The Buffalo Bandits do it Again
The Buffalo Bandits once again complete an incredible fourth quarter comeback, this time against arguably the best team in the league. The Bandits took down the Saskatchewan Rush 8 to 7 scoring the final four goals of the game to complete the comeback. John Tavares had three keys to the game. First, stay out of the box, second, limit transition and third, win a low scoring game. Well, only one of those keys came true, but it was the most important one.
The offense looked better in this game despite finding themselves in a similar situation to the last game. Frank Scigliano (35sv, 81.4%) looked like the reigning goaltender of the year in this game, shutting down every good chance the Bandits could get. The offense was predominantly held to the outside early, taking low quality shots. When they were able to get inside, Frank was there with a big save. Like the game against San Diego, the Bandits never gave up and continued to push. The offense would double their score in the final 9 minutes of the game as the shots started to fall. Josh Byrne (2g, 5a) led the team in scoring with 7 points and in goals with just 2. Dhane Smith (1g, 1a) wouldn’t find his first point of the game until he scored the Bandits 6th goal and added a clutch assist on the game winning goal by Joe Resetarits (1g, 1a). The last time the Great Dhane was held to two points or under was against the Toronto Rock on April 30th, 2022. There is a lot to unpack there. For one, the consistency Dhane has shown throughout his career is incredible. Two, the ability of the Rush defense and Scigliano to contain Dhane was impressive. Finally, and most importantly, even with Dhane being as erased from this game as a team can make him, the depth scoring was able to do just enough to get the win. Seven different Bandits had at least one goal in this game. It is not easy to win when only scoring 8 goals, however with the way Matt Vinc is playing, that may be all it takes come playoff time.
There isn’t too much to say about the defense, which is a good thing. Sure, there were the typical breakdowns that happen in any game no matter how good the defense is. However, the Bandits held the Rush to only 7 goals, including zero even strength goals for the final 33 minutes of the game. This tied for the Rush’s worst offensive output of the season. It’s even more impressive knowing the Rush have the second-best goals per game average. In the first half, it was the transition game that killed Buffalo. Whether it was the defense not getting on the field quick enough or the offense not getting off, the Rush were able to capitalize three times in transition. In the second half it was the double minor against Paul Dawson that gave the Rush some breathing room. Maybe it says something that when Dawson was not on the penalty kill, the Rush were able to score twice, but that’s a future problem. Outside of those five goals, the defense did a nice job containing the Rush’s deep offense. Matt Vinc (44sv, 86.3%) continues his run of dominant play. As good as the defense was, the Bandits once again do not win this game if Vinc isn’t playing out of his mind. There were kick saves, breakaway saves, and plenty of regular saves in-between that allowed the Bandits to stay in this game as long as they did before the offense took over. Vinc has an 82.9 save percentage during the 5-game win streak. It’s a smaller sample size, but that save percentage would put Vinc at number two in the league. Not too bad for a 43-year-old, or any goalie in the league.
The Buffalo Bandits moved up one spot in the standings and continue to position themselves well for another playoff berth. Five games ago we were discussing the Bandits being potential sellers at the deadline. Now, the conversation has changed as they have defeated three top six teams, the Rush twice, during this five-game win streak. The work isn’t done as the Bandits finish the season with multiple tough opponents. As nice as a potential round one home playoff game would be, this team needs to figure out exactly what the playoff roster looks like and how to best utilize the talent on the team. If they can do that, and Vinc continues to play as well as he is, this team will be tough to beat the rest of the way.
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 – 3
Mid-Range - 3
Outside – 2
Transition - 1
*0 goals were on the penalty kill
*0 empty net goals
Matt Vinc
Inside – 5
Mid-Range - 2
Outside – 0
Transition - 3
*2 of the goals were on the penalty kill
Goal 1 – De Snoo is a step behind Church, after a jumbled switch off, who finds himself open on his wrong side and stings it over Vinc’s left shoulder (D)
Goal 2 – Huge save by Frank on one end leads to a transition goal on the other as Manns finds himself open in front of the net (T)
Goal 3 – The defense loses players in transition and allows Zawada a free look in front of Vinc (D, T)
Goal 4 – Robinson leaves his man to get a loose ball which leaves his man, Walter, wide open next to the net for a quick stick goal (D)
Goal 5 – The Rush once again push in transition as Keenan finds himself with enough space to pick the top corner (T)
Goal 6 – PP Goal - After 4 shot clock resets, the Rush finally get the goal on a quick stick finish
Goal 7 – PP Goal – After a couple of loose ball scrambles Keenan uses another quick pass to Church for a quick stick goal
0/7 on Vinc
3/7 on the defense
Challenges by the Bandits – None
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 – 0-1 on the PP
Rush – 2-4 on the PP
S. Priolo – Illegal Cross Check – This was a bad call. It once again goes back to the fact that either the player took a dive, or the penalty existed, can’t be both. In this instance I believe Church dove trying to get the penalty – bad call
Z. Belter – Checking from Behind – I think this was called on the wrong player as Belter was standing there doing nothing while de Snoo shoved the Rush player from behind as the ball was coming to him. De Snoo, who the penalty should have been on, gave Walter a big push in the back as the pass was going to him – good call
S. Priolo – Holding – This was a rough call and quite possibly the softest hold on a player that doesn’t have the ball I have ever seen – bad call
P. Dawson – Delay of Game – This was a bit unfortunate for Dawson, but he was standing in the crease, turned around, put his stick up to block the shot and the shot hit his stick – good call
P. Dawson – Unsportsmanlike Conduct – As a veteran player in a close game, you have to know when to keep your mouth shut. I understand it is a very heated contest but costing your team a goal is never worth it – good call
P. Dawson – Illegal Equipment – The Rush were keeping this one in their back pocket as Dawson had an official measurement on his stick and it is determined to be illegal – good call
4/6 – good calls
In a heated matchup I thought the referees did a nice job allowing the players to play for the most part. Outside of the calls against Priolo, the calls that were made were the right calls.
As for the illegal stick call, I have listed all the relevant rules below. Most importantly...a captain, assistant captain or head coach may call for a players stick to be measured during a timeout or normal stoppage of play. If a stick check is requested and the stick is found to be legal, a two-minute delay of game penalty will be assessed against the team requesting the stick check. If the stick is to be found illegal, the player using that stick is penalized a two-minute minor and the stick is confiscated.
Rule 30: PLAYER (RUNNER) STICK
30.1 STICK LENGTH - The lacrosse stick shall be an overall fixed length of forty (40”) to forty-two (42”) inches except the goalkeeper’s lacrosse stick.
30.2 STICK WIDTH - The head of the lacrosse stick shall measure between four and one-half inches (4 1/2”) and 39 seven inches (7”) at its widest point, inside measurement except for the goalkeeper’s lacrosse stick.
30.3 BALL STOPPERS - A maximum of one guard stop at the throat of the stick must be a minimum of 10 inches (10”) from the head to the nearest edge (closest to the handle) of the stop.
30.4 POCKET DEPTH - The depth of the pocket shall not exceed five inches (5”) measured from the bottom of the sidewall of the head. Nothing may be added to or attached to the outside of the stick except as noted in Rule 32 immediately below.
32.6 STICK CHECK MEASUREMENT REQUEST PROCEDURE - Only the Captain, an assistant captain or the Head Coach may request a stick measurement and dislodgement check and only during a timeout or normal stoppage in play. A request for a stick measurement shall be limited to one request per Team during the course of any stoppage of play. If a stick check is requested and the stick is found to be legal, a two (2) minute delay of game penalty will be assessed against the Team requesting the stick check. The in-home will serve the bench minor penalty. An immediate stick measurement and dislodgement request following a goal in overtime will not be granted. The official will perform measurement and inspection as per Rule 30: Player (Runner) Stick or Rule 31: Goalie Stick Dimensions as applicable. The Gait D and Gait D2 stick heads shall be considered illegal.
32.7 ILLEGAL STICK - If a stick is found to be illegal the player using the illegal stick will be penalized two (2) minutes.
32.8 ILLEGAL STICK SCORED GOAL - Should any goal be scored with an illegal stick during the last “live ball” offensive possession it will be disallowed. Provided the goal is disallowed, the minor penalty will not be imposed.
32.9 RANDOM STICK CHECK PROCEDURE - The stick of any player may be randomly checked by the officials between quarters and during timeouts throughout the game. Any player who, in the discretion of the referee, fails to timely provide the stick to the official upon request or attempt to or alter the stick shall be assessed a minor penalty for 42 unsportsmanlike conduct. Should the stick be illegal upon measurement, an additional minor shall be assessed.
32.10 CONFISCATION PROCEDURE OF ILLEGAL STICK - If an illegal stick is found, it shall be removed to the penalty box and the illegal portion(s) only shall be delivered to the League Office immediately following the game. Any legal portion of the stick shall be returned to the offending team after the game.