The 2024-25 NLL Playoffs officially kicked off Friday night from raucous Banditland in Buffalo, New York. The first round was a single elimination matchup between the Buffalo Bandits and the San Diego Seals. These two clubs split their season series, and San Diego won the last time they stepped foot into the KeyBank Center. Both games were tightly contested, so this one was sure to be a banger.
Banger it was, well, sort of. If you’re a fan of obscure records being set and you support the old adage, “defense wins championships”, well buckle up, because this was the game for you. Buffalo snuck away with a 5-4 win. Yes, they played for a full 60 minutes and that was the final score.
Let’s get to the obscure records first. It was the lowest scoring game in NLL history. Next, Buffalo set the league record for the fewest goals scored in a game by the winner. Finally, it was the first time in playoff history that a team won a game after being shutout in the second half of said game. Got all that? Jot it down in your record books at home. Now please check out this photo of the greatest human on Earth.
Let’s get to the action.
The first, third, and fourth quarters all saw defensive masterpieces by both sides, as there was one singular goal scored in all three frames. The second quarter was a track meet, but we’ll get to that in a minute. Ian MacKay got the Bandits on the board midway through the first with a fantastic jump at the crease. Both goaltenders stood on their heads, as Matt Vinc stopped all 15 shots he saw, while Christopher Origlieri was equally as stout, stopping 11 of 12. 1-0 Buffalo after one.
The word “track meet” is used because comparatively speaking, the second quarter saw the most goals scored, and both teams used transition to their advantage. San Diego righted the ship, as they scored the first two goals of the frame, just 38 seconds apart. The first was a laser from Zach Currier and the other was from Wesley Berg after coming off a pick. Buffalo ramped up the physicality on defense to follow, along with Vinc continuing his stingy play. The Bandits scored the next four goals of the game, to really put themselves in the driver’s seat considering how the game had gone thus far. Those four Buffalo goals were scored by Dhane Smith, MacKay, Nick Weiss, and Kyle Buchanan. Bucky’s goal was a sick dunk from behind the net with one tenth of a second left on the game clock. 5-2 Bandits at the break.
“If the ball is going in the back of the net, it doesn’t matter who’s scoring or how it’s going in, we’ll take those any way”, said MacKay at halftime. “Luckily, transition has been pushing well, we have to keep finding ways to keep putting the ball in the back of the net.”
Ian also mentioned at halftime about both goaltenders “standing on their heads”, and that they did. Vinc was insane, stopping 27 of 29. Origlieri had his shining moments, stopping 22 of 27.
That four-goal run for Buffalo would be it for their scoring the rest of the way, but it surely was not for lack of chances. Origlieri and the Seals’ defense was as stout as ever as they tried to mount a comeback. Tre Leclaire tallied the lone goal of the third quarter at the 4:59 mark with a beautiful shot fake before shooting right at the front of the crease as he was streaking towards the net. The rest of the way was more of the same from both defenses and both goaltenders as well. 5-3 Buffalo after three.
The fourth quarter saw the defensive battle continue. There was one goal scored, that by Currier, and it was with one second left on the game clock. The Seals were on a five-minute power play, but could only muster up that one goal, unfortunately causing their season to come to an end. For Buffalo, their defense was something to behold in this entire game, specifically down the stretch as they limited a very potent San Diego offense to just two second half goals. Banditland was jumping, as the boys snuck away with the 5-4 win.
Players of the game for Buffalo were MacKay (two goals), Smith (1+2), and Buchanan (1+1). What’s left to say about Vinc, as he was downright spectacular in net, as well as throwing in one assist. The ageless wonder made 48 saves on 52 shots. For San Diego, Currier (two goals), Leclaire (1+2), and Berg (one goal) led the way. Apart from the run in the second quarter, Origlieri has absolutely nothing to hang his head about, as he absolutely kept the Seals in it in the second half. He stopped 39 of 44 in total.
“It’s a stressful week knowing you’re playing a team that probably shouldn’t be eighth place”, said Vinc after the game. “We really fed off the crowd late in that game. We’re just fortunate, we’re going to enjoy tonight, try to prepare as much as possible, and be ready to go for next weekend.”
“The plan wasn’t just to hold the lead”, said John Tavares. “It was two tenacious defensive teams going head-to-head. Guys like Ian and Nick Weiss, guy (Weiss) on defense scoring a huge transition goal, those are big goals in a 5-4 game. The team that makes the least amount of mistakes, is usually going to win the game.”
“We were just talking in the locker room, I don’t know if anyone has been a part of a game like that”, said MacKay.
The stage is set for the second round, as Vancouver took down Rochester 15-10 on Saturday night. The schedule for the second round is as follows:
Game one: Vancouver @ Buffalo Friday May 2nd at 7:30pm
Game two: Buffalo @ Vancouver Sunday May 4th at 9pm
Game three (if necessary): Vancouver @ Buffalo Saturday May 10th at 7pm.
