OSHAWA, ON– In the final game of their inaugural season of the 2025-26 NLL season, the Oshawa FireWolves (6-12) defeated the three-time defending champion, Buffalo Bandits (11-7), 12-8 in front of a sold-out Tribute Communities Centre in Oshawa on Tucker Out Lymphoma Night. This is the game recap presented by ToonieBet.
View the full stats here: OSHAWA vs BUFFALO
“We came to compete, and we executed a full 60 minutes against the three-time champions,” said Head Coach and General Manager Glenn Clark after the team concluded their season. “I told them to show up and play physically and ready, and they did that. I’m pleased with their performance tonight.”
Oshawa played its best half of lacrosse this season. The offence had multiple looks after the first 30 minutes of play, and were rewarded with a seven-goal run. Dawson Theede scored the game’s first goal, and it was the only goal of the first quarter. The FireWolves defence showed up, and Buffalo’s entire team was still asleep in the first quarter.
With the home team up after one, they added on to their lead by scoring three goals in under two minutes from Ryan Benesch, Patrick Kaschalk, and Alex Simmons. Theede tallied another before Tye Kurtz scored two of his own, 64 seconds apart to put the FireWolves up 7-0. Before the half was over, Buffalo found their scoring ability by rattling off four goals, two of them on the power play, to cut the lead to three at halftime 7-4.
In the third, a short-handed goal from Ethan Walker doubled the lead for Oshawa, and Taggart Clark then took a pass from Dyson Williams and walked right down the middle and scored on Bandits starting goaltender, Matt Vinc to make it 9-4. After the FireWolves extended their lead, they ran into some penalty trouble and found themselves down for seven minutes. The penalty kill has been their Achilles heel all season, and in their final game, they stepped up big time on that man-down. They were winning loose balls, blocking shots, and the FireWolves’ starting goaltender, Doug Jamieson, made some outstanding saves.
The FireWolves carried a five-goal lead heading into the fourth quarter and didn’t look back. While Buffalo won the quarter three-to-two, the two goals that Oshawa scored from Dyson Williams and Will Johansen were enough to secure the victory in their last game of the season and send the FireWolves faithful home happy.
“That goal was for Tucker, and I could feel him with me when I scored that,” said Dyson Williams on scoring his first goal of the night. “Even though he was my younger brother, he always knew what to say.”
With the season over, the Oshawa FireWolves thank all the fans for making this first season in Oshawa an incredible experience. The FireWolves will be back this November and will be ready to chase a championship
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About Oshawa FireWolves
The Oshawa FireWolves are Durham Region’s professional box lacrosse team, competing in the National Lacrosse League (NLL) out of the Tribute Communities Centre in downtown Oshawa, ON. For more information, visit OshawaFireWolves.com. Follow the team on Facebook at facebook.com/FireWolvesNLL, Twitter @FireWolvesNLL, and Instagram @FireWolvesNLL.
About ToonieBet
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About National Lacrosse League
The National Lacrosse League (NLL) is North America’s largest professional lacrosse league and welcomed more than 1 million fans for the third consecutive year during the 2024-25 season. Founded in 1986, the NLL is comprised of 14 franchises across Canada and the United States, and recently unveiled its largest brand campaign ever, “Welcome to The Next Major League™” and introduced its comprehensive grassroots initiative, NLL UnBOXed™, that will expand the League’s footprint to 60 communities across North America by 2028. For the latest scores and developments in the National Lacrosse League, please visit: NLL.com and find the NLL on Facebook, Instagram, X, YouTube and TikTok. Games are available live and streaming on TSN, TSN+, the ESPN family of networks, ESPN+, and NLL+.
About Tribute Communities Centre
The Tribute Communities Centre is Durham Region’s premier sports and live entertainment facility and is managed by Oak View Group. The Tribute Communities Centre is home to the Oshawa FireWolves of the National Lacrosse League, Oshawa Generals of the Ontario Hockey League, and hosts a myriad of events including concerts, circuses, ice skating and family shows. Visit TributeCommunitiesCentre.com, and follow on Facebook, Instagram, and X.
About Oak View Group
Oak View Group (OVG) is the global leader in live experience venue development, management, premium hospitality services, and 360-degree solutions for a collection of world-class owned venues and a client roster of arenas, convention centers, music festivals, performing arts centers, and cultural institutions. Founded by Tim Leiweke and Irving Azoff in 2015, OVG is the leading developer of major new venues either open or under development across four continents. Visit OakViewGroup.com, and follow OVG on Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, and X.
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