The favorites both won in this weekend’s NLL divisional finals. Now it’s time to party like it’s 2004.

The Buffalo Bandits and Calgary Roughnecks will meet in the three-game NLL Finals over the next three weeks, a rematch of the 2004 final that saw the Riggers’ win their first title in franchise history. Unlike that year, Buffalo will have home floor advantage.

Toronto gave Buffalo a strong push, especially in the first half and the latter stages of the third quarter, but the Bandits were still able to secure their first trip to the finals since 2016 after missing the playoffs the last two years.

Matt Vinc made 43 saves and Dhane Smith led the offensive group with five points, as Buffalo won 12-8 and ignited a party both in the crowd and in its own locker room Sunday.

Ain't no party like a Banditland party. #LetsGoBandits pic.twitter.com/iP0ExNJdIc

— Buffalo Bandits (@NLLBandits) May 12, 2019

Toronto led 3-2 after a Challen Rodgers goal to start the second quarter, but Buffalo began to pull away by going on a six-goal run extending the rest of the frame and into the third.

The Rock made sure the Bandits didn’t get comfortable, storming back to get within one with a subsequent four-goal run of their own. Buffalo stayed calm, pulling away yet again in the fourth thanks to two goals by Chase Fraser and one each from Shawn Evans and Kevin Brownell.

“We knew they were going to come back on us,” Bandits co-head coach Rich Kilgour said. “Thank god we’re a mentally tough team. … We found a way to do it as a team, just like we’ve done all year. We don’t rely on just one guy to have a good game. We rely on 17 guys to have a good game.”

Even with Toronto’s push, the Rock failed to find much success while playing 5-on-5. Three of the team’s eight goals came on the powerplay.

“We’ve done so much homework on these guys and we had such a good game plan,” Bandits captain Steve Priolo said. “They have a game plan too. When they go ahead and they attack our game plan, we have Vino in net to bail us out.”

Shawn Evans and Priolo each recorded four points, while Corey Small had three goals and Thomas Hoggarth three assists.

Two wins separate the Bandits from their first title since 2008. Buffalo fell in two games to the Saskatchewan Rush in 2016, its only championship appearance since.

“You get a chance like that in 2016 and it grabs a hold of you and that’s all you want to do is take it to that next level,” Priolo said. “You don’t want to have that feeling you had in 2016 ever again. So we’re going to keep pushing.”

It was an intense goalie battle in Calgary between Christian del Biano and Dillon Ward, who allowed a combined two goals at the half in an 8-4 Calgary triumph. Del Bianco was slightly better, shutting out the Mammoth in the first 30 minutes.

“He was the backbone,” Roughnecks coach Curt Malawky said. “I’ve seen a lot of good efforts in the NLL, and that was one of the better ones I’ve seen.”

Neither team scored until Tyler Pace finally broke the ice five minutes into the second quarter. About 10 minutes later, Curtis Dickson gave Calgary the two-goal lead it held at the break.

“Once you get to that point, you’re not thinking anymore,” del Bianco said. “As much as I want to say, ‘You’re so focused’ and all that, it just kind of comes to you.”

The Roughnecks extended their lead at the start of the second half by opening the third on a 4-1 run featuring two goals each from Dane Dobbie and Jesse King. Colorado closed the game on a 3-1 run but never got close enough for the Riggers to sweat too much. Calgary never led by less than three after scoring the first goal in the second half.

Del Bianco finished with 47 saves and helped the team set a playoff franchise record for fewest goals allowed. It tied the overall franchise record.

Dane Dobbie had six points on two goals and four assists, while Curtis Dickson had four on two of each. Rhys Duch and King both accounted for three. The Roughnecks, whose season started out mired by holdouts, have made this year one to remember.

“We were going into a do-or-die game,” del Bianco said. “We just stuck to our game plan and its nice to see it pay off.”

Walk down memory lane

The Bandits staff likely has some tough memories of 2004 since co-coaches Kilgour and John Tavares and general manager Steve Dietrich were all players on that Buffalo team. Buffalo got out to a 4-1 lead but let any hopes of a title slip away when the Roughnecks responded with a 10-2 run.

Buffalo put up a bit of a comeback, but Calgary lifted the cup with a 14-11 win.

As for earlier this season, Buffalo won the only meeting between the teams 12-10 at KeyBank Center on Feb. 16. The Bandits had a very balanced scoring attack that evening, with six players notching three or more points and no one accounting for more than four. Vinc held the Roughnecks to one goal each in the third and fourth quarters.

Calgary calls fives

Anyone who follows patterns would have been smart to pick the Roughnecks in the West final this week. The Riggers have now advanced to the title bout in 2004, 2009, 2014 and 2019. Calgary fans, start planning your trip in 2024.

Buffalo consistency

If Calgary hopes to win a title on its own floor, the Roughnecks will have to put the Bandits in a position they haven’t been in all season – enduring back-to-back losses.

“I didn’t want to talk about that before the game,” Tavares joked following the Bandits’ regular season finale against the New England Black Wolves. “Good teams don’t lose a lot in a row. It’s easy to go on a hot streak. It’s easy to go on a losing streak too. We’ve been fortunate that we haven’t had that.”

Playoff leaders

Adam Jones had a second straight strong performance for Toronto, pushing his playoff-leading point total to 16 with seven points against the Bandits. Dane Dobbie is three points back of the lead, with Dhane Smith a point back of him.

NLL Finals schedule

Saturday, May 18
7:30 p.m. ET in Buffalo

Saturday, May 25
9 p.m. ET in Calgary

Friday, May 31 *
8 p.m. ET in Buffalo

* if necessary