The 2024-2025 National Lacrosse League season culminated on Saturday, in – where else – downtown Buffalo, as 19,070 rabid lacrosse lovers jammed KeyBank Center to witness the winner-take-all matchup between the hometown Bandits and the hard-charging Saskatchewan Rush.
In the wake of two hard fought, close games to open the championship round, the deciding Game 3 began with a bang, and concluded in a runaway, as the Bandits captured their third straight title, and seventh overall, when taking down the Rush 15-6.
Hoisting the NLL Cup is a feeling that never gets old 🏆 pic.twitter.com/EhZElXHQZV
— NLL (@NLL) May 24, 2025
Austin Shanks got right to work for the visitors, finding the back of the net just 24 seconds into the contest with a dunk. This would commence a stretch of four goals in the first 3:52, two coming from Shanks with the Buffalo tandem Josh Byrne and Dhane Smith scoring the other two. Zach Manns put Saskatchewan up 3-2, but the defending champs reeled off five consecutive scores, only to be countered by a three-goal Rush barrage, sending the festivities to halftime with Buffalo holding a 7-6 advantage.
Because the National Lacrosse League is the polar opposite of predictable, the second half conducted an about-face, as the “anything you can do, I can do better nature” of the first 30 was replaced by a Bandits’ bulldozer, with the now three-time defending champs outscoring the Rush 8-0.
John Tavares must have given a halftime speech for the ages!
Between the pipes, the ageless Matt Vinc barricaded 25 shots in the second half, and 42 of 48 shots overall, enroute to his sixth league title and second three-peat. He also accomplished the feat between 2012-2014 with the Rochester Knighthawks.
“You gotta have the right group of guys and the right situation,” Vinc said to Ashley Docking after the game. “I’ve had that in two good franchises, two good coaching staffs, two good ownership groups and then obviously great teammates. That’s what it comes down to, is a great team.”
The clinching battle very much belonged to the Buffalo superstars. Josh Byrne, who had been relatively quiet throughout the postseason, notched four goals and five assists, while Dhane Smith added a hat trick to go along with five helpers. Chris Cloutier provided a hatty of his own, coming off the IR from an ankle injury. Finals MVP Ian MacKay etched a total of three points, and finished the playoffs with 16 goals and 8 assists.
Chase Fraser concluded his dazzling run of carnival-like scores with one last mesmerizing behind-the-back beauty, which served as the opening salvo of the Bandits’ dominating second half performance.
CHASE FRASER IS INSANE
One-handed behind-the-back goal 🤯🤯🤯#SCtop10 | @NLLBandits pic.twitter.com/s7CrYXNOrk
— NLL (@NLL) May 24, 2025
On the Rush side of the tracks, Shanks scored twice, with both efforts occurring within the first 3:23. Robert Church collaborated on two goals and four assists, but when a team goes scoreless in the third and fourth quarters, the scoring stats simply do not jump off the page. Frank Scigliano ended his finest season on a disappointing note, allowing 38 of 53 blasts to cross the goal line.
Congratulations to the Buffalo Bandits, the undisputed kings of the NLL mountaintop.
