BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Buffalo Bandits are right back in the exact same spot they were in nearly a year ago on the eve of the third and deciding game of the NLL finals against the Colorado Mammoth.
Also in the same fashion, the Bandits edged out Colorado in game one with a final score of 13-12. Bandits star forward Dhane Smith had five goals for Buffalo while Kyle Buchanan notched six assists.
Game two, which took place in Colorado, was a bit of the opposite as the Mammoth took a strong lead and held on through the end forcing the final and deciding game three with the 16-10 win.
Bandits forward Dhane Smith, who was drafted to the Bandits in 2012 and has been with the organization ever since, said that he feels like the time is now.
"I think we're ready," Smith said. "Last year we lost game two and you could tell everybody was down. We didn't see each other until like the next week, we didn't go out for dinner after. This year we went out for dinner right after. We talked, we discussed. We were ready to play the next game."
"We know staying disciplined is a big thing and we were staying in the box too much last game, it's as simple as that," Smith said. "They're a great team, they're gonna score on us if they're on the power play a lot."
So as the Bandits prepare to host the Colorado Mammoth back in the KeyBank Center in Buffalo, they surely know how hard it's going to be to finish the job this time around.
"It'd be a storybook ending," Smith said. "It'd be a dream come true but at the end of the day, it's not going to be easy. I know that. They've been there before, they beat us last year and this year we're looking for a different result. We're excited about how hard we're gonna have to fight to get that."
The Bandits are looking for their first championship title since 2008 and will have to take down the defending champs to finally do it.
"It's a different mindset this year and I think everybody's ready for this next game," Smith said. "It can't come soon enough."
Face off for game three in Banditland will start at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday night.