ChevyVanMiller Posted March 8 Posted March 8 (edited) With the Sabres being so putrid and looking at another record year with no playoffs, I've really gotten into the Bandits over the past two seasons. I know lacrosse is a niche sport, but it has a lot of similarities to hockey. Furthermore, the Bandits are the two-time defending champs and currently in first place overall as they shoot for a three-peat. The Bandits have one of the best goalies in the history of the sport in Matt Vinc and a host of top players led by the trio of Dhane Smith, Josh Byrnes and Tehoka Nanticoke. Their coach is the league's all-time scoring leader John Tavares. One of the things that I love about indoor lacrosse is that there are distinct offensive and defensive players. Once a team gets possession of the ball there is a wholesale change of players. That way the best scorers are touching the ball on every possession. That's why guys routinely have 10+ point nights. Another cool feature is that there is one faceoff specialist. The Bandits' is Connor Farrell. He is affectionately known as the "Milkman." When the Bandits play at home, the arena is known as "Banditland." They almost always sellout, so the arena rocks with 19,000 people (unlike the Sabres, who can't fill the place unless an icon is being celebrated). The Bandits are 9-1, with a league-best plus 42 goal differential, and today at 6:30 PM they are in Calgary to play the Roughnecks. If you are in the Buffalo market the games are carried on the CW Network. Everywhere else they can be seen on the ESPN app. You need to scroll down to the lacrosse icon and then the games will appear. I thought with the season steamrolling towards the playoffs we might get a little Bandit talk going. If you haven't given the sport a shot, please consider it. It's a lot of fun and the Bandits are the one Buffalo team that actually wins championships. Edited March 9 by ChevyVanMiller 2 Quote
ChevyVanMiller Posted March 9 Author Posted March 9 Well, I guess I jinxed them because the bandits had their worst night of the season and fell to the roughnecks 17–11. On a happy note though, the Great Dhane Smith recorded his 400th goal. 1 Quote
ChevyVanMiller Posted March 16 Author Posted March 16 Bandits get revenge in Calgary as Matt Vinc stands on his head in an 11-6 victory over the Roughnecks. 2 Quote
jayg Posted March 16 Posted March 16 Dangit, I've really enjoyed watching this team over the years when I Remember ! It's strange, I think this sport is just exciting as football and hockey but it's not ingrained in me, yet. Post before the games, please and thank you. 2 Quote
ChevyVanMiller Posted March 16 Author Posted March 16 On 3/16/2025 at 4:01 AM, jayg said: Dangit, I've really enjoyed watching this team over the years when I Remember ! It's strange, I think this sport is just exciting as football and hockey but it's not ingrained in me, yet. Post before the games, please and thank you. Expand Will do. The overwhelming majority of games are on Saturday nights, though next week they play a rare Friday night game. Here’s the remaining regular season schedule. 2 Quote
US Egg Posted March 16 Posted March 16 Went to a Bandits game once, found the crowd more rousing than the game. That’s an impassioned bunch. 1 1 Quote
Buffalo716 Posted March 16 Posted March 16 On 3/16/2025 at 2:28 PM, US Egg said: Went to a Bandits game once, found the crowd more rousing than the game. That’s an impassioned bunch. Expand That's the whole niche of a bandits game It's as much about the fanfare as it is the actual product on the field.. it's the most family-friendly sporting event in Buffalo 1 Quote
ChevyVanMiller Posted March 21 Author Posted March 21 The Bandits play a rare Friday night game tonight at 7:30 PM. 1 Quote
ChevyVanMiller Posted March 22 Author Posted March 22 Bandits are routing the Desert Dogs and lead 11–2 at the half. Quote
ChevyVanMiller Posted March 22 Author Posted March 22 Things get sloppy, but Bandits close out the win 13-10. 1 Quote
ChevyVanMiller Posted March 22 Author Posted March 22 With last night’s win the first-place Bandits clinched a spot in the playoffs. Never any doubt. Quote
ChevyVanMiller Posted March 22 Author Posted March 22 Bandits in Albany tonight to take on the Firewolves at 7:30 pm. We'll see how they do on a back-to-back with cross-state travel. https://www.nll.com/game/703308834/buffalo-bandits-vs-albany-firewolves/2025-03-22/ Quote
ChevyVanMiller Posted March 23 Author Posted March 23 The Bandits battled back from 3 down late in the 4th, but fall in OT 11-10. Quote
jayg Posted March 25 Posted March 25 On 3/22/2025 at 1:53 AM, ChevyVanMiller said: Things get sloppy, but Bandits close out the win 13-10. Expand Just finished the first quarter of this game. Thought the final score might be 32 to 4. Quote
ChevyVanMiller Posted Friday at 05:35 PM Author Posted Friday at 05:35 PM What an amazing milestone for the Eight-Time Goalie of the Year. 1 Quote
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