BUFFALO, NY. (WKBW) — The back-to-back NLL champion Buffalo Bandits secured a playoff berth Friday night at the KeyBank Center in a 13-10 win over the Las Vegas Desert Dogs.
WE’RE BAAAACK‼️#LetsGoBandits pic.twitter.com/lHQmkBiFp7
— Buffalo Bandits (@NLLBandits) March 22, 2025
In his NLL debut, Lukas Nielsen got the night started right for Buffalo, scoring his first goal to make it 1-0. Then an unanswered seven-goal onslaught by a combination of Dhane Smith, Justin Martin, Chris Cloutier, Josh Byrne and Kyle Buchanan pushed the Bandits ahead 8-0 in the first quarter.
Las Vegas scored two in the second, but three unanswered goals in response gave Buffalo a commanding 11-2 halftime lead.
In the third, the offense slowed up a bit for the Bandits as the Desert Dogs outscored their foe 2-1 in the quarter, but Buffalo still maintained a well-controlled 12-4 lead heading to the final 15 minutes of regulation.
Credit to Las Vegas, because they knew how to make a near-sellout crowd at the KeyBank Center, start to feel the nerves in that last frame. Outscoring Buffalo 6-1 in the fourth made the final score a lot closer than expected after this game started the way it did for the Bandits.
"Satisfying to make sure we're in the playoffs, but obviously we're not satisfied with that," head coach John Tavares said. "We want to make sure we get a home game."
"It's a good sign," added forward Dhane Smith. "The next step is getting a home playoff game. It's going to be huge down the stretch. We've been struggling a little bit at home, but the momentum going forward is unbelievable. We're excited about the next step, and we've got to take care of business tomorrow."
With the 13-10 victory, Buffalo has secured a playoff berth and will look to keep the momentum going on the road Saturday against Albany.
