2024 Buffalo Bandits season
Lacrosse team season; NLL champions, sixth in team history
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The Buffalo Bandits are a lacrosse team based in Buffalo, New York playing in the National Lacrosse League (NLL). The 2024 season was their 32nd season in the NLL.
| 2024 Buffalo Bandits | |
|---|---|
| NLL Champions | |
| League | NLL |
| 2024 record | 11–7 |
| Home record | 6–3 |
| Road record | 5–4 |
| Goals for | 237 |
| Goals against | 212 |
| General Manager | Steve Dietrich |
| Coach | John Tavares |
| Captain | Steve Priolo |
| Alternate captains | Dhane Smith, Nick Weiss |
| Arena | KeyBank Center |
| Average attendance | 16,974 |
| Team leaders | |
| Goals | Josh Byrne (53) |
| Assists | Dhane Smith (101) |
| Points | Josh Byrne (135) |
| Penalties in minutes | Nick Weiss (31) |
| Loose Balls | Ian MacKay (160) |
| Wins | Matt Vinc (11) |
| Goals against average | Steven Orleman (10.42) |
The Bandits finished the regular season with an 11-7 record and the 4th seed in the playoffs. Buffalo beat the Georgia Swarm, 10-9, in the quarterfinals in overtime. The Bandits would go on to sweep the Toronto Rock in 2 games to advance to their 4th straight NLL Finals appearance. In the Finals, Buffalo swept the Albany FireWolves in 2 games to repeat as NLL Champions for the first time since the 1992 and 1993 seasons.[1][2]
Regular season
NLL Standings Reference:[3]
| P | Team | GP | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | GF | GA | Diff | GF/GP | GA/GP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Toronto Rock – xz | 18 | 15 | 3 | .833 | 0.0 | 7–2 | 8–1 | 218 | 169 | +49 | 12.11 | 9.39 |
| 2 | San Diego Seals – x | 18 | 13 | 5 | .722 | 2.0 | 8–1 | 5–4 | 210 | 178 | +32 | 11.67 | 9.89 |
| 3 | Albany FireWolves – x | 18 | 11 | 7 | .611 | 4.0 | 5–4 | 6–3 | 206 | 191 | +15 | 11.44 | 10.61 |
| 4 | Buffalo Bandits – x | 18 | 11 | 7 | .611 | 4.0 | 6–3 | 5–4 | 237 | 212 | +25 | 13.17 | 11.78 |
| 5 | Georgia Swarm – x | 18 | 10 | 8 | .556 | 5.0 | 6–3 | 4–5 | 198 | 197 | +1 | 11.00 | 10.94 |
| 6 | Halifax Thunderbirds – x | 18 | 10 | 8 | .556 | 5.0 | 6–3 | 4–5 | 228 | 200 | +28 | 12.67 | 11.11 |
| 7 | Panther City Lacrosse Club – x | 18 | 9 | 9 | .500 | 6.0 | 5–4 | 4–5 | 205 | 202 | +3 | 11.39 | 11.22 |
| 8 | Rochester Knighthawks – x | 18 | 8 | 10 | .444 | 7.0 | 4–5 | 4–5 | 214 | 226 | −12 | 11.89 | 12.56 |
| 9 | New York Riptide | 18 | 8 | 10 | .444 | 7.0 | 4–5 | 4–5 | 206 | 234 | −28 | 11.44 | 13.00 |
| 10 | Saskatchewan Rush | 18 | 8 | 10 | .444 | 7.0 | 4–5 | 4–5 | 217 | 210 | +7 | 12.06 | 11.67 |
| 11 | Calgary Roughnecks | 18 | 8 | 10 | .444 | 7.0 | 6–3 | 2–7 | 198 | 194 | +4 | 11.00 | 10.78 |
| 12 | Vancouver Warriors | 18 | 8 | 10 | .444 | 7.0 | 5–4 | 3–6 | 202 | 211 | −9 | 11.22 | 11.72 |
| 13 | Philadelphia Wings | 18 | 6 | 12 | .333 | 9.0 | 1–8 | 5–4 | 198 | 233 | −35 | 11.00 | 12.94 |
| 14 | Las Vegas Desert Dogs | 18 | 5 | 13 | .278 | 10.0 | 2–7 | 3–6 | 176 | 223 | −47 | 9.78 | 12.39 |
| 15 | Colorado Mammoth | 18 | 5 | 13 | .278 | 10.0 | 4–5 | 1–8 | 193 | 226 | −33 | 10.72 | 12.56 |
Game log
| Game | Date | Opponent | Location | Score | OT | Attendance | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | December 9, 2023 | @ Albany FireWolves | MVP Arena | L 13–17 | 3,406 | 0–1 | |
| 2 | December 16, 2023 | San Diego Seals | KeyBank Center | W 12–9 | 17,200 | 1–1 | |
| 3 | December 29, 2023 | Georgia Swarm | KeyBank Center | L 8–9 | 16,763 | 1–2 | |
| 4 | January 6, 2024 | Colorado Mammoth | KeyBank Center | W 12–8 | 15,147 | 2–2 | |
| 5 | January 13, 2024 | @ Rochester Knighthawks | Blue Cross Arena | W 15–13 | 8,167 | 3–2 | |
| 6 | January 19, 2024 | New York Riptide | KeyBank Center | L 13–15 | 14,440 | 3–3 | |
| 7 | January 27, 2024 | @ Toronto Rock | FirstOntario Centre | W 16–14 | 8,586 | 4–3 | |
| 8 | February 3, 2024 | Rochester Knighthawks | KeyBank Center | W 15–14 | 17,135 | 5–3 | |
| 9 | February 16, 2024 | @ Halifax Thunderbirds | Scotiabank Centre | L 12–14 | 7,824 | 5–4 | |
| 10 | February 24, 2024 | Albany FireWolves | KeyBank Center | L 10–13 | 17,953 | 5–5 | |
| 11 | March 1, 2024 | @ Vancouver Warriors | Rogers Arena | L 12–13 | 10,355 | 5–6 | |
| 12 | March 8, 2024 | Saskatchewan Rush | KeyBank Center | W 15–14 | OT | 16,596 | 6–6 |
| 13 | March 16, 2024 | Toronto Rock | KeyBank Center | W 14–12 | 18,463 | 7–6 | |
| 14 | March 22, 2024 | @ Panther City Lacrosse Club | Dickies Arena | L 11–12 | OT | 3,045 | 7–7 |
| 15 | March 30, 2024 | @ Philadelphia Wings | Wells Fargo Center | W 18–12 | 8,182 | 8–7 | |
| 16 | April 5, 2024 | @ Colorado Mammoth | Ball Arena | W 13–11 | 11,252 | 9–7 | |
| 17 | April 13, 2024 | Calgary Roughnecks | KeyBank Center | W 14–7 | 19,070 | 10–7 | |
| 18 | April 20, 2024 | @ Las Vegas Desert Dogs | Michelob Ultra Arena | W 14–5 | 6,051 | 11–7 |
Playoffs
| Game | Date | Opponent | Location | Score | OT | Attendance | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NLL Quarterfinals | April 27, 2024 | Georgia Swarm | KeyBank Center | W 10–9 | OT | 17,865 | 1–0 |
| NLL Semifinals (Game 1) |
May 3, 2024 | @ Toronto Rock | FirstOntario Centre | W 12–4 | 7,130 | 2–0 | |
| NLL Semifinals (Game 2) |
May 5, 2024 | Toronto Rock | KeyBank Center | W 10–8 | 16,312 | 3–0 | |
| NLL Finals (Game 1) |
May 17, 2024 | @ Albany FireWolves | MVP Arena | W 12–8 | 5,032 | 4–0 | |
| NLL Finals (Game 2) |
May 18, 2024 | Albany FireWolves | KeyBank Center | W 15–13 | 19,070 | 5–0 |
Roster
| Active (21-man) roster | Inactive roster | Coaches | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
Equipment Manager
Roster updated 2022-02-11 | ||||||
Entry Draft
The 2023 NLL Entry Draft took place on September 11, 2023.[4] The Bandits made the following selections:
| Round | Overall | Player | College/Club |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2 | 38 | Evan Constantopoulos | Oakville Buzz Jr. A |
| 3 | 53 | Jake Rosa | St. Bonaventure |
| 4 | 68 | Kellen Pulera | St. Bonaventure |
| 5 | 82 | Duncan Carte | Brampton Express(ALL) |
Player stats
| = Indicates team leader |
| = Indicates league leader |
Reference:[5]
Runners (Top 10)
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | LB | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Josh Byrne | 18 | 53 | 82 | 135 | 75 | 14 |
| Dhane Smith | 18 | 33 | 101 | 134 | 119 | 8 |
| Chris Cloutier | 18 | 30 | 38 | 68 | 64 | 2 |
| Chase Fraser | 17 | 31 | 26 | 57 | 50 | 21 |
| Kyle Buchanan | 18 | 23 | 24 | 57 | 83 | 2 |
| Tehoka Nanticoke | 16 | 27 | 16 | 43 | 37 | 10 |
| Ian MacKay | 18 | 12 | 17 | 29 | 160 | 16 |
| Nick Weiss | 18 | 5 | 24 | 29 | 113 | 31 |
| Brandon Robinson | 13 | 9 | 8 | 17 | 39 | 25 |
| Steve Priolo | 18 | 5 | 8 | 13 | 120 | 30 |
| Totals | 237 | 385 | 622 | 1,276 | 265 |
Goaltenders
| Player | GP | MIN | W | L | GA | Sv% | GAA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Matt Vinc | 16 | 962:39 | 11 | 5 | 182 | .782 | 11.34 |
| Devlin Shanahan | 11 | 78:09 | 0 | 1 | 20 | .747 | 15.36 |
| Steven Orleman | 9 | 46:04 | 0 | 1 | 8 | .805 | 10.42 |
| Totals | 1,086:52 | 11 | 7 | 210 | .780 | 11.59 |