2018 Buffalo Bandits season
Lacrosse team season
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The Buffalo Bandits are a lacrosse team based in Buffalo, New York playing in the National Lacrosse League (NLL). The 2018 season was their 27th season in the NLL.
| 2018 Buffalo Bandits | |
|---|---|
| League | NLL |
| Division | 5th East |
| 2018 record | 8–10 |
| Home record | 4–5 |
| Road record | 4–5 |
| Goals for | 232 |
| Goals against | 240 |
| General Manager | Steve Dietrich |
| Coach | Troy Cordingley |
| Captain | Steve Priolo |
| Arena | KeyBank Center |
| Average attendance | 14,181 |
| Team leaders | |
| Goals | Mitch Jones (38) |
| Assists | Dhane Smith (68) |
| Points | Dhane Smith (105) |
| Penalties in minutes | Steve Priolo (45) |
| Loose Balls | Steve Priolo (138) |
| Wins | Alex Buque (6) |
| Goals against average | Alex Buque (12.94) |
The Bandits held the first overall pick in the NLL Entry Draft, where they selected Josh Byrne with the first overall pick. They also selected Chase Fraser with the 13th pick. These players would be instrumental in the Bandits' contention window opening, which would lead to three straight titles between 2023 and 2025.
However, Buffalo finished the 2018 season with an 8–10 record, finishing last in the East for a second straight season, in addition to missing the playoffs. Despite a slim chance to make the playoffs near the end of the season, Buffalo lost three straight games to finish the season, ending their playoff hopes.
As of the 2026 season, this remains the most recent season in which the Bandits missed the playoffs or finished with a losing record.
Regular season
Final standings
Reference: [1]
| P | Team | GP | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | GF | GA | Diff | GF/GP | GA/GP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Georgia Swarm – xy | 18 | 11 | 7 | .611 | 0.0 | 6–3 | 5–4 | 226 | 215 | +11 | 12.56 | 11.94 |
| 2 | Rochester Knighthawks – x | 18 | 10 | 8 | .556 | 1.0 | 5–4 | 5–4 | 236 | 210 | +26 | 13.11 | 11.67 |
| 3 | New England Black Wolves – x | 18 | 9 | 9 | .500 | 2.0 | 4–5 | 5–4 | 194 | 242 | −48 | 10.78 | 13.44 |
| 4 | Toronto Rock | 18 | 8 | 10 | .444 | 3.0 | 3–6 | 5–4 | 237 | 216 | +21 | 13.17 | 12.00 |
| 5 | Buffalo Bandits | 18 | 8 | 10 | .444 | 3.0 | 4–5 | 4–5 | 232 | 240 | −8 | 12.89 | 13.33 |
| P | Team | GP | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | GF | GA | Diff | GF/GP | GA/GP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Saskatchewan Rush – xyz | 18 | 14 | 4 | .778 | 0.0 | 6–3 | 8–1 | 254 | 196 | +58 | 14.11 | 10.89 |
| 2 | Colorado Mammoth – x | 18 | 11 | 7 | .611 | 3.0 | 5–4 | 6–3 | 214 | 199 | +15 | 11.89 | 11.06 |
| 3 | Calgary Roughnecks – x | 18 | 8 | 10 | .444 | 6.0 | 5–4 | 3–6 | 227 | 211 | +16 | 12.61 | 11.72 |
| 4 | Vancouver Stealth | 18 | 2 | 16 | .111 | 12.0 | 0–9 | 2–7 | 186 | 277 | −91 | 10.33 | 15.39 |
x: Clinched playoff berth; c: Clinched playoff berth by crossing over to another division; y: Clinched division; z: Clinched best regular season record; GP: Games Played
W: Wins; L: Losses; GB: Games back; PCT: Win percentage; Home: Record at Home; Road: Record on the Road; GF: Goals scored; GA: Goals allowed
Differential: Difference between goals scored and allowed; GF/GP: Average number of goals scored per game; GA/GP: Average number of goals allowed per game
Game log
Reference:[2]
| Game | Date | Opponent | Location | Score | OT | Attendance | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | December 8, 2017 | Toronto Rock | KeyBank Center | W 13–9 | 11,516 | 1–0 | |
| 2 | December 23, 2017 | @ Rochester Knighthawks | Blue Cross Arena | L 11–21 | 7,272 | 1–1 | |
| 3 | December 30, 2017 | @ Toronto Rock | Air Canada Centre | L 13–20 | 9,398 | 1–2 | |
| 4 | January 6, 2018 | Calgary Roughnecks | KeyBank Center | W 13–8 | 11,803 | 2–2 | |
| 5 | January 13, 2018 | Vancouver Stealth | KeyBank Center | L 10–11 | OT | 12,610 | 2–3 |
| 6 | January 19, 2018 | @ Saskatchewan Rush | SaskTel Centre | W 16–15 | OT | 14,693 | 3–3 |
| 7 | February 3, 2018 | @ Rochester Knighthawks | Blue Cross Arena | W 16–14 | 9,425 | 4–3 | |
| 8 | February 9, 2018 | @ New England Black Wolves | Mohegan Sun Arena | W 18–13 | 5,357 | 5–3 | |
| 9 | February 10, 2018 | Georgia Swarm | KeyBank Center | W 18–9 | 14,058 | 6–3 | |
| 10 | February 24, 2018 | Rochester Knighthawks | KeyBank Center | L 10–17 | 15,302 | 6–4 | |
| 11 | March 3, 2018 | @ Colorado Mammoth | Pepsi Center | L 7–8 | 16,062 | 6–5 | |
| 12 | March 16, 2018 | Saskatchewan Rush | KeyBank Center | L 10–16 | 12,936 | 6–6 | |
| 13 | March 18, 2018 | @ Georgia Swarm | Infinite Energy Arena | L 10–14 | 3,863 | 6–7 | |
| 14 | March 23, 2018 | @ New England Black Wolves | Mohegan Sun Arena | W 20–7 | 5,378 | 7–7 | |
| 15 | March 31, 2018 | New England Black Wolves | KeyBank Center | W 14–11 | 13,709 | 8–7 | |
| 16 | April 14, 2018 | @ Calgary Roughnecks | Scotiabank Saddledome | L 9–16 | 17,113 | 8–8 | |
| 17 | April 21, 2018 | Toronto Rock | KeyBank Center | L 11–16 | 16,630 | 8–9 | |
| 18 | April 28, 2018 | Rochester Knighthawks | KeyBank Center | L 13–15 | 19,070 | 8–10 |
Roster
| Active (21-man) roster | Inactive roster | Coaches | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
{{{Head Coach}}}
Roster updated 2017-12-08 | ||||||
Entry Draft
The 2017 NLL Entry Draft took place on September 18, 2017.[3] The Bandits made the following selections:
| Round | Overall | Player | College/Club |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 1 | Josh Byrne | |
| 2 | 13 | Chase Fraser | |
| 2 | 20 | Ethan Schott | |
| 3 | 33 | Dallas Bridle | |
| 4 | 34 | Mackenzie Mitchell | |
| 4 | 36 | Connor Laird | |
| 5 | 43 | Dylan Molloy | |
| 6 | 51 | Braden Wallace |
Player stats
Reference:[4]
Runners (Top 10)
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | LB | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dhane Smith | 18 | 37 | 68 | 105 | 95 | 0 |
| Mitch Jones | 18 | 38 | 43 | 81 | 116 | 8 |
| Jordan Durston | 18 | 24 | 41 | 65 | 79 | 15 |
| Josh Byrne | 18 | 26 | 37 | 63 | 72 | 9 |
| Callum Crawford | 9 | 18 | 22 | 40 | 29 | 16 |
| Vaughn Harris | 14 | 18 | 14 | 32 | 105 | 6 |
| Shawn Evans | 8 | 16 | 16 | 32 | 42 | 8 |
| Nick Weiss | 18 | 9 | 13 | 22 | 114 | 23 |
| Craig England | 14 | 9 | 11 | 20 | 29 | 25 |
| Steve Priolo | 18 | 3 | 16 | 19 | 138 | 45 |
| Totals | 232 | 341 | 573 | 1,416 | 287 |
Goaltenders
| Player | GP | MIN | W | L | GA | Sv% | GAA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alex Buque | 18 | 709:41 | 6 | 6 | 153 | .771 | 12.94 |
| Zach Higgins | 16 | 373:23 | 2 | 4 | 81 | .758 | 13.02 |
| Davide DiRuscio | 2 | 0:31 | 0 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 116.13 |
| Totals | 1,083:35 | 8 | 10 | 235 | .766 | 13.01 |