# 2023 Buffalo Bandits season

The Buffalo Bandits are a lacrosse team based in Buffalo, New York playing in the National Lacrosse League (NLL). The 2023 season was their 31st season in the NLL.
The Bandits won the Eastern Conference with a 14-4 record in the regular season, as well as first place overall, and home floor advantage throughout the playoffs. They beat the Rochester Knighthawks, 20-8, in the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals. The team would go on to sweep the Toronto Rock in two games in the Eastern Conference Finals, leading to a rematch against the Colorado Mammoth in the NLL Finals, in which Buffalo had fallen to in three games, in the 2022 season.
The Bandits went on to win Game 1 at home over the Mammoth, 14-13, and then lose Game 2, 16-10, on the road in Colorado. The Bandits went on to win the third and deciding game, 13-4, to win their first championship since 2008.

## Regular season

NLL Standings Reference:
East Conference :
| P | Team | GP | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | GF | GA | Diff | GF/GP | GA/GP |
| 1 | Buffalo Bandits – xyz | 18 | 14 | 4 | .778 | 0.0 | 7–2 | 7–2 | 215 | 191 | +24 | 11.94 | 10.61 |
| 2 | Toronto Rock – x | 18 | 13 | 5 | .722 | 1.0 | 8–1 | 5–4 | 234 | 164 | +70 | 13.00 | 9.11 |
| 3 | Halifax Thunderbirds – x | 18 | 10 | 8 | .556 | 4.0 | 5–4 | 5–4 | 238 | 210 | +28 | 13.22 | 11.67 |
| 4 | Rochester Knighthawks – x | 18 | 10 | 8 | .556 | 4.0 | 6–3 | 4–5 | 218 | 214 | +4 | 12.11 | 11.89 |
| 5 | Philadelphia Wings | 18 | 9 | 9 | .500 | 5.0 | 4–5 | 5–4 | 200 | 211 | −11 | 11.11 | 11.72 |
| 6 | Georgia Swarm | 18 | 8 | 10 | .444 | 6.0 | 3–6 | 5–4 | 219 | 207 | +12 | 12.17 | 11.50 |
| 7 | New York Riptide | 18 | 5 | 13 | .278 | 9.0 | 3–6 | 2–7 | 201 | 243 | −42 | 11.17 | 13.50 |
| 8 | Albany FireWolves | 18 | 3 | 15 | .167 | 11.0 | 0–9 | 3–6 | 167 | 233 | −66 | 9.28 | 12.94 |
West Conference :
| P | Team | GP | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | GF | GA | Diff | GF/GP | GA/GP |
| 1 | San Diego Seals – xy | 18 | 14 | 4 | .778 | 0.0 | 7–2 | 7–2 | 240 | 193 | +47 | 13.33 | 10.72 |
| 2 | Calgary Roughnecks – x | 18 | 13 | 5 | .722 | 1.0 | 7–2 | 6–3 | 218 | 167 | +51 | 12.11 | 9.28 |
| 3 | Panther City Lacrosse Club – x | 18 | 10 | 8 | .556 | 4.0 | 6–3 | 4–5 | 204 | 193 | +11 | 11.33 | 10.72 |
| 4 | Colorado Mammoth – x | 18 | 9 | 9 | .500 | 5.0 | 7–2 | 2–7 | 190 | 208 | −18 | 10.56 | 11.56 |
| 5 | Saskatchewan Rush | 18 | 8 | 10 | .444 | 6.0 | 5–4 | 3–6 | 204 | 212 | −8 | 11.33 | 11.78 |
| 6 | Las Vegas Desert Dogs | 18 | 5 | 13 | .278 | 9.0 | 4–5 | 1–8 | 179 | 222 | −43 | 9.94 | 12.33 |
| 7 | Vancouver Warriors | 18 | 4 | 14 | .222 | 10.0 | 2–7 | 2–7 | 188 | 247 | −59 | 10.44 | 13.72 |

## Game log

| Game | Date | Opponent | Location | Score | OT | Attendance | Record |
| 1 | December 3, 2022 | Albany FireWolves | KeyBank Center | L 10–11 | | 11,493 | 0–1 |
| 2 | December 17, 2022 | @ Toronto Rock | FirstOntario Centre | W 11–8 | | 7,730 | 1–1 |
| 3 | December 30, 2022 | Halifax Thunderbirds | KeyBank Center | W 18–13 | | 14,040 | 2–1 |
| 4 | January 7, 2023 | @ Georgia Swarm | Gas South Arena | W 18–9 | | 8,304 | 3–1 |
| 5 | January 14, 2023 | Georgia Swarm | KeyBank Center | W 11–9 | | 14,189 | 4–1 |
| 6 | January 20, 2023 | @ Rochester Knighthawks | Blue Cross Arena | L 12–15 | | 6,948 | 4–2 |
| 7 | January 27, 2023 | @ Philadelphia Wings (2018–) | Wells Fargo Center (Philadelphia) | W 13–9 | | 7,768 | 5–2 |
| 8 | January 28, 2023 | @ New York Riptide | Nassau Coliseum | W 16–10 | | 4,990 | 6–2 |
| 9 | February 4, 2023 | Rochester Knighthawks | KeyBank Center | W 13–10 | | 14,923 | 7–2 |
| 10 | February 18, 2023 | Philadelphia Wings (2018–) | KeyBank Center | W 13–12 | OT | 14,632 | 8–2 |
| 11 | March 3, 2023 | @ Halifax Thunderbirds | Scotiabank Centre | W 10–9 | | 6,724 | 9–2 |
| 12 | March 10, 2023 | Halifax Thunderbirds | KeyBank Center | W 10–9 | OT | 14,896 | 10–2 |
| 13 | March 18, 2023 | Colorado Mammoth | KeyBank Center | L 8–13 | | 15,496 | 10–3 |
| 14 | March 25, 2023 | @ San Diego Seals | Pechanga Arena | W 7–6 | OT | 4,388 | 11–3 |
| 15 | April 1, 2023 | @ Toronto Rock | FirstOntario Centre | L 7–18 | | 13,127 | 11–4 |
| 16 | April 15, 2023 | New York Riptide | KeyBank Center | W 11–10 | OT | 16,051 | 12–4 |
| 17 | April 22, 2023 | Toronto Rock | KeyBank Center | W 11–10 | | 16,861 | 13–4 |
| 18 | April 29, 2023 | @ Albany FireWolves | Times Union Center | W 16–10 | | 3,558 | 14–4 |

### Playoffs

| Game | Date | Opponent | Location | Score | Attendance | Record |
| Eastern Conference Quarterfinals | May 6, 2023 | Rochester Knighthawks | KeyBank Center | W 20–8 | 14,794 | 1–0 |
| Eastern Conference Finals (Game 1) | May 12, 2023 | Toronto Rock | KeyBank Center | W 14–5 | 11,510 | 2–0 |
| Eastern Conference Finals (Game 2) | May 13, 2023 | @ Toronto Rock | FirstOntario Centre | W 17–8 | 8,304 | 3–0 |
| NLL Finals (Game 1) | May 27, 2023 | Colorado Mammoth | KeyBank Center | W 13–12 | 14,260 | 4–0 |
| NLL Finals (Game 2) | May 29, 2023 | @ Colorado Mammoth | Ball Arena | L 10–16 | 10,686 | 4–1 |
| NLL Finals (Game 3) | June 3, 2023 | Colorado Mammoth | KeyBank Center | W 13–4 | 18,296 | 5–1 |

## Roster
### Entry Draft

The 2022 NLL Entry Draft took place on September 10, 2022. The Bandits made the following selections:
| Round | Overall | Player | College/Club |
| 1 | 13 | Cam Wyers | Toronto Beaches – Loyola University |
| 1 | 14 | Dylan Robinson | Toronto Beaches |
| 1 | 19 | Zach Belter | Niagara Thunderhawks – St. Bonaventure |
| 4 | 73 | Ryan Sharkey | UCBLL Rapids – Canisius College/UMass |
| 5 | 82 | Christian Watts | UCBLL Rapids – Siena College |
| 5 | 88 | Austin Blumbergs | UCBLL Rapids – St. Bonaventure University |