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Breaking: League Adopts Unified Standings Format & Updated Playoff Structure for 2023-24 Season

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WK
1
Fri, Dec 1
19:00:00
Saskatchewan
Halifax
Fri, Dec 1
22:00:00
Albany
Las Vegas
Fri, Dec 1
22:00:00
Panther City
Vancouver
Sat, Dec 2
19:00:00
Calgary
Rochester
Sat, Dec 2
19:30:00
Philadelphia
New York
WK
2
Sat, Dec 9
19:00:00
Philadelphia
Toronto
Sat, Dec 9
19:00:00
Buffalo
Albany
Sat, Dec 9
19:30:00
Colorado
Georgia
Sat, Dec 9
20:00:00
Rochester
Saskatchewan
Sat, Dec 9
22:00:00
Calgary
San Diego
Sun, Dec 10
16:00:00
Las Vegas
Panther City
WK
3
Fri, Dec 15
22:00:00
Saskatchewan
Las Vegas
Sat, Dec 16
13:00:00
Albany
Philadelphia
Sat, Dec 16
19:30:00
Halifax
New York
Sat, Dec 16
19:30:00
San Diego
Buffalo
Sat, Dec 16
22:00:00
Georgia
Vancouver
WK
4
Fri, Dec 22
20:00:00
Toronto
Panther City
Fri, Dec 22
21:00:00
Georgia
Colorado
Sat, Dec 23
19:00:00
Vancouver
Rochester
WK
5
Fri, Dec 29
18:30:00
Philadelphia
Halifax
Fri, Dec 29
19:30:00
Georgia
Buffalo
Fri, Dec 29
22:00:00
Rochester
San Diego
Sat, Dec 30
16:00:00
New York
Toronto
Sat, Dec 30
21:00:00
Las Vegas
Calgary
Sat, Dec 30
21:00:00
Vancouver
Colorado
Sun, Dec 31
20:00:00
Albany
Saskatchewan
WK
6
Sat, Jan 6
19:00:00
Halifax
Albany
Sat, Jan 6
19:30:00
Panther City
Georgia
Sat, Jan 6
19:30:00
Colorado
Buffalo
Sun, Jan 7
15:00:00
New York
Philadelphia
WK
7
Fri, Jan 12
18:30:00
Toronto
Halifax
Fri, Jan 12
22:00:00
San Diego
Las Vegas
Sat, Jan 13
19:00:00
Buffalo
Rochester
Sat, Jan 13
19:00:00
Saskatchewan
Philadelphia
Sat, Jan 13
19:30:00
Panther City
New York
Sat, Jan 13
19:30:00
Albany
Georgia
Sat, Jan 13
21:00:00
San Diego
Colorado
Sat, Jan 13
22:00:00
Calgary
Vancouver
WK
8
Fri, Jan 19
19:30:00
New York
Buffalo
Sat, Jan 20
19:00:00
Georgia
Toronto
Sat, Jan 20
19:00:00
San Diego
Albany
Sat, Jan 20
20:00:00
Vancouver
Saskatchewan
Sat, Jan 20
21:00:00
Calgary
Colorado
WK
9
Fri, Jan 26
22:00:00
Colorado
Vancouver
Sat, Jan 27
18:00:00
Rochester
Halifax
Sat, Jan 27
19:00:00
Buffalo
Toronto
Sat, Jan 27
19:30:00
Georgia
New York
Sat, Jan 27
19:30:00
San Diego
Philadelphia
Sat, Jan 27
22:00:00
Panther City
Las Vegas
WK
10
Fri, Feb 2
19:00:00
Halifax
Philadelphia
Fri, Feb 2
19:30:00
Vancouver
Georgia
Fri, Feb 2
21:00:00
New York
Calgary
Sat, Feb 3
19:00:00
Las Vegas
Albany
Sat, Feb 3
19:30:00
Rochester
Buffalo
Sat, Feb 3
20:00:00
Panther City
Saskatchewan
Sat, Feb 3
21:00:00
Toronto
Calgary
Sun, Feb 4
18:00:00
Colorado
San Diego
WK
11
Fri, Feb 9
18:30:00
Las Vegas
Halifax
Fri, Feb 9
20:00:00
Colorado
Panther City
Sat, Feb 10
19:00:00
Georgia
Rochester
Sat, Feb 10
19:00:00
Calgary
Toronto
Sat, Feb 10
19:30:00
San Diego
New York
Sat, Feb 10
22:00:00
Saskatchewan
Vancouver
WK
12
Fri, Feb 16
18:30:00
Buffalo
Halifax
Fri, Feb 16
22:00:00
Philadelphia
Las Vegas
Sat, Feb 17
19:00:00
Colorado
Albany
Sun, Feb 18
19:00:00
Halifax
Calgary
WK
13
Fri, Feb 23
21:00:00
New York
Colorado
Fri, Feb 23
22:00:00
Georgia
San Diego
Sat, Feb 24
19:00:00
Las Vegas
Rochester
Sat, Feb 24
19:00:00
Vancouver
Toronto
Sat, Feb 24
19:30:00
Albany
Buffalo
Sat, Feb 24
20:00:00
Halifax
Saskatchewan
Sat, Feb 24
21:00:00
Philadelphia
Calgary
Sun, Feb 25
16:00:00
Georgia
Panther City
WK
14
Fri, Mar 1
19:00:00
Georgia
Halifax
Fri, Mar 1
20:00:00
San Diego
Panther City
Fri, Mar 1
22:00:00
Toronto
Las Vegas
Fri, Mar 1
22:00:00
Buffalo
Vancouver
Sat, Mar 2
13:00:00
Calgary
Philadelphia
Sat, Mar 2
19:00:00
New York
Albany
Sat, Mar 2
21:00:00
Saskatchewan
Colorado
Sat, Mar 2
22:00:00
Toronto
San Diego
Sun, Mar 3
16:00:00
Rochester
Panther City
WK
15
Fri, Mar 8
19:00:00
Vancouver
Albany
Fri, Mar 8
19:30:00
Calgary
Georgia
Fri, Mar 8
19:30:00
Saskatchewan
Buffalo
Sat, Mar 9
17:00:00
Colorado
Toronto
Sat, Mar 9
19:00:00
Albany
Rochester
Sat, Mar 9
19:30:00
Las Vegas
New York
Sat, Mar 9
22:00:00
Halifax
San Diego
Sun, Mar 10
15:00:00
Panther City
Philadelphia
WK
16
Fri, Mar 15
18:30:00
Panther City
Halifax
Fri, Mar 15
21:00:00
San Diego
Calgary
Fri, Mar 15
22:00:00
Las Vegas
Vancouver
Sat, Mar 16
19:00:00
Rochester
Albany
Sat, Mar 16
19:00:00
Toronto
Buffalo
Sat, Mar 16
19:30:00
Philadelphia
Georgia
Sat, Mar 16
20:30:00
New York
Saskatchewan
WK
17
Fri, Mar 22
20:00:00
Buffalo
Panther City
Fri, Mar 22
21:00:00
Albany
Calgary
Sat, Mar 23
19:00:00
Halifax
Toronto
Sat, Mar 23
19:00:00
Vancouver
Philadelphia
Sat, Mar 23
19:30:00
Saskatchewan
New York
Sat, Mar 23
21:00:00
Rochester
Colorado
Sat, Mar 23
22:00:00
Las Vegas
San Diego
Sun, Mar 24
17:30:00
Saskatchewan
Georgia
WK
18
Sat, Mar 30
13:00:00
Buffalo
Philadelphia
Sat, Mar 30
19:00:00
Halifax
Rochester
Sat, Mar 30
19:30:00
Toronto
New York
Sat, Mar 30
22:00:00
Vancouver
Las Vegas
WK
19
Fri, Apr 5
21:00:00
Saskatchewan
Calgary
Fri, Apr 5
21:00:00
Buffalo
Colorado
Fri, Apr 5
22:00:00
Panther City
San Diego
Fri, Apr 5
22:00:00
Halifax
Vancouver
Sat, Apr 6
19:00:00
New York
Rochester
Sat, Apr 6
19:00:00
Toronto
Albany
Sat, Apr 6
19:30:00
Las Vegas
Georgia
Sat, Apr 6
20:00:00
Calgary
Saskatchewan
Sun, Apr 7
16:00:00
Philadelphia
Panther City
WK
20
Fri, Apr 12
21:00:00
Philadelphia
Colorado
Sat, Apr 13
19:00:00
Rochester
Toronto
Sat, Apr 13
19:30:00
Calgary
Buffalo
Sat, Apr 13
20:00:00
San Diego
Saskatchewan
Sat, Apr 13
22:00:00
Colorado
Las Vegas
Sat, Apr 13
22:00:00
New York
Vancouver
Sun, Apr 14
16:00:00
Albany
Panther City
WK
21
Fri, Apr 19
19:30:00
Rochester
Georgia
Fri, Apr 19
22:00:00
Vancouver
San Diego
Sat, Apr 20
18:00:00
Colorado
Halifax
Sat, Apr 20
19:30:00
Albany
New York
Sat, Apr 20
20:00:00
Toronto
Saskatchewan
Sat, Apr 20
21:00:00
Panther City
Calgary
Sat, Apr 20
22:00:00
Buffalo
Las Vegas
Sun, Apr 21
15:00:00
Philadelphia
Rochester
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Drive For Five: Bandits Top Black Wolves 20-15 To Advance To Nll Finals

The Buffalo Bandits (15-5) punched the team’s ticket to the Champion’s Cup Finals with a 20-15 win over the New England Black Wolves in front of 14,255 at the First Niagara Center on Saturday night. The Bandits won the series 2-0 and advance to the championship series against the defending champion Saskatchewan Rush.

The journey to reach the Champion’s Cup Finals is a long one that began in preseason on November 27 for the Bandits and isn’t finished yet.

“At the beginning of the year, we started off training camp with a strong message to the guys, that it takes a lot of hard work and a lot of sacrifice,” said Bandits head coach Troy Cordingley. “It’s good to be to this point, but we’ve still got a lot of work to do.”

The Bandits opened the scoring just 11 seconds into the game with Jay Thorimbert finding the back of the net. Mark Steenhuis gave Buffalo a two goal lead before the Wolves went on a three goal run. Emotions boiled over after about 10 minutes when David Brock and Mike McNamara dropped the gloves. New England extended it’s lead to 4-2 with 2:57 to go on a power play goal from Shawn Evans. Mitch Jones and Evans traded goals and the first quarter ended 5-3 in favor of New England.

Buffalo also scored first in the second quarter when Anthony Malcom found the back of the net. The game was tied 6-6 with 9:38 to go before Mitch de Snoo took a major penalty for an illegal cross check. Pat Saunders and Kevin Crowley scored on the power play, then Derek Suddons scored short handed to give New England a 9-6 lead. The Bandits used a three-goal run to end the first half tied 9-9.

“We talked about a 9-9 game at the half. We knew we weren’t playing very well and we weren’t very smart in a couple situations,” said Cordingley. “We turned it around and eventually took the game over.”

The third quarter saw the game tied four different times until Malcom gave Buffalo a 14-13 lead into the final quarter.

Chad Culp scored his second goal before Kevin Buchanan scored his fifth to keep Buffalo’s lead at one goal. Ryan Benesch scored two straight goals to give Buffalo a three goal lead with less than five minutes to go. Buchanan scored again for New England, but Culp added another tally as the Bandits got back to up three with 1:53 to go. Steenhuis netted a penalty shot goal before Alex Kedoh Hill gave Buffalo a 20-15 lead that would seal the victory.

“This is an unbelievable feeling. It doesn’t feel real. Now we’re in the finals and we’re not done yet,” said NLL regular season scoring champ Dhane Smith. “There’s something different about this year. We don’t get too high or too low and we know we’re going to get the next goal.”

After scoring four goals in game one on Monday, Hill kept his scoring streak going in the series by adding four more goals and three assists on Saturday night. The NLL’s leading scorer Smith (4+5) also stayed red hot. Kevin Buchanan (6+1) and Shawn Evans (2+4) led the scoring for the Black Wolves in the loss.

“Kedoh has picked his game up another notch in the playoffs. He’s a great transition player and might have the best stick skills in the league,” added Cordingley. “Culp does all the gritty work and all the dirty work and he got three tonight. He was really good.”

Culp (3+1) was sporting the hard hat given to the player voted to have had the best game by the Bandits locker room. He’s excited for the rare opportunity to compete for the Champion’s Cup.

“It’s a long journey for sure, it’s a long season. We got the two wins we needed to get to the finals and now we need two more,” said Culp. “This is my 14th year and I haven’t had a chance yet. It’s really exciting and hopefully we come out victorious.”

A rivalry developed between the Bandits and Black Wolves throughout the regular season and playoffs and Black Wolves head coach Glenn Clark could feel the intensity.

“There’s a bit of nastiness out there, but that’s the game and we’re used to it,” said coach Clark. “The game was what we expected. We fought and came up a bit short and it was a battle. Everything was earned.”

After finishing at the bottom of the league in 2015, the Black Wolves showed vast improvement making it to the East Division Finals. Clark was encouraged by the progress he saw.

“I’m happy with how the guys played,” he said. “They played to the final whistle and gave what they had. You can’t beat yourself up about it. It’s disappointing, but when we look at the totality of the season, we’ve made some good progress. We’ve put a few of those ‘foundation pieces’ in place and I think it bodes well for us moving forward.”

The Bandits host Game 1 of the Champion’s Cup Finals on Saturday, May 28 at 7:30 p.m. ET live on TSN 2 & TSN GO and the ESPN app. Game 2 is set for Saturday, June 4 at 9 p.m. ET in Saskatoon and should the series be tied 1-1, Game 3 would take place in Buffalo on Saturday, June 11 at 7:30 p.m. ET.

Three Stars of the Game:

1) Dhane Smith
2) Alex Kedoh Hill
3) Kevin Buchanan

By Steve Bermel for NLL.com. Photo by Bill Wippert.

NLL