The semifinal round of the 2025 NLL playoffs got rolling this weekend, with Buffalo Bandits-Vancouver Warriors and Saskatchewan Rush-Halifax Thunderbirds.
The Bandits proved it will be tough to pry the championship reins away from them, sweeping the Warriors out of the postseason. Meanwhile, the Rush struck first in their all-Canadian series, with Game 2 coming up on Saturday.
Here's what you might have missed from each game (or might want to watch again):
No. 1 Buffalo Bandits, No. 4 Vancouver Warriors
Game 1: Bandits 9, Warriors 3
The Warriors came into this game riding a seven-game winning streak that coincided with the trade to add Christian Del Bianco in goal. The Bandits are on an impressive streak of their own -- namely, the past two NLL championships.
Vancouver scored the first goal of the game, only for Buffalo to charge back with six in a row and lead 7-2 at halftime. Ian MacKay was a star for the Bandits, with four goals. Josh Byrne had one goal and four assists, while Dhane Smith had two goals and one assist.
The @NLLBandits take Game 1 9-3 over Vancouver! Josh Byrne scores 5 points and Matt Vinc makes 35 saves.
— NLL (@NLL) May 3, 2025
GAME RECAP 👇 pic.twitter.com/7jOX2G9XAE
Game 2: Bandits 11, Warriors 9
The venue and time zone had changed from Game 1, but the final result was similar; the Bandits outlasted a fearsome battle with the Warriors to take the series 2-0.
This time Buffalo scored first and led 5-4 at halftime. However, the Warriors came out of the break fired up and went ahead 8-6. The Bandits took over after that, reeling off five additional goals to the Warriors' one.
Buffalo's Chase Fraser scored a hat trick, while MacKay had a hat trick of his own plus three assists. Vancouver was led by Adam Charalambides, who had three goals and four assists.
An 11-9 victory over Vancouver in Game 2 gives @NLLBandits the 2-0 series win and the right to chase their three-peat.
— NLL (@NLL) May 5, 2025
GAME RECAP 👇 pic.twitter.com/zRfEBS8ZTT
Next up: The Bandits play the winner of Rush-Thunderbirds in the finals.
No. 2 Saskatchewan Rush vs. No. 3 Halifax Thunderbirds
Game 1: Rush 16, Thunderbirds 7
At times this season, the Rush looked like the NLL's most dominant team; on this night, that looked to be the case again. Although the Thunderbirds got on the scoreboard first thanks to Clarke Petterson, the Rush scored five straight thereafter and finished the first quarter leading 6-3. They'd extend that lead to 7-4 at the half, and never look back en route to the 16-7 win.
Former Thunderbird Austin Shanks led the way for Saskatchewan with a sock trick. Zach Manns added two goals and seven assists for the Rush. Randy Staats finished with a goal and five assists for the Thunderbirds, who will hope to strike back in Game 2.
Make it a 1st quarter hatty for Austin Shanks 🧢🧢🧢
— NLL (@NLL) May 3, 2025
He connects on the DUNK for @SaskRushLAX pic.twitter.com/0hU7VzB4q2
Next up: Game 2 of the series is Saturday (9:30 p.m. ET, ESPN+), Game 3 (if necessary) is Sunday (8 p.m. ET, ESPN+).