Buffalo, NY (WGR Sports Radio 550) - It's back to the championship round for the two-time defending champions of the National Lacrosse League.
Following wins on Friday and Sunday over the Vancouver Warriors in their best-of-three series in the NLL Semifinals, the Buffalo Bandits punched their ticket once again for a trip to the NLL Finals.
Friday featured a dominant performance from Buffalo in front of the hometown faithful in "Banditland", as the Bandits limited the Warriors to just three goals and 38 shots in a 9-3 victory at KeyBank Center.
Buffalo followed that performance on Sunday with a more high-scoring affair in Vancouver, but the Bandits were able to rally from a two-goal third-quarter deficit to beat the Warriors on the road, 11-9, and close out the series.
Ian MacKay was Buffalo's leading scorer in the series, finding the net seven times and racking up 10 points in the two games.
Buffalo's defense held strong over the course of the two-game series with 21 blocked shots in front of goaltender Matt Vinc, while the 42-year-old netminder allowed just 12 goals on 64 shots faced.
Perhaps the highlight of the series came at the end of Game 2 in Vancouver with a beautiful between-the-legs goal from Chase Fraser in front of the Warriors net. That goal capped the scoring at 11-9, and was an exclamation point for the Bandits in their series sweep.
This will be the Bandits' fifth-straight appearance in the NLL Finals, dating back to 2019 when they lost to the Calgary Roughnecks in a series sweep. After two lost seasons due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Bandits returned to the NLL Finals in 2022, only to come up short in three games to the Colorado Mammoth.
Then in 2023, the Bandits got their revenge of the Mammoth, earning the franchise's fifth title in a three-game series win at KeyBank Center. And just last year, Buffalo returned to the NLL Finals and swept the Albany Firewolves in two games, once again winning the title on home turf.
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This marks the third time in NLL history in which a franchise has appeared in the NLL Finals in five-consecutive seasons. Buffalo joins the Toronto Rock (1999-2003) and the original Philadelphia Wings (1992-96) as the only other teams to accomplish such a feat.
The Bandits will now look to establish a new benchmark in the NLL this year with the franchise's seventh title, which would be the most in league history, surpassing the Rock and Wings/Firewolves.
Buffalo also extends its league record of NLL Finals appearances to now 14.
The Bandits will now get some time to rest and game plan for their opponent in the NLL Finals, which will either be the Saskatchewan Rush or the Halifax Thunderbirds.
Both teams played Game 1 of their series on Saturday in Halifax, where the Rush dominated the Thunderbirds in a 16-7 victory.
Game 2 of their series is set for this coming Saturday in Saskatchewan with a 9:30 p.m. faceoff, with Game 3 (if necessary) slated for Sunday at 8 p.m.
The first game of the NLL Finals is scheduled for Friday, May 16 at KeyBank Center, with faceoff slated for 7:30 p.m. in Downtown Buffalo.