MATT VOLZ

Editor in Chief

It seems to be the case that every time the Buffalo Bandits and Saskatchewan Rush take the field against each other, the end result is a remarkable game.

In last year’s NLL Finals, the two teams reached a winner-take-all Game 3.

The first game of the series was a nailbiter, as the Bandits emerged victorious thanks to a raucous Banditland crowd.

Four goals from Ian MacKay were a pretty big help, too, as Buffalo took the win, 12-10.

Game 2 in Saskatoon was just as close, but three straight fourth quarter goals from the Rush led them to the series-tying win.

The first half of Game 3 was nearly a dead heat. Five straight Buffalo goals gave the Bandits a 7-3 lead, but the Rush answered with three goals of their own before the break.

The second half seemed to be an outlier not indicative of how the rest of the series was played, though.

The Bandits blanked the Rush, outscoring their opponents 8-0 over the final 30 minutes to capture their third straight championship.

In a quest for revenge, Saskatchewan came east to face the Bandits at KeyBank Center on Friday, Feb. 27.

Unsurprisingly, it was another great game.

Buffalo led 8-4 at the half, but the Rush dominated the second half.

Goals from Ryan Keenan and Robert Church in the final minute and a half sent the game to overtime.

In overtime, the two teams went back and forth for several minutes. 

Rush goalie Frank Scigliano and Bandits goalie Matt Vinc turned away shot after shot, going toe to toe just as they had in the NLL Finals the year before.

Finally, after nearly seven minutes of overtime, Josh Byrne wired a shot past Scigliano for the win.

The goal symbolized not just an overtime win for the Bandits, but the resurgence of the team’s former MVP.

Through the first 10 games, Byrne scored just 16 goals.

Over the course of four straight games from Jan. 10 to Feb. 7, Byrne scored three total goals.

The Bandits lost all four games.

In the last of those losses, Byrne was held without a goal in a 13-11 loss to the last place Philadelphia Wings.

Through the first 66 minutes and 47 seconds of this game against the Rush, Byrne was headed towards another game with that dubious distinction.

All of that was erased with one goal.

It hadn’t been a bad game for Byrne, as he totaled seven assists during regulation.

But the goal seemed to lift a major weight off Buffalo’s star forward.

Since then, Byrne has recorded seven points or more in each game, including a four-goal, nine-point performance against Colorado on Friday, March 13.

The overtime win not only kickstarted a run for Byrne, but it launched a win streak for the Bandits.

It looked like the win streak would end last week in San Diego, but a wild fourth-quarter comeback and overtime winner from Dhane Smith kept the run alive.

In order to make it five straight wins, the Bandits will face their toughest test remaining in the regular season, as they go on the road to face the Rush.

While the Bandits have enjoyed a run of success since the two teams last met a month ago, the Rush have slowed down a bit.

They began the season 10-1, and they had won nine in a row until that overtime loss at the end of February.

If losing to one Western New York team in overtime that weekend wasn’t good enough, the Rush found themselves in the same exact spot the next night.

In Rochester, the Rush were held to just one goal in the fourth quarter, as Knighthawks goalie Rylan Hartley slammed the door on an excellent offense.

Ryan Smith won the game in overtime for Rochester, handing Saskatchewan a second straight loss.

The next week, the Rush returned home and held off a late comeback attempt to beat San Diego, 10-9.

Heading back on the road, Saskatchewan traveled to Ontario to face the Toronto Rock last week.

Toronto rookie C.J. Kirst, the first overall pick in last year’s NLL draft, scored three goals in the second quarter alone, and the Rush trailed at halftime.

They kept it close the second half, but Toronto led the entire rest of the way, taking a 13-9 win.

Both Kirst and Toronto captain Challen Rogers recorded seven points.

The loss moved Saskatchewan into a tie with the Vancouver Warriors for first in the NLL.

Although they’ve hit a cold streak, the Rush have the talent to pull themselves back together.

On offense, the Rush are led by the three-headed monster of Keenan, Church and Zach Manns.

All three players have surpassed the 30-goal mark this season. Keenan leads the pack with 33, while Church and Manns each have 31.

Austin Shanks isn’t far behind, either, as he has 25 goals and 60 points to his name this season.

Saskatchewan’s defensive group is led by veterans Matt Hossack and Mike Messenger.

Hossack has caused 29 turnovers this season, the second-most of any player in the league.

He trails only Callum Jones of the Ottawa Black Bears, who has caused 30 turnovers this season.

Messenger is one of the league’s best shot blockers, and he’s blocked 27 so far this season.

The only player in the league with more is Buffalo’s Paul Dawson with 29.

In goal, the Rush have gotten strong play from veteran Frank Scigliano.

Scigliano is one of only three starting goalies in the league allowing less than 10 goals per game.

He trails only Georgia’s Brett Dobson and Vancouver’s Christian Del Bianco in goals against average (GAA).

Scigliano will probably be a pretty tough egg for the Bandits to crack, especially with the game being in Saskatoon.

The Rush are a perfect 6-0 at home this season, and several of those games weren’t particularly close.

Scigliano is only allowing roughly 8.5 goals per game at home, too, so the Bandits are going to have to take advantage of every opportunity.

One of the biggest keys to this game will be penalties.

The Rush have scored more power play goals than any other team in the NLL, so Buffalo has to stay out of the box.

The other major factor for Buffalo is goal droughts.

There have been way too many times this season where the Bandits go 10, 15 or even 20 straight minutes without putting the ball in the back of the net.

We saw that happen last week in San Diego, as Buffalo had three separate stretches of more than 10 minutes without a goal.

Against the top team in the league, that cannot happen.

If the Bandits can get themselves into a consistent rhythm on offense, they can really make life difficult for Saskatchewan’s defense.

If the lengthy goal droughts persist, it’ll be a long night for Bandits fans.

Buffalo will have an added boost for tonight’s game, as Nick Weiss has been activated off of injured reserve and will play.

Tonight’s game begins at 9 p.m., and fans in the Buffalo market can watch live on the CW23.

The game will be streamed on ESPN+, and radio listeners can tune into WWKB 1520 AM.

As always, stay tuned to @re_laxlacrosse on X for live goal updates and analysis between quarters.

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Stats for this story were provided by nllstats.com, a league-wide database run by NLL writer Graeme Perrow.

Check out his commentary on nllchatter.com as well as his updates on X (@GraemePerrow).