Buffalo Bandits Sweep Weekend to Stay Alive
The Buffalo Bandits were in a must-win situation heading into a two-game weekend. With the trade deadline a bye week away for the Bandits, this weekend was going to decide if they were buyers or sellers. Well, the Bandits core isn’t ready to give up on their veteran players just yet as they swept the weekend by defeating the Saskatchewan Rush in overtime 11-10 and beating the Toronto Rock 14-9 the following night. Luckily for me I don’t have many articles to write following a double-header weekend. They can be quite tricky, but I am going to do my best.
In game one, the Bandits offense was fueled by the depth scoring which accounted for 9 of the 11 goals on the night. Steve Priolo (1g, 1a) added one in transition and Josh Byrne (1g, 7a), who led the team in points, scored the game winner. Dhane Smith (0g, 4a) was able to add four assists but no goals. Despite being injured early in the third quarter, Ian MacKay (4g, 1a) led the team with four goals. The offense was moving well and found different ways to score against one of the top goaltenders and defensive units in the league. After MacKay went down, there was a noticeable drop off in the offense as they were running just six forwards for the first time all year. I think the lineup Buffalo used looked the best we had seen all season. In game two, Dhane (3g, 5a) and Josh (3g, 4a) turned up the goal scoring, contributing 6 of the 14 goals scored. Ian MacKay was seen in a walking boot and missed the game against Toronto. In his absence, Ryan Benesch (2g, 0a) made another appearance in the lineup, adding two goals on six shots and hitting multiple posts. The transition game was out in full force as Mitch de Snoo (1g, 1a), Nick Weiss (2g, 1a), and Matt Spanger (1g, 1a) added four goals combined. The goals came a bit easier for the team against Toronto, who had only allowed two teams to score more than 10 goals against them all year. The Bandits ran only six forwards in both games, and it appeared to be the key to the offense being a bit more dynamic. The Bandits should continue to run six forwards, but they were also shown the risk of using only six forwards as MacKay was injured in game one and Clay Scanlan (0g, 1a) was injured a few times throughout the weekend. Running only six forwards does not leave any wiggle room for injuries. At the same time, the offense looked great this weekend. Despite the MacKay injury, the Bandits went right back to using six forwards the next night, hopefully that trend continues.
The story of the defense this weekend was about Matt Vinc. In game one, he and the defense held the league’s number one offense to only ten goals. A couple of the goals were fluke goals that wouldn’t normally get past Vinc. Outside of that, he made multiple breakaway saves and came up big during overtime. In game two, with the team a bit exhausted, he remained strong while Toronto threw 55 shots on goal. For the weekend, Vinc saved 89 of 108 shots on goal for an 82.4 save percentage. Despite how incredible Vinc played in both games, the defense deserves some credit as well. As the team continues to get healthier, they are slowly finding more chemistry on the back end, and it shows. It looked as if the Bandits packed it back in a bit more this weekend focusing on limiting the number of inside looks against Vinc, while allowing more outside shots. The number of shots may have gone up, but the high danger opportunities went down. Yes, there were still breakdowns that led to goals and breakdowns that led to Vinc needing to make a big save, but it seemed like those opportunities were limited in comparison to recent games. Mike McCannell (0g, 2a, 3 CTO) had his best game as a Bandit against the Rush as he continues to integrate himself into the defense. Against, what we would consider, better judgement, Carter Coffey made his shocking NLL debut against the Rock in a must-win game for the Bandits. Zach Belter, who continues to play well, was a healthy scratch in favor of the rookie. Coffey was beat a handful of times in one-on-one situations, but I don’t think anything he did directly resulted in a goal. That is about as good a debut as you can ask for. It still makes no sense why Belter continues to be a healthy scratch despite his strong play. It will be interesting to see if he is part of a trade as the deadline is quickly approaching.
The Bandits power play unit remained strong going 4-for-6 on the weekend. Headed into the weekend the Rush had one of the best penalty kill units in the league killing 64 percent of penalties which was 3rd best in the league. On the other hand, the Bandits had the best power play percentage in the league at 62 percent. The Bandits were able to win the battle against the Rush scoring on 2-of-3 power play opportunities. In a game that came down to one goal, the special teams certainly played a large factor.
The Buffalo Bandits got the job done sweeping the weekend and keeping their season alive. Not only are the Bandits back in the standings, but I also think they proved to themselves they can still hang with the best in the league by defeating the Rush. The Toronto Rock have also had a strong start to their season. For the Bandits to be able put together a complete team victory after playing the night before should only instill more confidence in the locker room. I’m not saying the Bandits are right back to being one of the best teams in the league. They still have plenty to prove before we can have that discussion. However, they kept their season alive and made the trade deadline that much more interesting.
Buffalo Bandits vs Saskatchewan Rush
Goaltender Breakdown
In this segment, I will breakdown how the goalies, offense and defense all performed on the goals in the game. How many were impressive goals, breakdowns in the defense or on the goalie.
Frank Scigliano
Inside – 7
Mid-Range - 2
Outside – 2
Transition - 2
*2 goals were on the penalty kill
*0 empty net goals
Matt Vinc
Inside – 3
Mid-Range - 3
Outside – 4
Transition - 1
*1 of the goals were on the penalty kill
Goal 1 – Dylan Robinson gets beat one on one with no backside help and Zawada beats Vinc inside. (D)
Goal 2 – The Rush come out quick in transition. Whitty takes the near guy while Priolo is too slow to get to Hossack who unloads a low hard shot
Goal 3 – Dawson can’t keep up with Keenan who wraps around the top of the floor and rips a cross body shot just under the bar (D)
Goal 4 – PP Goal – Manns whips a shot just under the crossbar from in close
Goal 5 – Vinc screened on a broken play and Church finds the back of the net with a well-placed shot
Goal 6 – Keenan left wide open for a long time, the Rush finally got him the ball, and he buries it in tight. MacKay makes a late switch on a shot clock reset by the Rush leaving the defense confused and Keenan wide open (D)
Goal 7 – A very strange goal as Byrne loses his man, is forced to dive back and strip the ball from Shanks. The ball pops out of Shanks stick and slowly bounces past Vinc. Vinc was committed to protecting the left side of the net as Shanks sprinted in and when the ball popped out of the stick, it went to the right at a slow speed and threw Vinc off. (V)
Goal 8 – Spanger caught jumping to attempt to block the shot after getting picked. Keenan shoots around him and goes post and in, in the low corner.
Goal 9 – After a potential empty net opportunity is rubbed out by the Rush, Keenan takes a shot that Weiss is able to deflect wide, into the stick of Vinc and accidentally off the stick and falls in the net (V)
Goal 10 – With the man advantage, the Rush free Church for a great look as Dawson screens Vinc but can’t block the well-placed shot
2/10 on Vinc
3/10 on the defense
Challenges by the Bandits – None
Challenges by the Rush – 1/1
The Rush challenged the good goal call for what would have been Buffalo’s 11th goal scored by Nanticoke. This call was very close. I am a little upset that on the broadcast we did not get to see the goal line camera from above the net. However, from the angles we were given I think the referees correctly overturned this call - no goal
Automatic Reviews – 1/1
The no goal call in overtime for Scanlan’s crease dive shot was automatically reviewed by the referees. After finally getting a chance to see the overhead camera, Scanlan was in the crease before the ball crossed the line. The shot clock is also at 0. The referees made the correct call – no goal
Referee Corner
Like many of the fans out there, I find myself often questioning what the refs are doing on the field. From no goals and players being ejected, to calls that simply do not make sense. In this segment, I will attempt to use the rulebook and my best judgement to understand some hot topics from the previous game.
Bandits – 2/3 on the PP
Rush – 1/3 on the PP
T. Nanticoke – Illegal Cross Checking – Tough call for Nanticoke. He does get his check up a bit high on the Rush player. It seemed like the referee was going to let the call go if the play did not lead to anything, but because it resulted in a goal, he made the call – goodish call
M. de Snoo – Delay of Game – de Snoo was in the crease when he blocked a shot – good call
P. Dawson – Illegal Body Checking – Dumb penalty by Dawson who checks Manns after already knocking him to the ground. At this point in the game or any point there is no reason to do this – good call
2.5/3 – good calls
The referees did a nice job in a heated contest calling a good game. There were a few tight calls that I did not love, but overall they did a nice job. I would like to know why the penalty against Nanticoke was delayed. I am happy with the goal reviews that we did not hear any “inconclusive” calls. With the number of angles this new system provides, we should rarely hear “inconclusive” calls vs simply a goal or no goal. The no goal review against Scanlan was as close as you could get, but they made a definitive call, and I'm glad they did.
Buffalo Bandits vs Toronto Rock
Goaltender Breakdown
In this segment, I will breakdown how the goalies, offense and defense all performed on the goals in the game. How many were impressive goals, breakdowns in the defense or on the goalie.
Troy Holowchuk
Inside – 4
Mid-Range - 8
Outside – 1
Transition - 3
*2 goals were on the penalty kill
*1 empty net goals
Matt Vinc
Inside – 5
Mid-Range - 3
Outside – 1
Transition - 0
*2 of the goals were on the penalty kill
Goal 1 – PP Goal - Behind the back pass from Mathews to Hiltz who sneaks in and wraps one around Vinc
Goal 2 – Priolo is slow to get to Matthews hands, and he rips a hard outside shot that just squeaks past Vinc, one Vinc should have had (V)
Goal 3 – After a shot clock reset Scanlan and Byrne run off leaving Priolo confused and Matthews wide open for a quick stick goal (D)
Goal 4 – de Snoo gets a bit lost on a switch and is a step behind Boushy who gets in tight and scores (D)
Goal 5 – PS – Penalty shot by Rogers who throws about 50 fakes before burying a twister
Goal 6 – Boushy takes on Wyers 1v1 and beats him to the inside with a twisting diving shot
Goal 7 – Matthews gets around Dawson with a fake shot and buries a low bouncer (D)
Goal 8 – A cross field pass finds Matthews who shoots a nice bounce shot
Goal 9 – PP Goal – Matthews flips it to Hiltz who quickly fires a goal around Wyers and in
1/9 on Vinc
3/9 on the defense
Challenges by the Bandits – 0/1
The Bandits challenged Toronto’s 6th goal scored by Boushy. After watching multiple replays, the ball crossed the line before Boushy landed in the crease. The referees made the correct call originally and after review – good goal
Referee Corner
Like many of the fans out there, I find myself often questioning what the refs are doing on the field. From no goals and players being ejected, to calls that simply do not make sense. In this segment, I will attempt to use the rulebook and my best judgement to understand some hot topics from the previous game.
Bandits – 2/3 on the PP
Rock – 2/3 on the PP
C. Wyers – Roughing – Wyers came over to set a pick but got his stick up high hitting Mazzuca in the helmet – good call
Bandits – Too many men – I couldn’t see it on the replay so we’ll give it to the referees – good call
C. Wyers – Checking from Behind – This was a great play by English who saw Wyers a step behind him, so he stopped running forcing Wyers to essentially tackle him from behind. It wasn’t necessarily checking, but it was a penalty resulting in a penalty shot – good call
N. Weiss – Slashing – Weiss takes a pretty healthy hack at the Toronto player – good call
4/4 – good calls
There were a few weak possession calls and a few roughing plays on Toronto that seemed to be let go, but overall, the referees did a nice job. I didn’t see any major concerns and the calls they made were correct.