good call
P. Dawson – Holding Stick – Dawson absolutely stole the stick right from the Rush player – good call
C. Fraser – Dead Ball Foul – I believe Fraser gets his hand stepped on by Messenger. He then throws a punch right in the sweet spot – good call
3/4 – good calls
I thought the referees did a great job calling limited penalties all series long. I find it a bit shocking that in three games the Rush only had two infractions, but they didn’t call many more against the Bandits. The Rush are known as one of the cleanest teams in the league, so I’ll let it go. Long story short, less penalties equals better games, and the referees did just that.