Dobbie led all scorers with six points, including two goals in the fourth quarter. Jesse King and Rhys Duch each added four for the Riggers.
Shawn Evans had five goals on a goal and four assists for the Bandits and Josh Byrne notched two of each. Calgary did a great job of slowing down Dhane Smith, holding him to a goal and an assist. Roughneck defenders consistently clogged up the middle of the Bandits’ offensive zone, hurting Buffalo’s flow.
“It’s not focusing on what they’re going to do,” Calgary coach Curt Malawsky said. “It’s more focusing on what we’re going to do and just remembering who we are and sticking with our ideologies.”
Vinc made 43 saves for the Bandits.
The series moves to Alberta for Game 2, set for 9 p.m. on Saturday. It’s the second time in three years Buffalo faces elimination in the final in Canada, having fallen in this game for a two-game sweep against Saskatchewan in 2016.
“I feed off of the hostility,” Bandits captain Steve Priolo said. “Just the way I feed off of our fans pumping us up. I think something we can do moving forward is just pushing that ball a little bit more, maybe a little earlier.”
Flip of a coin
The New York Riptide will have the first overall pick in this year’s entry draft, and the Rochester Knighthawks will select first in the expansion draft after a coin flip at halftime gave the Riptide their pick of the two.
“We think there’s a lot of valuable players in [the entry draft] this year,” New York assistant general manager Lance Basler told the NLL’s Devan Kaney. “As we look to build our franchise, we want to be able to have a good start.”
Remaining NLL Finals schedule
Game 2 in Calgary, 9 p.m. ET Saturday
Game 3 in Buffalo, 8 p.m. ET Friday, May 31 *
* if necessary