By: Riley Pollock – 14.03.25
SETTIN’ IT UP
A rematch at the Rough House.
The Roughnecks look for their second straight victory over the Buffalo Bandits Saturday at 7 p.m. at the Scotiabank Saddledome. (TSN+, NLL+, ESPN+)
It’s the annual St. Patrick’s Day Party for the Riggers which is expected to bring in more than 15,000 raucous fans into the Rough House. TICKETS
The Riggers (7-6) played a strong road game in Buffalo last weekend, beating the two-time defending champs 17-11. Jesse King had 10 points, and Curtis Dickson chipped in eight, including six goals, while Nick Rose made 44 saves.
Buffalo (9-2) will look to avoid losing two in a row for the first time this season. The 17 goals given up last weekend were the most all year with the previous high being 14, which happened twice. After scoring an average 15 goals per game in their first nine contests, that number has dropped to 10 over their last two games.
The Roughnecks became the first team with five 50-point players this season. Dickson, King, Dane Dobbie, Tyler Pace and Tanner Cook have now all cleared that mark.
The Riggers have enjoyed success on St. Patrick’s Day weekend recently, winning two of their last three games.
This is the final regular-season meeting between the Riggers and Bandits this season. This is the Bandits first visit to the ‘Dome since the Roughnecks beat them to win the 2019 NLL Championship.
Players To Watch
Roughnecks: G Nick Rose: The Roughnecks goaltender has been stellar for the team since being acquired from Toronto, making 89 saves in his first two starts with the team.
Bandits: F Josh Byrne: Despite a slower night than normal Byrne still led the Bandits in points with five last weekend. He sits seventh in the NLL with 82 points entering Week 16.
2024-25 Scoring Leaders:
Roughnecks:
Curtis Dickson – 84 points (39g, 45a)
Jesse King – 79 points (23g, 56a)
Tyler Pace – 56 points (15g, 41a)
Tanner Cook – 51 points (20g, 31a)
Bandits:
Dhane Smith – 87 points (22g, 65a)
Josh Byrne – 82 points (29g, 53a)
Chase Fraser – 36 points (16g, 20a)
Goaltending 2024-25 Head-to-Head:
Nick Rose: 1-1 (With Roughnecks)
GAA: 11.27
SV %: 80%
Matt Vinc: 9-2
GAA: 10.86
SV %: 79%
