Just over six months after winning their third consecutive National Lacrosse League (NLL) Championship, the Buffalo Bandits are set to begin the 2025-26 season with a home opener against the Georgia Swarm on Saturday at KeyBank Center. The evening will include a banner raising ceremony at 7:15 p.m., followed by the opening faceoff at 7:30 p.m. All attendees will receive a commemorative “2025 World Champions” mini banner.
The Bandits bring back several key players from last season’s championship team, including Dhane Smith, Josh Byrne, Ian MacKay—who was named the 2025 NLL Finals MVP—and goaltender Matt Vinc. Ryan Benesch returns to Buffalo after four previous seasons with the team, and Mike Triolo joins following a trade; he watched Buffalo secure its most recent title while playing for Saskatchewan. In addition, Mitch de Snoo has been acquired from Philadelphia just days before the season start.
Smith commented on integrating new and younger players into the roster: “I’ve been on this team for 13-plus years, and I went through the struggles before the great years these past few years,” Smith said. “I understand how hard it is to get to where we’ve been in the past few years. Every game is kind of a new game. Every team is trying to beat us obviously and we have to show up every night. It’s a challenge in itself. We have a new team, and we’re excited to see what we got.”
Buffalo finished last regular season with a 6-3 record at home as part of an overall 13-5 campaign.
Fans can watch Saturday’s game locally on WIVB News 4 or stream it via ESPN+. Radio coverage will be available on WBEN 930 AM, starting with a pregame show at 7 p.m.
De Snoo rejoins Buffalo after being traded from Philadelphia in exchange for conditional draft picks in 2026 and 2028. He previously spent five seasons with Buffalo and recorded three seasons of at least 111 loose ball recoveries. Last year, he was second in the league with a career-high of 205 loose ball recoveries and holds fifth place in franchise history for forced turnovers.
Lineup changes ahead of opening night include Benesch and de Snoo moving onto the active roster; Evan Constantopoulos and rookie goaltender Waukiigan Shognosh were placed on the practice squad.
Mike Triolo noted that discussions about establishing a dynasty have not dominated locker room talk since his arrival via trade from Saskatchewan: “Whether it’s your first time trying to win, or you’re going for a three, four, five-peat, it just adds onto the pressure that you don’t really need,” MacKay said. “It’s a new group this year we have. We lost guys in free agency and retirement, and we brought guys in [through] free agency and the draft and everything.”
He continued: “… It’s trying to find consistency and gelling with one another and worrying about each game. And hopefully we can keep worrying about games until playoffs and the finals, but if you look too far ahead, you’re gonna get ahead of yourself.”
The Bandits’ opponent Saturday night is Georgia Swarm—a team that defeated them in last season’s finale before reaching but losing in last year’s NLL quarterfinals.
