The NLL announced the semi-final schedule on Monday, introducing a few changes compared to last year’s format.
🚨 Semifinals Schedule is set 🚨 pic.twitter.com/v0kyoT6xGz
— NLL (@NLL) April 27, 2025
One significant difference is that Saskatchewan will host games two and three (if necessary) rather than games one and three. The higher seed traditionally hosts game one, as Buffalo will this year. The Bandits will host game one and game three (if necessary) of their series.
Another distinction between the two semi-final series are the dates. Buffalo and Vancouver will play games one and two this weekend, starting Friday night in Buffalo. Game two will follow on Sunday in Vancouver. In contrast, the Halifax-Saskatchewan series will feature only one game this weekend, scheduled for Saturday night in Halifax. Games two and three (if necessary) are slated for the following weekend in Saskatoon, on Saturday, May 10th, and Sunday, May 11th.
The league did not provide an explanation for the scheduling differences, though logistics likely play a role. Notably, there are no direct flights between Halifax and Saskatoon, and the two cities are more than 3,200 kilometers (2,000 miles) apart. While Vancouver and Buffalo are even farther apart, daily direct flights from Toronto facilitate travel between those teams.
This scheduling adjustment also means that if either Vancouver or Buffalo sweeps their series this weekend, they will enjoy a weekend off to recover and prepare for the finals. This could be especially advantageous for the Bandits, who have not had a bye weekend in several weeks.
As a result, the NLL Finals will not begin until at least the weekend of May 16-18.
The semi-finals promise to be an exciting weekend for fans. Buffalo drew over 17,000 spectators to the KeyBank Center for their quarterfinal matchup, while Halifax sold out the Nest with more than 10,000 fans in attendance. Vancouver attracted over 8,000 fans for their quarterfinal game and are likely to surpass that number on Sunday.
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