ALBANY, N.Y. — The Buffalo Bandits are playing in the National Lacrosse League's championship round for a fourth straight time.
After Game 1 of the NLL Finals on Friday night, the Bandits are now one win away from a second straight title.
The Bandits went on the road and took Game 1 over the FireWolves 12-8 at MVP Arena in Albany. MVP finalist Dhane Smith led the Buffalo attack, tallying 11 points and contributing on each of the Bandits' first 11 goals. He finished with 2 goals and 9 assists, setting a career-high for points in a playoff game.
Trailing by one at halftime, Buffalo outscored Albany 7-2 in the second half. That included a four-goal run after the FireWolves had pulled within one, 8-7, to distance themselves from Albany and see out the win. Goaltender Matt Vinc, who played a crucial role in keeping Albany mostly off the scoresheet down the stretch, finished the game with 37 saves.
Buffalo now has a chance to clinch back to back titles Saturday night as the team returns home to play in front of Banditland at KeyBank Center. Game 2 of the NLL Finals will get underway at 7:30 p.m.