BUFFALO, N.Y. - After several near-misses, the Buffalo Bandits finally are back in the winner's circle.
Mark Steenhuis of St. Catharines, Ont., led the way with five goals as the Bandits won their first National Lacrosse League championship since 1996 with a dramatic 14-13 win Saturday over the resilient Portland LumberJax.
A loser in its past three championship game appearances, Buffalo (13-6) claimed its fourth league title when goalie Mike Thompson stopped Pete Jacobs' buzzer-beating, 15-foot shot, leading to a mob scene in the netminder's crease.
''I was just ecstatic,'' Bandits coach Darris Kilgour said. ''They had a great opportunity to tie it. Fortunately, Mikey made the big save for us. I was actually in disbelief that we had another championship in Buffalo.''
The LumberJax (8-11) failed to become the first team in the 22-year-history of the league to win the championship with a losing record. The LumberJax rallied from a 1-5 start to secure the final playoff spot in the West Division, entering the post-season with the worst record among the eight remaining teams. The Bandits, conversely, had the top record in the league and had home-floor advantage throughout the playoffs.
But it certainly didn't come easy for Buffalo. While they never trailed in the game, the Bandits' biggest lead was just three goals.
Portland cut the deficit to one early in the fourth and had two outstanding chances to tie it. But Tyler Codron hit the crossbar before Thompson made the save of the game, raising his stick from his back to rob Ray Guze and preserve the lead before a sellout crowd of 18,690 at HSBC Arena.
''Towards the end there, I was getting a bit nervous because they had some glorious opportunities,'' Bandits star and NLL career scoring leader John Tavares of Mississauga, Ont., said. ''I think Mikey Thompson deserves a lot of credit for saving us at the end.''
Steenhuis scored his game-high fifth goal with just over five minutes left to restore the Bandits' two-goal lead before his team hung on for dear life.
''You've got to give them a lot of credit,'' Steenhuis, the game MVP, said. ''They played a good game had a great playoffs. They battled and got a couple goals at key times.''
Dan Dawson of Oakville, Ont., had a game-high nine points (three goals and six assists) for the LumberJax. One-time Bandit Ryan Powell had two goals and six assists.
''I thought we were very evenly matched, they might have been maybe just a wee bit better,'' LumberJax general manager/coach Derek Keenan said. ''But not a lot, it was marginal. We hung around and hung around and hung around.''
One potential strong storyline was put to rest when LumberJax general manager/coach Derek Keenan opted to start goalie Matt Disher, who strained an MCL last week, instead of 43-year-old backup Dallas Eliuk. The 18-year veteran, who is the oldest player in the league, starred in relief for the LumberJax last week in a 16-12 win over the Calgary Roughnecks in the West Division final.
Tavares scored on the first shot on Disher just 22 seconds into the game, but the native of Arthur, Ont., elevated his game in the second half and gave his team an excellent chance to win.
''I thought in the second half (Disher) was outstanding,'' Keenan said. ''We have a lot of confidence in him.''
But the Bandits had a great deal of confidence in their own goalie as well and it paid off down the stretch.
''(Thompson) absolutely shut the door when he had to and you can't give him enough credit,'' Kilgour said.