Nick Weiss recorded his first multi-goal performance since 2023 and Dhane Smith had a game-high nine points as the Buffalo Bandits beat the Calgary Roughnecks 13-7 at WestJet Field at Scotiabank Saddledome on Sunday.
Smith – who played in his 200th career game – finished with a hat trick and Josh Byrne added a goal and seven assists.
The Bandits led 5-4 at halftime and blossomed their lead by outscoring the Roughnecks 8-3 in the second half. Buffalo allowed three goals over the final 33:22 as Calgary’s Tyler Pace led the way with two goals and three assists.
The Bandits dominated defensively with one goal allowed in the third quarter as Mitch de Snoo led all players with 17 loose ball recoveries. Matt Vinc – who tied his head coach, John Tavares, for second in NLL history with 306 career games played – made 40 saves on 47 shots.
Clay Scanlan and Kyle Buchanan each scored a pair and powered the Bandits to a 2-for-2 mark on the power play.
After allowing the opening goal, the Bandits roared ahead with four consecutive tallies to conclude the first quarter: two from Weiss, the first of the season for Scanlan, and another from Tehoka Nanticoke.
The Bandits opened the second quarter on the penalty kill as Nanticoke – who finished with three points – was assessed a 5-minute major for elbowing. Buffalo allowed just one goal while shorthanded, but Calgary scored three straight thereafter to even the score at 4-4.
Scanlan ended the Bandits’ scoring drought – which lasted 16:11 – on the power play with 41 seconds remaining in the first half as his second goal gave Buffalo a 5-4 halftime lead.
The Bandits scored four goals in less than six minutes in the third quarter and utilized a 4-1 scoring run in the quarter to go ahead 9-5 entering the final quarter.
Buffalo outscored the Roughnecks 4-2 in the final quarter with two from Smith and one each from Ryan Benesch and Buchanan.
Up next
The Bandits return to KeyBank Center for Tucker Out Lymphoma Night against the Las Vegas Desert Dogs on Jan. 3.
