Buffalo scored the first two goals of the game and then a second powerplay tally gave the Bandits a 3-1 lead late in the first quarter. However, just 10 seconds after Dhane Smith’s goal, Colorado’s Tim Edwards responded with a goal and then Connor Robinson scored the first of his eventual three goals to bring the Mammoth level at 3-3 and there was no looking back from there.

Early into the second quarter, Ryan Lee finished on a beautiful pass from Silver Creek alum Zed Williams and there was no looking back from there as the Mammoth would not relinquish the lead on the way to a dominant 16-10 victory in Game 2. The victory, just like last year, forces a winner-take-all Game 3 in Buffalo which will take place this Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at the KeyBank Center and will be broadcasted on ESPN+ and TSN in Canada.

An injured Lee had to watch the Mammoth battle for the championship from the pressbox last year. But now healthy, Lee is showing the lacrosse world what everyone missed out on watching last season.

After scoring 2 goals and picking up 4 assists for 6 points in Game 1, Lee picked it up in Game 2 by scoring 4 goals and making 3 assists for 7 points. Lee adds another element to the Mammoth offense that the Bandits did not have an answer for and Williams is more than comfortable helping Lee showcase his talents.

OBSERVER Photo by Christian Storms Silver Creek High School graduate and current Colorado Mammoth forward, Zed Williams, scored 2 goals and added 4 assists for 6 points to help the Mammoth defeat the Buffalo Bandits 16-10 in Game 2 of the National Lacrosse League Finals on Monday at Ball Arena in Denver. Williams and the Mammoth will play in a winner-take-all Game 3 on Saturday at KeyBank Center in Buffalo at 7:30 p.m., the game will also be broadcasted on ESPN+ and TSN in Canada.

Williams finished with 2 goals and 4 assists for 6 points and he assisted on three of Lee’s goals. Williams carried much of the scoring burden last year, but this year the Mammoth are at full strength and it showed on Monday with 16 goals against the top-seeded Bandits.

Williams showcased his lethal shot on his first goal when he just fired a bullet past Buffalo goalie Matt Vinc. Then on his second tally, Williams used his strength to get past his defender and once reaching the crease he went airborne going from left to right while being able to slip a shot past Vinc which pushed the Colorado lead up to 12-7 at that time in the third quarter.

Finishing off the four-headed monster on offense for Colorado is Eli McLaughlin with 3 goals, 4 assists and 7 points, and Connor Robinson with 3 goals, 2 assists and 5 points on Monday. With that many threats, Buffalo will have its hands full trying to claim its first NLL Championship since 2008.

While Colorado missed the presence of Lee last year, the absence of Josh Byrne was noticed on Monday as the Bandits only managed 10 goals. Buffalo’s Tehoka Nanticoke kept his strong series going with another 4 goal game and Dhane Smith scored 2 goals, picked up 6 assists for 8 points to continue leading the playoffs and the finals. Buffalo missed the offense from Chase Fraser getting a hat trick in Game 1 and just one tally in Game 2.

The one bright spot of Buffalo’s game continues to be its work on the powerplay, scoring four times. However, the Bandits found themselves in the box quite a bit in Game 2 and much of those penalties came from frustrations brewing at the end of the contest.

Now, just like last year, Colorado has forced a Game 3 in Buffalo. If the Mammoth play like they did on Monday, the Williams family will have to make room for another trophy.

Game 3 is set for 7:30 p.m. on Saturday at the KeyBank Center in Buffalo and will be broadcasted on ESPN+ and TSN in Canada.