Buffalo, N.Y. (WBEN/WGR Sports Radio 550) - The Buffalo Bandits will battle the Saskatchewan Rush on Saturday afternoon at KeyBank Center for a winner-take-all Game 3 of the NLL Finals.
Bandits forward Chase Fraser says setting the tempo is key for the group in Buffalo.
"We gotta play our game and make them play our style of lacrosse, which is fast, intense, just hard-nosed Bandits ball," said Fraser with WBEN. "We want to put them into situations where they're uncomfortable."
One factor that should help the Bandits is having a sellout crowd.
"'Banditland' always brings the energy and helps us through those kind of dull moments," Fraser noted. "They pick some energy up that helps us get back into the flow of things, and when we're on like a run or something throughout the game there. The energy that they bring, on top of our energy at times, tends to shut teams down a little bit here. So it's awesome that they're coming out to pack the barn, like per usual, with 'Banditland' showing up. So it's going to be awesome."
Fraser says he's trying to focus merely on the game at hand, not the possibility of three-peating.
"It is tough at times to keep it out of the mind, but at the end of the day, it's one game for one championship," he admitted. "Here we're not playing one game for three championships. What's done is done, we've won the last two in-a-row. I've been in the last five finals, whatever it is, but going into the mindset that it's just one game for basically our first championship."
Bandits play-by-play announcer John Gurtler says Game 2 in Saskatchewan was a seesaw battle.
"I think, essentially, what caught the Bandits by surprise was right at the beginning of the game when Saskatchewan jumped out to a 3-0 lead. That forced the Bandits to get back into it," said Gurtler with WBEN. "In a game like this that's so tight, it's one little turnover, one missed loose ball, a wild shot, missing passes, everything that counts. It's so important now in a game like this."
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Gurtler agrees with Fraser that the home field advantage is huge for the Bandits for Game 3.
"It's unbelievable to already have the building in a sellout mode, and the 19,070 fans that'll be inside the building. And then the support the team gets outside with the Party in the Plaza, beginning at 2:30 p.m. on Saturday, it's just phenomenal," Gurtler said. "Certainly, as Steve Priolo - captain of the Bandits - would say, it's going to be a big game because in your soul, when you walk through the door, those fans are going to be there for you. It just gives them that much more of an [advantage]. So credit to the fans. They'll be the sixth man out on the field."
Faceoff on Saturday is slated for 4:30 p.m. and can be heard on WGR Sports Radio 550.