Bandits Drop Final Game + Quick Playoff Primer
The Buffalo Bandits lost their final game of the season to the Georgia Swarm 11-14. In what was a meaningless game for the Bandits you could tell their intensity wore off as the game wore on. After taking an 11-8 lead the Bandits would go scoreless for the final 20:54 of the game. It was obvious that the Bandits stopped going to the dirty areas and stopped playing as intense on defense. The Bandits are gearing up for what hopes to be a long playoff run, this game simply wasn’t worth the extra effort, especially after seeing two players go down with injuries during the game.
I am going to quickly go over some points from this meaningless game. The offense started the game hot and then stopped working to get to the inside. It seemed like Georgia’s strong push at the end was enough to stop the Bandits momentum and effort. The Bandits scored 7 of their 11 goals from in tight. Once they stopped getting inside, the goals or lack thereof, went with it. Vinc had a bit of a rough start to the game but settled in nicely. Outside of the long shot to end the game, it was a good effort by Vinc. The defense played well. The biggest concern with the defense was the injuries to Cam Wyers and Kyle Matisz. Hopefully both players can find their way back into the lineup for playoffs, if not, they will be big missing pieces on the back end. The other issue I had was the Bandits allowing 4 transition goals. Last week, against a strong transition team in Halifax, the Bandits allowed 0 transition goals. I am going to assume this is more of an outlier than a trend, especially given the meaningless game, but hopefully it is exactly that. There isn’t much else to take from this game. Josh Byrne and Dhane Smith look playoff ready. Clay Scanlan finished the season strong with 5 goals in his last 3 games. It will be interesting to see if he can find a way into the playoff lineup, but if he does, I think his confidence is growing.
The Bandits will take on the San Diego Seals in round one of the playoffs in Banditland. The Seals have already defeated the Bandits once in Banditland this season. It took until overtime for them to do it, in a weekend that the Bandits had to play two games while the Seals played one. However, the point still stands that the Seals were able to do it. Last year, as it is often mentioned, the Bandits were one goal away from not advancing past the first round against the Georgia Swarm. It took a Josh Byrne overtime winner to advance. I am bringing these points up as a long way to say that I believe the Bandits will have a great mindset headed into round one. Nothing is given, everything is earned, and Buffalo has learned that the hard way before.
As for the San Diego Seals themselves, they have some players that can absolutely give Buffalo some trouble. Wesley Berg finished the season with 88 points, 12 of those points came in the two games against Buffalo. The Bandits will need to find a way to limit his production if they want to win. Ryan Benesch was absent from both games against Buffalo. He finished the season with a hattrick against Albany. He may not be as elite as he once was, but he’s a veteran forward who can score in clutch situations when called upon. Dylan Watson played in only 9 games this season finishing with 24 points, shockingly 10 of those points came against Buffalo. I am not sure if he will crack the playoff lineup, but with how well he performed against the Bandits during the season, it would almost be a surprise not to see him. Zach Currier only played in one of the two games against Buffalo and had 3 goals, 2 assists, and 14 loose balls in that game. The Seals have enough fire power to give the Bandits some trouble. On the defensive side of the ball the Seals have some star power with players such as Eli Gobrecht who finished the season with 23 caused turnovers, Danny Logan who finished the season with 19 caused turnovers and 109 loose balls, and Kyle Rubisch, a solid veteran defender who finished the season with 16 caused turnovers in 12 games. In goal the Seals have 22-year-old Christopher Origlieri. He had a bit of a rocky season. I like Origlieri as a young goalie in this league and was hoping he would take a big step forward this year. He may not have taken that step, but he is plenty good enough to steal a game. After missing part of the second last game with an injury, he bounced back last week with 37 saves and a 78.7 save percentage in a must win game against the Albany Firewolves.
If the Bandits play championship caliber lacrosse, I do not believe any team in the league can beat them. However, the NLL has plenty of great teams, including the 8th seed Seals, that can beat Buffalo if they are not on their A game. The Seals have proven it once this year already. I have all the faith in the world that the Bandits will win in round one, but I would not be completely shocked if they lost. Like the Patriots of old or the Chiefs of new (both hurt to admit), Bandits fans have made it through the boring regular season and are back to playoff lacrosse! The three-peat is on the line. It has been mentioned all year long, now, it’s time to take it.
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.
Brett Dobson
Inside – 7
Mid-Range - 3
Outside – 1
Transition -
*1 of the goals was on the penalty kill
* empty net goals
Matt Vinc
Inside – 3
Mid-Range - 8
Outside – 3
Transition - 4
*2 of the goals were on the penalty kill
Goal 1 – Skip shot that just gets past Vinc, one he wants back (V)
Goal 2 – Seemed like a harmless transition opportunity but Kew buries it 5-hole on Vinc (V)
Goal 3 – Another simple shot that, over the left shoulder of Vinc that he seemed frustrated he let in. Bomberry’s stick angle looked like he was going to spike a low shot, but instead he keeps it up high and fools Vinc (V)
Goal 4 – Kew with a quick shot in transition
Goal 5 – PP Goal - Kew with a quick shot on the power play
Goal 6 – Defense gave Jackson too much time and space to pick his shot (D)
Goal 7 – Connell sets a pick on Byrne, receives a pass, turns and fires a goal
Goal 8 – Weidemann picks off a pass and scores in transition on a nice inside move
Goal 9 – Nice pass by Thompson and shot by Jackson
Goal 10 – PP Goal – The Swarm were picking the top corners all day on Vinc
Goal 11 – Lyle with a good low shot after Vinc had seen plenty of high shots in a row
Goal 12 – A nice transition play by Hickey who gets rewarded with his first career goal
Goal 13 – Pick and roll by Bomberry and MacIntosh sets up an inside goal
Goal 14 – A wild outside shot that Vinc was caught off guard by and he was likely over the game
3/14 on Vinc
1/14 on the defense
Challenges by the Bandits – 0/1
The Bandits challenged the 10th Georgia goal scored by Weidemann. It was a tight call and because it was called a goal on the field, I get why it was upheld. There was one angle that made it look like he stepped in the crease before the ball crossed the goal line, but it was tough to tell.
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 – 1-1 on the PP
Swarm – 2-4 on the PP
N. Weiss – Holding – Weiss does wrap his stick around Cole. It is quick, but it is a fair call – good call
C. Cloutier – Holding – Very similar to the Weiss penalty, it is a quick hold, but enough of a hold for a call – good call
I. MacKay – Embellishment - There was a bit of a flop by Mickey on this play, drew a penalty and took one – good call
D. Robinson – Holding – You guessed it, another similar holding call. A quick hold that the referees were clearly calling all night long – good call
J. Byrne – Roughing – A frustrated Byrne gets a bit physical at the end of the game – good call
5/5 – good calls
A lot of holding calls by the referees, but the Bandits needed to learn from that and did not. The refs seemed a bit inconsistent with other plays they were calling. Overall, I thought they were fine and did not negatively affect the game.