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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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March to the Finals: Buffalo

When you think about the Buffalo Bandits’ road to the 2023 NLL Finals, the 1976 hit song by Maxine Nightingale “Right Back Where We Started From” certainly comes to mind.

After the shock of losing last year’s championship series to Colorado, the Bandits have returned to the finals for a championship rematch with the Mammoth.

The disappointment of a year ago certainly fueled the fire for the Bandits to finish the story this year.

“It’s gotten us back to the exact same spot we were last year,” said Bandits General Manager and Assistant Coach Steve Dietrich.

The 2023 NLL Finals will begin on Saturday night with game one set for KeyBank Center in Buffalo (7pm ET; TSN and ESPN2). Game two will be Monday afternoon, Memorial Day in the US, May 29th in Colorado and a third game, if necessary, would be back in Buffalo on Saturday June 3rd.

To say that Buffalo is out to complete unfinished business would be an understatement.

The Bandits have won four MILL/NLL championships hoisting the trophy in 1992, 1993, 1996 and 2008. But since that last championship 15 years ago, the Bandits have been back to the championship round on three prior occasions but lost all three including last year to Colorado dropping a decisive third game in Buffalo.

Throw in the COVID-19 shortened 2019-20 season when the Bandits felt that had a really good shot to win it all and it just seems like the franchise has been snakebit.

“Honestly, for a little while, you almost contemplate why are we even doing this?” said Dietrich. “You do everything you can…the ultimate goal is to win.  Everything seems to be aligned. All the stars are aligned and then it doesn’t happen. You take a step back and you think is this ever going to happen? And if it’s not going to happen, then why do I do this? All of us can probably say we don’t do this for money. We don’t do this for glory. We do this to try and win a championship and last year was such a disappointment.”

There have been many times in professional sports when a disappointment the year before can set the tone for a team to make some changes and come back the next season and finish the job.

After getting swept by the New York Islanders in the 1983 Stanley Cup Final, Wayne Gretzky and the Edmonton Oilers rebounded to beat the Islanders in the final the following year, the first of five Stanley Cups that the Oilers have won.

In 1995, the New York Yankees lost a heartbreaking decisive game five to the Seattle Mariners in the American League Division Series and came back the next year to win the World Series and that kickstarted a run of four World Series titles in five years for the Yankees.

And how about Lebron James and the 2011 Miami Heat? They were supposed to win it all but lost to the Dallas Mavericks in the NBA Finals.  The Heat would recover from that disappointment and then win back-to-back NBA titles in 2012 and 2013.

Could the Buffalo Bandits follow a similar script?

“Our staff put a plan together of what we wanted to do and it wasn’t driven so much out of a desire to get back to where we are,” said Dietrich. “It was driven by where do we think we’re weak? Where do we think we need to improve and then you just go forward and you try and do that and that’s what we did.”

That plan was in place as the Buffalo Bandits assembled for training camp prior to the start of the 2022-23 season. There are times when a championship team suffers what is called a “hangover” at the start of the following season, but in this case, it was the Bandits who were still trying to put the pieces together after losing to Colorado in last year’s finals.

There was still that sense of disappointment in not winning the championship.

“I think the guys came in almost a little shocked still after the way it finished,” said Dietrich. “I don’t want to say they came in overconfident.  You’re still trying to deal with the loss.”

And then came the start of the regular season and perhaps the turning point for the Bandits in their quest to get back to the finals.

The Bandits opened their season at home against the Albany Firewolves on Saturday December 3rd.

The final score…Albany 11 Buffalo 10.

“That basically gave us a punch in the mouth and a big wakeup call,” said Dietrich. “It let everybody basically reset and reorganize and realize that we’re a good team and nothing is going to be handed to us and that’s when I felt that the rededication and the fire was relit underneath everybody. It took until after game one, I fully believe, to have us start to become the team that we’ve become.”

The Bandits would then go on to a 14-4 regular season earning the number one seed in the NLL. What’s amazing about the season as a whole was that just about every week the Bandits were missing at least one and sometimes multiple key players because of injuries.

In what could be a sign that this season could be different that season’s past, the Bandits didn’t let a little adversity get to them.

They just found a way to get the job done and take care of business in the regular season.

“I have to tip my cap to (Head Coach) John Tavares and the rest of our staff because they’ve done a tremendous job preparing these guys each week,” said Dietrich. “We were missing a lot of guys. I give our guys a lot of credit.  They prepared the players each week and I give the players a ton of credit.”

Leading the way for the Bandits this season were two players who have been the glue that held everything together.

There’s a saying in sports that offense wins games, but defense wins championships. And the Bandits’ back end is anchored by goaltender Matt Vinc. The 40-year-old netminder just seems to age like a fine wine and he has backstopped the Bandits back to the finals.

“Not only is he the greatest goaltender who has ever played but he gives us so much confidence on the defensive end to be able to play the way we want to play,” said Dietrich. “Knowing you have him back there is such a security blanket and safety blanket and you know that if he’s on, we’re going to be really tough to beat on any given night.”

And let’s not forget about the elite offensive players on the Bandits including NLL MVP finalist Dhane Smith who could very well win his second straight National Lacrosse League Most Valuable Player award and third of his career.

He was the first player that Dietrich drafted when he became the Bandits’ General Manager in 2012 and the Kitchener, Ontario natives have been joined at the hip ever since.

“He and I go back a long way,” said Dietrich. “I think Dhane is the best lacrosse player in the world, indoor or outdoor. He’s a great feeder. He sees the floor incredibly well. I’m sure his number will be up in the rafters one day in Buffalo because he’s as complete of a lacrosse player as this league has ever seen.”

After an outstanding regular season, the Bandits began their postseason run on May 6th with a 20-8 win over the Rochester Knighthawks in the single elimination Quarterfinals round. That punched the Bandits’ ticket to a rematch of last year’s East Conference Finals against the Toronto Rock.

In game one of the best-of-three series on May 12th in Buffalo, the Bandits dismantled the Rock 14-5. And then in game two the next night in Hamilton, the Bandits completed the sweep with a 17-8 victory and with that win they advanced to the NLL Finals.

Was it as easy as it looked with a +30 goal differential in three games?

“No, not at all,” said Dietrich. “I look at adversity in the fact that we dealt with adversity for the first 16 or 17 weeks of the season. We dealt with adversity all year. Hopefully now things are starting to roll our way and hopefully we can start to get healthy, stay healthy and continue on here.”

And now, an NLL Finals rematch with the defending champion Colorado Mammoth, who also defeated Dietrich and Tavares in the 2006 championship.

This time, the Bandits are hoping for a different result against a team that shattered their championship dreams a year ago.

“It’s going to be an amazing challenge,” said Dietrich. “The revenge factor will be there. Colorado’s got some dynamic guys who killed us last year so we’re well aware of those guys. We’re going to have to be ready to go right from the (start) in game one and forget about anything that has happened in the past.”

But it is that past that has driven the Bandits back to this point and it has been the past that has haunted Buffalo sports fans for decades.

The Buffalo Bills have never won a Super Bowl.

The Buffalo Sabres have never hoisted the Stanley Cup.

It’s up to the Bandits, who will be looking for their first championship since 2008, to finally bring that winning feeling back to the fans in Buffalo.

“It’s such a great city and has such a great fan base for every sport,” said Dietrich. “It’s definitely a group of people who definitely deserve a championship there’s no doubt about that.”

And now, the Buffalo Bandits are right back where they were a year ago…with a chance to win it all.

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