BUFFALO, N.Y. — Fourteen years in the making, 2008 was the last National Lacrosse League championship for Buffalo.
It's do or die on Saturday night, as the Buffalo Bandits and Colorado Mammoth face off in the final game in the best-of-three championship series.
Buffalo should have a clear advantage as the Bandits are expecting over 19,000 fans in attendance as the team sold out the game, something the players say that they will feed on.
"It is huge when you can feel the energy getting behind our team, lacrosse as a whole is a game of momentum," Bandits forward Josh Byrne told 2 On Your Side's Brian Chojnacki. "It is a game of runs. When you have something like that, when it feels that you have a sixth man on your side, it feels nothing can go wrong, you can ride that wave. We are looking forward to having Banditland on our backs."
Byrne has shown up big time for Buffalo throughout the postseason. He has 11 points so far in the championship series.
As far as the home field advantage, it's something the entire team is thinking about.
Chojnacki asked Dhane Smith: "What does that mean to close out the season knowing everything is on the line and that you have an advantage here?"
Smith's response: "Yeah, it's exciting, two great teams going head to head, but it will come down to the little things. That home-field advantage is huge. I heard today it is a sold-out crowd. At the end of the day, they are there for us, so we shouldn't look too much into it."
Game 3 is set for 8 p.m. Saturday. The Party in the Plaza begins at 6 p.m.
Downtown Buffalo will be rocking this weekend, especially if the Bandits win the title.
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