By TRT Staff with notes from the NLL.com
PHILADELPHIA — Starting on June 4, the National Lacrosse League (NLL) will see the playoff round between the two top teams: Buffalo will be looking to win their first title since 2008, Colorado since 2006.
With their victory in Game 3 over the San Diego Seals, 15-13, Colorado won the West Conference Finals and the right to meet the Buffalo Bandits for the 2022 NLL Cup. This is the first NLL Finals since the 2018-19 season, when the Calgary Roughnecks defeated the Bandits 2-0 in the best of three series.
The schedule for the NLL Finals is as follows: Game 1 – Colorado in Buffalo, Saturday, June 4 @ 7:30 p.m. Game 2 – Buffalo in Colorado, Saturday, June 11 @ 9:00 p.m. Game 3 – Colorado in Buffalo, Saturday, June 18, 7:30 p.m. ET, if necessary.
Buffalo finished the regular season with a league best 14-4 record. After winning their Quarterfinal matchup against the Albany FireWolves, 10-5, the Bandits took the series against the Toronto Rock two games to none for their second straight NLL Finals appearance, winning both games by a single goal. The Bandits’ last championship came in 2008, when they defeated the Portland LumberJax, 14-13, in the single game final. Buffalo has three other titles in franchise history (1992, 1993, 1996).
Colorado finished the regular season with a 10-8 record and was the third seed in the West heading into the NLL Playoffs. In the Quarterfinal matchup, the Mammoth defeated the defending champion Calgary Roughnecks, 16-12. The Colorado Mammoth franchise won the first championship in league history in 1987 as the Baltimore Thunder. This is the first meeting between Colorado and Buffalo in the playoffs since the Mammoth defeated the Bandits for the title, 16-9, in 2006 for the club’s only other title in franchise history. Since relocating to Colorado in 2002, the Mammoth lead the series against Buffalo 11-8.
As for transactions to report: The San Diego Seals placed Brett Hickey on the Injured Reserve List from the Active Roster. The San Diego Seals placed Tyson Bomberry on the Active Roster from the Physically Unable to Perform List, and Seals placed Mark Glicini on the Hold Out List from the Injured Reserve List.
