The Buffalo Bandits Stretch the Streak to Three
The Buffalo Bandits got their revenge defeating the Colorado Mammoth 13-10 in Buffalo. In their first meeting, it was Colorado defeating Buffalo 20-9 in Colorado. It may be hard to believe, but Buffalo has reached their longest win streak of the year with their third straight win. Not only is it their longest win streak, but the teams they have been able to beat, and at a time in the season when they needed it most, has been impressive to watch.
After starting the season scoring under 10 goals in four of their first seven games, the Bandits have rattled off 10 or more goals in five of their last six games. In their last three games, during the win streak, the Bandits have faced some tough competition. The Saskatchewan Rush, Toronto Rock and Colorado Mammoth are some of the best in the league when it comes to goals against average. The Bandits offense seems to finally be putting it together. It has taken them quite a long time to figure out what the offense looks like without Chase Fraser and Chris Cloutier. In this game specifically, a major weapon on the left side in Ian MacKay was out with an injury for the second straight game. In his place was 6’7 rookie Coltrane Tyson (0g, 1a) getting into his first career game. I wasn’t sure if we would get the opportunity to see the second round pick any time this season. I thought he played well. He was physical, set lanes, and did a lot of the dirty work for Josh Byrne (5g, 4a). It will take time for him to become acclimated to the playstyle of the NLL. As his confidence grows and he finds his scoring touch, he will be a nice threat to have on the left side. As far as the usual contributors on offense, Dhane Smith (4g, 5a) and Byre stole the show. It felt a bit more like an offensive performance from last year compared to what we have seen much of this year. One of the players I was watching closely in this game was Byrne. After a rough stretch, he had 4 goals and 11 assists in his two prior games, including his first hattrick since the fourth game of the season. He looked more like the Byrne of last year full of confidence and swagger. This game was no different as he had his first four goal game of the season, against Dillow Ward and a tough Colorado defense, nonetheless. I think a key moment showing his confidence was his first goal of the game as he went behind the back from distance to sneak it past Ward. I would like to see this version of Josh one more game before declaring that he is officially back, but he hasn’t looked this good since the first few games of the year. Tehoka Nanticoke (3g, 0a) also had his best game of the year in the goal department with his first hattrick of the season. We can’t leave the offense before talking about the massive trade deadline acquisition of Joe Resetarits (0g, 2a). Buffalo Joe gets to come home and play for his hometown team. In his first game as a Bandit this season he finished with no goals and two assists on just four shots on goal. He was in a unique position setting picks and creating lanes for Smith. For the Philadelphia Wings, there was only one game in the last two seasons where he had four shots on goal or less. He will be asked to do a bit less for Buffalo than he was asked to do in Philly. However, as he settles in, he will be able to contribute in a big way for the Bandits.
It is tough to pick on a defense that was without Nick Weiss and held a great offense to only 10 goals, but it was hard to watch at times. In their first matchup, the Bandits allowed Colorado to score 20 goals, and Vinc was pulled for most of the game as it got out of hand. In this game, the Bandits did an excellent job forcing Colorado to the outside and not allowing them to get inside too often. In their first meeting, Vinc allowed five inside goals in the first half alone. In this game, I had just three goals from the inside the whole game. That was a major adjustment by the defense. However, Colorado was doing a great job running around, setting picks and causing chaos from mid-range and outside shots. There were many times when the defense did not know who they were covering and were left scrambling as Colorado set up good opportunities from the outside. With that being said, I would much rather see quality shots from the outside versus quality shots from the inside. There were also two goals that just snuck past Matt Vinc. Speaking of Vinc, he put together another quality performance. Vinc now has three straight games with 40 plus saves and an 82.2 save percentage during that stretch.
Despite who is in the lineup, the Bandits seem to be putting everything together at just the right time. In their last two games, two rookies have seen their first NLL action. At the start of the season, the Bandits depth was tested with injuries and lineup changes. Now, after the trade deadline, the Bandits seem to have plenty of options. It will be interesting to see what the starting roster looks like when the entire team is healthy. Buffalo will have some tough lineup decisions down the road as they attempt to figure out what the best version of the Bandits looks like. With another big win under their belts, Buffalo’s fate is in their hands. After going on a stretch where they lost five of six games, that’s all they can ask for.
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.
Dillon Ward
Inside – 2
Mid-Range - 2
Outside – 3
Transition - 0
*1 goals were on the penalty kill
*0 empty net goals
Nathan Whittom
Inside – 3
Mid-Range - 2
Outside – 1
Transition - 1
Matt Vinc
Inside – 3
Mid-Range - 3
Outside – 4
Transition - 0
*1 of the goals was on the penalty kill
Goal 1 – Dawson loses his man Kew behind the net. Kew wraps around, receives a pass and buries a tight low shot. Vinc was in position, but Kew snuck it through (D)
Goal 2 – PP Goal – Great tik tac toe passing by Colorado
Goal 3 – Saris with an outside shot in transition hits Vinc and goes in, that’s one he needs to have (V)
Goal 4 – A high shot where Vinc makes the save off his shoulder, but it goes directly up and in, looked unlucky
Goal 5 – Great passing and movement by Colorado as Buffalo lose multiple players on the play
Goal 6 – Nice little up pick by Colorado frees the hands of Hannah who releases a rug burner running right to left. Vinc did look a bit out of position (V)
Goal 7 – Saris walks in, picks his spot and rips one past Vinc as the defense watches. Vinc does drop a bit early, but no defender is on him (D)
Goal 8 – Bandits defense is getting bumped around and losing players allowing a tough outside shot from Malcom
Goal 9 – Wyers attempts to block the shot leaving Hannah to pick his spot and bury it from outside
Goal 10 – Bandits defense caught running around with Kew finding time and space to shoot from the outside
2/10 on Vinc
2/10 on the defense
Challenges by the Bandits – 0/1
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 – 1-2 on the PP
Mammoth – 1-3 on the PP
C. Tyson – Checking from Behind – This was a good call, clear check in the back, the rookie will learn quick – good call
D. Smith – Crease Interference (Rule 68.1 Below) – Ward was in his crease trying to scoop the ball up and Dhane connected with his stick trying to get the loose ball – good call
J. Byrne – Holding – It's a quick hold but a hold nonetheless as Byrne gets his stick wrapped up high – good call
3/3 – good calls
The referees did a nice job in this game. There were no calls I disagreed with, and the game was kept under control.
68.1 CONTACT WITH GOALIE IN THE CREASE - The referee, at his discretion, shall assess appropriate penaltie(s) for interference when contact with the goalkeeper, his stick, and when the goalkeeper is in the goal crease area, with the exception of Rule 69, contact initiated by goalie.
If the goalie has two feet in the crease and possession of the ball in his stick and both stick and ball are outside of the crease, he may not be checked. If a defender makes contact with the goalies’ stick while the goalie still has possession of the ball during an outlet pass while the goalie is in his crease (deemed two feet in his crease), the defender will receive a minor penalty for goaltender interference.
If the ball is clamped outside the crease circle by the goalie, a player may rake under the goalies’ stick.