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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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PlayoffsStories/Op-Ed

The Buffalo Bandits Journey To The NLL Finals

When the Buffalo Bandits gathered for training camp prior to the start of the 2021-22 National Lacrosse League season, there was a mission statement, one that was no different than any of the other clubs in the NLL.

And that mission statement is to win it all.

“I’m sure if you asked anybody on any team, they’re going to give you the same answer,” said Bandits Head Coach, John Tavares.  “Everybody’s goal is to win the championship.”

And that’s where the Bandits are as they prepare to meet the Colorado Mammoth in the NLL Finals with Game 1 set for Saturday night at KeyBank Center in Buffalo (7:30pm ET ESPN+/TSN4).

For the Bandits, the story of the 2021-22 season could be titled “Unfinished Business”.

That’s because to put what the Bandits have accomplished so far this season and what they ultimately hope to do in the finals, you have to go back two years to the 2018-19 NLL season. The Bandits were the top seed heading into the playoffs with a 14-4 record and they advanced to meet the Calgary Roughnecks in the NLL Finals.

Things didn’t go according to plan.

“Going into that championship, people were saying that we were the favorites and we’re going to win,” recalled Tavares. “They swept us two games to zero and that was definitely a learning lesson.”

And that was the last time that two teams competed for the NLL title.

The 2019-20 season was cut short because of the COVID-19 pandemic and a champion was not crowned. The pandemic also wiped out the entire 2020-21 season so the Bandits have been waiting a long time to get back to this point.

And that journey started during the off-season with the painful memory of what happened three years ago.

“We have a lot of guys from that losing team that have something to prove,” said Tavares. “Going into this year, we tried to get an early start. The guys were training well before training camp started. They put a lot of sweat, blood and not much tears and a lot of effort into this entire season well before the regular season even began.”

The Bandits opened up the 2021-22 season on fire with six straight wins and they were 13-1 through 14 games. They won games in many different ways. There was a small sense of revenge gained in their season opener on December 4th when they handled the team that beat them in the 2019 Finals as they beat Calgary 16-9. Then there was a trip to Long Island on January 30th when the Bandits rallied from a 3-goal deficit in the fourth quarter to beat the New York Riptide 18-17 in overtime.

In a nutshell, the Bandits were sending a message to the rest of the NLL that they were a machine.

“We got off to a really good start,” said Tavares. “I remember the first few games of the season we were very successful getting off not only to a good start in the standings but also a good start in pretty much every game that we played. We had good leads and learned to play with the lead.

But after just about everything was going their way, the Bandits began to face some adversity as they closed the regular season with three losses in their last four games to finish 14-4.

It’s not an ideal way to head into the playoffs, but the Bandits were still the number one seed and they certainly learned some lessons as they prepared for the post-season.

“Over the course of the year, you’re going to run into some obstacles,” said Tavares. “That just taught us how to get better and taught us what we had to improve on. It took us back to the drawing board.”

And that drawing board helped the Bandits get back on track as they opened the NLL Playoffs on May 7th with a 10-5 win over Albany in Banditland. Then it was onto the East Conference Finals against the Toronto Rock and the Bandits had their hands full. Buffalo took game one in Buffalo 18-17 on May 15th and then finished off the two-game sweep on May 21st winning 10-9 in Hamilton, Ontario.

In Game 1, Toronto hit the post with the waning seconds of the game but was unable to tie it as time expired. It looked like Toronto had tied Game 2 with a last-second goal, but after video review, it was determined that the ball went into the net after the clock hit zero.

“It took two tough battles right to the last second or tenth of a second to win those games,” said Tavares.

And now, the Bandits are back in the finals after a regular season that seemed to have a little bit of everything. There was a lot of success for most of the season and then there were some struggles at the ends of the season and a close call against Toronto in the playoffs.

The Bandits are now two wins away from the fifth championship in franchise history.

We’re going (into the finals) with one thing in mind and that’s to win,” said Tavares. “At the end of the day, I think what really led us to improve and get to the finals is the group of guys that we have on the team. Every guy on our team puts the team first.”

In the finals, the Bandits will be facing a Mammoth team that began Buffalo’s late season struggles with a 15-14 win over the Bandits on April 2nd in Denver. The game was tied at 14-14 when Colorado’s Connor Robinson scored the game winning goal with a minute to go in the fourth quarter.

The Bandits expect a tough matchup in the finals.

“They have a lot of threats offensively,” said Tavares. “They’re very athletic defensively. They move the ball in transition. It’s a tough place to play in Colorado. They create a lot of havoc for any opponent.”

The Buffalo Bandits last won an NLL title in 2008 when they beat Portland in the finals. Since then, the Bandits have been back to the finals twice without winning bringing the total number of finals that they’ve lost to five, more than the four times that they’ve won.

The goal this season is simple…unfinished business to bring championship number five to Buffalo.

NLL