Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - An early offensive explosion was enough on Saturday night to help carry the Buffalo Bandits to a fifth-straight victory to open the 2024-25 season.
The Bandits utilized a seven-point night from reigning NLL MVP Josh Byrne, who managed to net seven goals in a 19-14 walloping of the Philadelphia Wings at KeyBank Center in Downtown Buffalo.
It was a quick start for Buffalo, as Byrne was able to find twine twice within the first seven minutes of play. Just under 1:30 later, the Bandits extended their lead to 3-0 with a goal from defenseman Cam Wyers, his first in the NLL.
Philadelphia wouldn't leave the quarter scoreless, though, as Joe Resetarits found the net on the power play just before the quarter wound down to its conclusion.
The flood gates then opened for Buffalo in the second quarter, as the Bandits went on a five-goal-run to stretch their lead to 8-1.
After a goal from Chase Fraser from point blank range put Buffalo up 4-1, Byrne completed the hat-trick just 27 seconds later to put the Bandits ahead by four goals.
Bandits captain Steve Priolo got a slice of the goal-scoring pie 47 seconds after Byrne's goal, as he went coast-to-coast to give Buffalo a 6-1 lead.
After a fourth goal of the evening by Byrne, longtime veteran defenseman Paul Dawson got in on the scoring action, putting the Bandits ahead 8-1 with still 10:05 to go in the second quarter. The goal was Dawson's second goal of the season.
Philadelphia finally answered with a two-goal run of their own. In a span of 50 seconds, Blaze Riorden and Sam LeClair cashed in on goals, making it an 8-3 Bandits lead.
A little more than three minutes later, though, it was another three-goal run for Buffalo, starting with Byrne striking for his fifth goal of the contest.
Moments later, the Bandits opened up the playbook a bit for their 10th goal of the half, as faceoff specialist Connor Farrell was used as a pawn in a hidden ball trick goal from Ian MacKay.
Then on a delayed penalty, Dhane Smith netted his first goal of the contest past goalie Nick DeMude, giving Buffalo an 11-3 advantage with 4:16 to go in the half.
After another goal from Philadelphia by Resetarits, members of "Banditland" showered the turf with socks after Byrne scored his sixth goal of the night, extending the Bandits' lead to 12-4.
After being recently activated off Injured Reserve, Chris Cloutier scored with 1:47 remaining in the half to give Buffalo a 13-4 lead.
Nearing the final seconds of the half and with the goalie pulled, Philadelphia found twine again, as LeClair beat the buzzer in order to cut the deficit to 13-5 heading into halftime in Buffalo.
Buffalo opened the third quarter with the first goal of the half, as Fraser netted his second goal of the contest just 25 seconds in to give the Banidts a nine-goal advantage.
Time continued to melt away in the third quarter, as the Wings were only able to muster a pair of goals from Holden Cattoni and Phil Caputo to get Philadelphia back to within seven.
The Wings could not out-run the momentum of the Bandits, though, as Fraser tallied his third of the game, followed by another highlight reel goal from Byrne, who made the score 16-7 with his seventh goal of the evening.
Philadelphia really made things interesting to close out the third quarter, as they netted three goals to cut the deficit to just six. The Wings then added another three goals to open the fourth quarter to make things a bit more interesting in Buffalo at 16-13 with 11:55 to play.
While the Wings closed the gap, Buffalo was having none of it, as MacKay netted his second goal of the night from Byrne and Smith to increase the Bandits lead to 17-13 with 10:58 left on the clock.
Despite another goal from the Wings, the Bandits slammed the door shut on any final attempt at a comeback from the Wings with back-to-back power play goals from Cloutier and Tehoka Nanticoke, who was celebrating his birthday on Saturday.
The 19-14 win for Buffalo helps the team improve to 5-0 on the season, and remain atop the NLL standings as the only remaining unbeaten team.
Up next for the Bandits will be a rematch of the 2024 NLL Finals when they host the Albany FireWolves on Saturday, Feb. 1 at the KeyBank Center for a 7:30 p.m. faceoff.