Dhane Smith leads Buffalo Bandits to victory in NLL final

The Bandits can win back-to-back titles in Game 2 on Saturday (7:30 p.m. at KeyBank Center).

Smith’s 11 points were his most in a playoff game.

Eight Buffalo players scored at least one goal, including two by Chris Cloutier, who finished with six points. Byrne also had six points.

The Bandits outscored Albany 7-2 in the second half.

Leading 7-6 early in Game 4, the Bandits took their first two-goal lead of the game on Ian McKay’s goal with 14:23 remaining. Smith’s sixth assist of the game gave him 117 for his career in the postseason, setting the NLL record previously held by Bandits coach John Tavares.

Albany answered 33 seconds later on Alex Simmons’ second goal.

The Bandits led 9-7 when Smith found Kyle Buchanan heading to the net to score with 7:56 remaining. It was Buchanan’s first goal of the game on his eighth shot.

Buffalo scored a key insurance goal with 4:16 left as Byrne – named NLL MVP earlier Friday – completed the hat trick.

Smith scored his second goal with 2:34 left to extend the lead to four, followed by Dylan Robinson’s empty-net goal 14 seconds later.

The teams found themselves tied 4-4 in the first quarter. Albany scored just 35 seconds into the game on forward Tye Kurtz’s goal, but the Bandits responded with goals from Tehoka Nanticoke (12:16) and Josh Byrne (9:34) to take an early lead. 2-1.

The FireWolves tied it at 7:47 on a delayed penalty from Ethan Walker and an acrobatic goal from Kurtz (4:51), who left his feet and scored before landing in the crease.

The Bandits used two power play goals 24 seconds apart from Bryne and Smith to take a 4-3 lead. Albany tied it on Walker’s goal with 20.7 seconds left in the quarter. The Bandits dominated Albany 14-12 in the first game.

The match calmed down in the second quarter. The Bandits scored at 12:17 when Smith found Cloutier wide open at the top of the crease. Albany took a 5-4 lead into halftime on goals from Travis Longboat and Simmons in the final 6:16.

Trailing 6-5 at halftime, the Bandits scored the only two goals of the third quarter.

At 10:27, on a delayed penalty, the Bandits eliminated a sixth attacker and Cloutier scored.

A challenge by Tavares with 3:03 left in the third gave the Bandits the lead. Chase Fraser’s goal was initially ruled out, but replays showed the ball entered the net before it landed in the crease.

Earlier Friday, Byrne was named the NLL’s Most Valuable Player after scoring a league-high 135 points. Smith and Toronto Rock goalie Nick Rose finished second and third, respectively.

Bryne won Offensive Player of the Year on Thursday. He finished third with 53 goals and second with 82 assists during the regular season.

Byrne was named to the league’s first team, and Smith and McKay were on the second team.