BUFFALO, N.Y. — The Buffalo Bandits went into halftime watching their four-point lead reduced to one with a record-setting seventh National Lacrosse League championship on the line.

But in the second half of Saturday’s decisive Game 3, the competitive drama all but evaporated en route to history. The Bandits scored eight straight, building a gap that proved insurmountable and running away with a 15-6 win over the Saskatchewan Rush to clinch the three-game series in front of a vibrant “Banditland” crowd decked out in orange.

“Three-peat” and “dynasty” are now welcome phrases in Buffalo, as the Bandits captured their third consecutive NLL championship, joining the Rochester Knighthawks (2012-14) as the only teams in league history to accomplish the feat. The win also clinched a seventh title for the Bandits, the most in NLL history, surpassing the Philadelphia Wings and the Toronto Rock.

Bandits coach John Tavares said he was glad the team got a “definitive win.”

“Just because there were still some question marks of who the better team was and just watching social media, it seemed like they thought they were better than us, so it was just nice to put our stamp on that, yeah, we’re still the best team in this league,” Tavares said. “We played them four times, including in the regular season, and we beat them three and they beat us one at their place. So, I think if there’s any question mark who the best team was, we proved it tonight.”

Ian MacKay was named 2025 NLL Finals MVP, scoring a goal and recording two assists in the game for a total of seven goals and five assists in the finals.

During this three-year title streak, the Bandits — led by Tavares, who is also a legendary former Buffalo player — have not lost a postseason game at home, and that trend continued Saturday in front of a sellout crowd of 19,070. The Bandits are 7-7 in the finals.

Saturday’s win came with some strong goaltending from Matt Vinc. The Rush had 48 shots on goal compared with 53 for Buffalo, but Vinc, who also was part of Rochester’s three-peat, did not allow a second-half goal. Players after the game mentioned Vinc is considering retirement, but that they hoped convince him otherwise.

The NLL final matched the two top seeds, who finished the regular season with matching 13-5 records. The Rush forced Game 3 after rallying for an 11-10 win in last Sunday’s Game 2. The Bandits won the opener 12-10.

In the previous two games, the Rush jumped to early leads, starting Game 1 up 2-0 and Game 2 with a 3-0 lead. That pattern continued Saturday, as Saskatchewan scored just 24 seconds into the game, but the Bandits tied the score less than three minutes later and ended the first quarter tied at 3-3.

The Bandits came out hot in the second quarter, going on a run and scoring four straight goals in the first five minutes of the quarter to take a 7-3 lead. Two of the goals in that run were by 2024 MVP forward Josh Byrne, who finished with four goals as part of a team-high nine points.

The Rush, however, responded with a three-goal run of their own to go into halftime down 7-6. Then the Bandits’ dominant third quarter came, with each goal well documented by the fans, who chant the number of goals scored after each point.

Buffalo took a 13-6 third-quarter lead and never looked back. NLL Offensive Player of the Year forward Dhane Smith finished with eight points on three goals and five assists, while forward Chase Fraser scored yet another flashy goal with an around-the-back score.

“Everybody can score goals. It’s playing your role,” Smith said.

“I said at the beginning of the game today, I said, ‘We want 15 [goals] tonight,’ because I believe in this group and I really believe we were knocking on the door and we were fortunate enough to put up 15 tonight, but it is due to our defense for holding the door and playing our game.”