A stunning road win over previously undefeated Saskatchewan has the Buffalo Bandits believing they can do anything.

“It could be a turning point in our season,” captain Steve Priolo said of the 16-15 overtime victory Friday. “We haven’t been down and out by any means, and it’s still early, but a win like this shows us what we can really do.”

The Bandits trailed 6-0 after one quarter and 9-3 at halftime Friday.

“People have asked me what changed at halftime,” Priolo said. “Nothing changed at halftime. We just started to do things right.”

It was the type of winning rally that fills a team with confidence. The Bandits are 3-3 now. Don’t count them out of the running for the Champion’s Cup. They aim to win it.

“You have to have that mindset,” says Priolo. “You’ve got to make the playoffs and then anything can happen.”

Priolo was on the bench when rookie Josh Byrne tied it with 19 seconds left in the fourth quarter and when Pat Saunders, who sat out the previous two games, scored the overtime winner.

“For him to be scratched and keep such a positive attitude and to score that goal like that was unbelievable,” Priolo said.

Dhane Smith scored four goals and assisted on five in looking a lot like the player who was league scoring champion and MVP in 2016.

“He scored some big goals when we needed them, made big plays,” coach Troy Cordingley said. “He showed some grit in the corners mucking for balls. When your best player is doing those things, it’s only going to rub off on everybody else and make us a better team.”

“That’s the Dhane we love,” added Priolo. “He’s our guy.”

HIGGINS GETS BELT

Zach Higgins didn’t have an NLL team to tend goal for a month ago and now he’s in possession of the championship belt Buffalo players award after a win.

“It’s got some weight to it,” Higgins said. “I was definitely shocked when they handed it to me.”

Higgins got the belt in Saskatoon after playing so well in relief of starter Alex Buque, who was lifted with the Bandits down 4-0. Higgins had joined the Bandits after backup Davide DiRuscio was injured. The Bandits contacted Higgins at his Ajax, Ontario, residence on Christmas Eve, giving him the best Christmas present he could imagine. The former Georgia Swarm goalie had a cup of coffee with Calgary last winter and was cut from Vancouver’s camp in November, so  he was looking to play in Ontario’s winter box lacrosse league.

“It was difficult getting released by Georgia just when I felt I could contribute to that team,” he said. “It was disappointing not to see that journey through.”

Now Higgins is back in the NLL.

“I kept practicing and kept going to the gym because three or four weeks into the season, things can happen,” he said. “DiRuscio got hurt and I got the call.”

The win was his first in the NLL since April 16, 2016.

“It was a while. It definitely felt good to get this win,” he said. “It was a pretty good character win for the boys in a barn where that team has played in the last three championship series. It showed we can battle back from adversity. It shows what we’re capable of.”

Tuesday night practices are at the Iroquois Lacrosse Arena in the Six Nations community in Ontario.

“I’m taking this week to week,” Higgins said of his uncertain future in the NLL. “I’m just enjoying my time with the team. It was fun getting that win. I’m taking advantage of this opportunity and letting it play out as it goes. I keep working on improving my game and getting my confidence back.”

Higgins stopped two Mark Matthews shots in overtime before Saunders ended it by gathering in a loose ball directly in front of goalie Evan Kirk and tossing a high shot under the crossbar at 1:46.

“He stepped in large,” Priolo said. “With Fish (DiRuscio) going down and him coming in after not playing for a while, you’ve got to hand it to the guy. He was our MVP. He got the belt.”

“Zach did a phenomenal job coming off the bench,” Cordingley said.

Fate keeps bringing Higgins and Buque together. They were Junior A teammates in Whitby and also played together at Davenport University in Michigan.

Higgins helped Israel win the 2017 European box lacrosse championship.

The championship belt was designed by Ted Cordingley’s fellow equipment handlers Nick May, Jeremy Wiseman and Dan Ristine with the help of player Craig England. It was made by ProAm Belts of Sylvania, Ohio.

LINEUP JUGGLING

Injuries in the previous game stripped from the Bandits lineup veterans Mark Steenhuis, who will be out six to eight weeks, and Matthew Bennett, who will be sidelined for the duration. And Callum Crawford did not play against the Rush because of a one-game suspension. Ryan Wagner and Liam Patten were activated and dressed in Saskatoon. Free agents Bill O’Brien and Zach Herreweyers have been signed and placed on the practise squad.

Despite all of the personnel juggling, the Bandits pulled off the most impressive come-from-behind win of the NLL season.

BUBBLE BURST

Evan Kirk allowed three goals in the first half, but we found out when 13 balls eluded him the rest of the way that he is human after all, and that the Rush are a lot less formidable than they were a week ago. The Bandits outplayed them in every way in the second half.

“They simply played harder than us,” Rush general manager and coach Derek Keenan said of the blue-collar Bandits.

“It’s going to be a long week,” Saskatchewan captain Chris Corbeil said.

The Rush play in Calgary this weekend.

CHALLENGE PAYS OFF

New England and Rochester were tied 8-8 in the fourth quarter when Black Wolves coach Glenn Clark challenged a referee’s ruling that a shot by Cory Vitarelli was a goal. Video review showed a toe on the crease line and the goal was disallowed. The Black Wolves scored the next three goals, including the third of the day for each of Shawn Evans and Kevin Crowley, and won 11-9 at home Sunday afternoon.

With their third straight win, the Black Wolves improved to a division-best 4-1.

“The identity we said we wanted to establish in the offseason was being very sound and predictable on defense,” Clark said. “We have a pretty good sample size now that we are becoming that team.”

KNIGHTHAWKS SLUMP

Rochester opened the season with two lopsided wins but has now lost four in a row.

“We have to have more of a team mindset,” coach Mike Hasen said. “Everybody is trying to do a little bit more to make us better. We just have to focus and take a step back and do our jobs.”

SCORING RACE

Dhane Smith’s nine-point effort in Buffalo’s 16-15 overtime win increased his points total to 36 (12g 24a) to tie him for the league lead with Toronto’s Adam Jones (14g, 22a) and Saskatchewan’s Mark Matthews (11g, 25a). Smith has played six games and Jones and Matthews five each.

NLL WEEK 8 PREVIEW

There are four games this weekend. Vancouver plays twice.

VANCOUVER (1-4) at COLORADO (3-1)
Friday, 9:30 p.m. ET

This will be the second of four meetings. Colorado opened its season with a 15-8 road win over Vancouver back on Dec. 8. Last season, Vancouver won three of four before losing at home 13-12 to the Mammoth in the first round of the playoffs.

Both teams had last weekend off. Vancouver is coming off an 11-10 win in Buffalo. Colorado is coming off a 17-12 home loss to Saskatchewan.

NEW ENGLAND (4-1) at TORONTO (3-2)
Saturday, 7 p.m. ET

The top two teams in the NLL East go at it in what will be the first of three meetings this season. The last time they met, last May 6, Toronto won the division semifinal 18-10 at home. New England won regular-season meetings 10-9 in Toronto and 15-14 at home.

New England won 11-9 at home over Rochester last Sunday. Toronto had last weekend off after winning 17-9 at home over Rochester on Jan. 12.

SASKATCHEWAN (4-1) at CALGARY (1-4)
Saturday, 9 p.m. ET

This will be the first of three meetings. They’ll clash in Saskatoon on Feb. 24 and again on April 28. Last season, they met four times and Saskatchewan won the first three before Calgary won 14-7 on the road April 29.

Last weekend, Saskatchewan blew a 9-3 halftime lead in losing 16-15 in overtime to visiting Buffalo. Calgary had a bye.

GEORGIA (2-3) at VANCOUVER (1-4)
Sunday, 10 p.m. ET

This will be the first of two meetings. They’ll conclude the regular season April 28 in Georgia. In the lone meeting last season, Georgia won 14-12 at Vancouver on Jan. 28. They met once in 2016 and the Swarm won 14-6. The last time the Stealth beat the Swarm was on Feb. 28, 2015, when they prevailed 21-15 at home.

Georgia’s last game was Jan. 13 when it won 15-12 in Calgary.

BYES: BUFFALO (3-3), ROCHESTER (2-4)

TIME TRAVEL

Jan. 26, 2002: The Toronto Rock defeated the Rochester Knighthawks 14-9 in front of an Air Canada Centre crowd of 18,543.

Jan. 27, 2007: Rochester’s John Grant Jr. broke the single-game points record with 15, including nine goals in a 22-18 win over the New York Titans.