Panther City Welcomes Defending Champion Buffalo Bandits

FORT WORTH, TX (March 20, 2024) – The Panther City Lacrosse Club (6-7) will face the defending NLL Champion Buffalo Bandits (7-6) this Friday, March 22 at 7 p.m. at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth with Ron Thulin (PxP), Dalton Jernigan (Analyst) and Maggie Hale (Floor Reporter) on the call for Bally Sports SW +. This will be Panther City’s second consecutive week playing a team they had never previously played before, as they faced Halifax on the road for the first matchup in franchise history last week and will do so again this week against Buffalo.

Reigning 2023 NLL Rookie of the Year, Jonathan Donville has played strongly as of late, as he has recorded 19 points (8G/11A) in his last three games, averaging slightly more than six points in that time span. Donville has 22 goals through 13 games this season, after recording 23 goals in 2022-23. He has recorded a hat trick in two of the previous three games and has totaled seven points as well in two of the previous three games PCLC has played. 

Known for their ability to select high impact rookies, Panther City’s duo of Jason Knox and Ryan Sheridan have continued that reputation for the club from Fort Worth as they have combined for 29 goals (Knox – 17 & Sheridan – 12) this season. The two newcomers are the second highest scoring rookie duos in the league this season, only trailing Albany’s Tye Kurtz and Alex Simmons (56 combined goals).

Buffalo comes to Fort Worth for the first time ever this weekend and enters the matchup with two of the top three highest scoring offensive players in the league. Josh Byrne (94 points – 37G/57A) and Dhane Smith (90 points – 18G/72A) are second and third, respectively, in the league in scoring. Smith’s 72 assists lead the league by a wide margin and Bryne’s 57 assists are second best in the NLL. Defensively, Ian McKay (team leading 120 loose balls), Steve Priolo (team leading 19 caused turnovers) and goalie Matt Vinc are the main stalwarts for the Bandits ‘D’.