The Buffalo Bandits are set to play the Ottawa Black Bears at KeyBank Center on Friday night. The game, which begins at 7:30 p.m., will feature a Y2K Night and a special recognition for Gary Sundown, a veteran lacrosse coach in Western New York. Sundown will receive the John Faller Memorial Award during the event.
After a 12-9 loss to the Rochester Knighthawks on January 10, where the Bandits struggled offensively with over 20 minutes without scoring and committed 33 turnovers, head coach John Tavares emphasized the need for improvement. “I thought it wasn’t the chemistry, it was the focus,” Tavares said. “I just didn’t think that we were on point. We’re just dropping balls, throwing balls away, not catching the balls, just unforced turnovers. When your team is doing that, the message is, ‘Just go back to basics, keep it simple, do what you do best, and don’t try to overthink the situation.’ Obviously, don’t try to create something that’s not there. I think on several occasions in Rochester, there was just way too many unforced errors.”
Ottawa enters as one of the highest-scoring teams in the National Lacrosse League (NLL), leading with 76 goals and topping the league with 344 shots on goal. Their offense is led by Jeff Teat, who currently has 44 points this season.
In their previous game against Rochester, Buffalo gave up seven of the first ten goals but improved defensively in the second half by limiting Rochester to only one goal in the third quarter. This defensive approach will be crucial as they face Ottawa’s strong attack.
Buffalo leads the NLL with 42 blocked shots as a team this season. Defenseman Paul Dawson shares the league lead individually with 11 blocks; Thomas Whitty and Mitch de Snoo each have seven blocked shots despite de Snoo remaining on injured reserve.
Discussing shot blocking’s evolution in lacrosse, Tavares noted: “Those guys must have a few screws loose to stand there and get in the way,” he said. “Paul Dawson used to be a goalie so he’s used to taking a lot of shots. It seems like the norm now is a lot of guys blocking shots and I’ve been there, I’ve stood in front of a shot.
That shot’s coming, nine of 10 times I’m probably closing my eyes and trying to move out of the way and hope it doesn’t hit me. It takes a lot of courage for these guys do that. We’re fortunate in Buffalo that we have a handful of guys that it’s like second nature to them to just get in the way and not even flinch.”
The game will be broadcast locally on CW23 television and streamed on ESPN+. Radio coverage begins at 7 p.m. on WWKB 1520.
This week also saw roster changes for Buffalo as they acquired transition player Mike McCannell from Philadelphia for a third-round pick in the 2028 NLL Entry Draft. McCannell was drafted fifth overall by San Diego in 2021 before debuting with Philadelphia last year.
Tavares commented: “He’s a good left defenseman.… He just hasn’t been utilized,” he said. “He was a first-round pick, and I hear he played in Orangeville, so a lot of guys that play in Orangeville are well coached. He’s a gritty defense man with good stick skills.”
Dylan Robinson has also made an impact recently for Buffalo amid injuries elsewhere on defense—posting career-high numbers for loose-ball recoveries across consecutive games while committing only two turnovers this season.
Tavares spoke about Robinson’s development: “When he came in as his rookie, we were thinking he was going to play three or four games, and once he got in, it was hard to take him back out,” Tavares said. “He played the majority of the games his rookie year. He just continues to get better and more confident. He’s starting to be a little bit more vocal out there as well. He’s a pretty quiet player, but when he’s out there, he’s definitely noticeable. He does a great job on defense and he does a phenomenal job on loose balls both from the defensive end and on face off.”
Ottawa has won two of its last three games behind high-scoring efforts against Philadelphia and Oshawa but lost its most recent contest against Halifax by two goals (13-11). Alongside Teat’s league-leading assist tally (30), Rob Hellyer ranks among top scorers with both players tied at 14 goals each.
