The Links: Ward, Williams and Woolies too much for Bandits in NLL Cup Finals
Zed Williams, Colorado Mammoth (Photo: Jack Dempsey)
As we’ve done all throughout this year’s National Lacrosse League playoffs, we spent Sunday morning collecting all the media mentions of last night’s Cup-deciding Game 3 of the NLL Finals, where the underdog Colorado Mammoth beat the #1 seeded Buffalo Bandits 10-8 at a sold-out KeyBank Center.
NLL Finals
Colorado wins best-of-three series 2-1
Game 1: Colorado 14 at Buffalo 15
Game 2: Buffalo 8 at Colorado 11
Game 3: Colorado 10 at Buffalo 8
KeyBank Center, Buffalo, New York (Photo: Bill Wippert)
As expected, Banditland was bursting at the seams with an announced crowd of 19,060, ten fewer than previous at capacity crowds recorded in NLL record books before. The arena was loud AF and the atmosphere in person and on TV was electric no many how many were officially noted.
Earlier in the day, the NLL confirmed that the Mammoth had moved forward Eli McLaughlin back to their active roster. Although The Lax Mag’s Clutch King took part in the pre-game prep, McLaughlin was a “healthy” scratch and missed his second straight. Miraculously, the Mammoth were 2-0 in the series with McLaughlin MIA. Even after missing the past two games, however, McLaughlin still finished first in post-season goals (20) and points (41).
After a few of wonky ones in the first 94 seconds, the game settled down and avoided the shootout it was shaping up to be.
And while we’re on the subject of wonky ones, Dillon Ward also made this stupendous save on an equally silly shot that almost snuck in.
While the Bandits took the early lead courtesy of that Josh Byrne blast, after Dylan Kinnear made it 5-4 early in the second, Buffalo would never go ahead in the game again.
Dhane Smith, Buffalo Bandits (Photo: Ben Green)
The league announced a few of the finalists for some end-of-year hardware, confusingly right in the middle of the game. They included:
Most Valuable Player
Joe Resetarits, Albany FireWolves
Dhane Smith, Buffalo Bandits
Matt Vinc, Buffalo Bandits
Goalie of the Year
Nick Rose, Toronto Rock
Matt Vinc, Buffalo Bandits
Dillon Ward, Colorado Mammoth
Rookie of the Year
Reid Bowering, Vancouver Warriors
Patrick Dodds, Panther City Lacrosse CLub
Jeff Teat, New York Ritpide
For the third time since 2014, when the league first started announcing finalists in addition to the award winners, teammates have made the final three for MVP, a rarity in most other professional leagues.
Even when the NHL only had its Original Six, it was so seldom teammates were ever announced as Hart Trophy finalists. It’s been over two decades since it happened last (Mario Lemieux & Jaromir Jagr with Pittsburgh in 2001, who both lost to Colorado’s Joe Sakic) and even during the Edmonton Oilers’ domination of the 80s, it occurred just once (Wayne Gretzky & Grant Fuhr, who lost to Lemieux). Unlike the NHL, when the NLL had has two players from the same team up for the honour, one of the two teammates always ends up winning. Plus, just like the last time the NLL named an MVP, not a single player from the West Conference were worthy of being voted a finalist.
Click here to see how the NLL has voted for MVPs in the past, and here for why Smith’s 2022 record-breaking season has never not been named MVP before, in the NLL or elsewhere.
Dillon Ward, Colorado Mammoth (Photo: Michael Hetzel)
Ward, who is likely to be edged out by Vinc for GOTY, bettered the legendary backstop in the NLL Finals, his heroics in Game 3 definitely good enough to garner NLL Finals MVP honours. Ward made 55 saves on 63 shots to Vinc’s 37 on 46 attempts. As they were last night, Ward’s saves/minute stats across the 2021/22 season were easily the best and most consistent in the league, meaning, his team relied on him heavily from start to finish.
"We come so close, and we don't know how to find a way to win a championship game.” Buffalo Bandits Head Coach John Tavares (The Buffalo News), whose favourites vs. underdogs theory inspired The Lax Mag’s Game 3 Preview yesterday
Overshadowed by the Colorado Avalanche’s Game 2 victory in the Stanley Cup Finals last night, The Denver Post had a super-small review of last night’s Mammoth NLL Cup win.
In addition to Ward, Zed Williams was a standout all series long as well. Last week we stacked Williams’ regular-season statistical averages against what he’s done during the 2022 playoffs. After yet another absurd power-forward performance in Game 3 (4G, 2A), the gap between those two statistical sums would be even more significant after Saturday. Based on the past two months, there may not be a better power forward in pro box that Zed Williams.
Zed Williams, Colorado Mammoth (Photo: Jack Dempsey)
And honestly, how fantastically phenomenal has Connor Robinson been not only on the floor for the Mammoth this year, but in absolutely every interview he’s given this year?
As painful as their post-game moments surely were, the pictures team photographer Bill Wippert snapped of various Bandits players after the fourth quarter closed were incredibly powerful.
Tehoka Nanticoke, Buffalo Bandits (Photo: Bill Wippert)
Tavares and Buffalo Captain Steve Priolo, who is the Bandits longest serving member yet to capture an NLL Cup (Colorado’s was Joey Cupido), talked to media after their gutting Game 3 loss…
Colorado Head Coach Pat Coyle talked about last night’s wild win, plus the in-season evolution of a wickedly improved Williams…
“…he was there to save our bacon, and it’s been like that all year.” - Colorado Captain Robert Hope on how big Ward’s backstopping has been for the team en route to last night’s Cup conclusion…
Plus here’s what Mammoth players, league supporters and various media shared on social the hours after Colorado were crowned NLL kings…