The Buffalo Bandits Lose the Battle of I-90 Round One
The Buffalo Bandits lost to the Rochester Knighthawks in a poorly played game by a score of 9 to 12. The Bandits defense and Matt Vinc looked shaky at best to start the game. The offense looked lost the entire game while Rylan Hartley played great when the Bandits offense was able to get inside. As great as the Knighthawks played, the Bandits cost themselves the game.
This was arguably the worst offensive performance I have seen in recent memory. I am not sure what the issue was, but it was ugly. The Bandits were forced to stay to the outside as the Knighthawks packed in the middle. Six of the Bandits nine goals were scored in tight. However, only three of those goals were during even strength play. Outside of those goals, and Ian MacKay having multiple goals called back as he stepped in the crease, the Bandits struggled to find inside looks. The few times they were able to get inside, they were successful, but they struggled to do it consistently. On top of that, they were frequently dropping passes and struggled to pick loose balls up cleanly. Dhane Smith was held to 1 goal and 4 assists. The last time he was held to 5 points or under, not including playoffs or the meaningless game against the Georgia Swarm last season, was the 12th game of last year. Josh Byrne was held to 1 goal and 3 assists. The last time he was held to 4 points or under was the third game of the 2024 season. To say it was a rough game from the offense, including Dhane and Josh, may be an understatement. However, I fully expect this team to learn from their mistakes and bounce back next game.
The defense on the other hand, was decent. They were without both Mitch de Snoo and Zach Belter, so I expected a few bumps against a great offense. Headed into this game, Rochester had not scored under 13 goals once this season. The Bandits were able to hold them to 12. It didn’t seem like that would be the case to start the game. The Bandits found themselves down 4 to 2 after the first quarter. The Bandits have not been losing after the first quarter once this season. The Bandits found themselves down 7 to 5 at halftime. They have not been losing a game at halftime once this season. The defense looked lost and Vinc looked rough in the first half. Vinc was briefly pulled after Rochester’s 6th goal to give him a reset. Steve Orleman came in for just 36 seconds, allowed one goal that was not his fault and was pulled. For the final just under 40 minutes of the game, Vinc and the defense kept the Bandits in the game allowing only 5 more goals the rest of the way. Despite the strong finish, the Bandits had only one caused turnover the entire game. I couldn’t tell you the last time that happened, but I am guessing it was a long time ago. I can tell you that the fewest amount of caused turnovers they have had in a game this season was 8. If the defense can play like they did to end the game, despite the injuries, they will give the Bandits a chance to win every night.
The Bandits power play unit this season has been lethal. They have scored nine goals on thirteen opportunities for a 69.2 power play percentage. It may be a small sample size, including a game with no power play chances, but the goals they’ve scored have been impressive. The Bandits have used multiple set plays to find success. These set plays have ranged from a fake shot by Byrne passing to a diving Buchanan behind the net, all the way to Byrne and Benesch setting picks to allow Scanlan to shoot through them. Whatever they are doing, it’s working. The penalty kill on the other hand had a rough night allowing Rochester to score twice on two opportunities. On the season, the Bandits have done a great job on the penalty kill and the two goals they allowed this game were a bit flukey. They still had a good performance.
The Bandits are a bit beat up on both offense and defense. However, they won’t make any excuses in the locker room, and I won’t make any for them either. The Bandits are the most hated team in the NLL. They have won three straight titles and have a massive target on their backs. There are some games you get up for more than others. For every team in the NLL, they have the Bandits circled on their schedule. If the Bandits have an off night, teams will be ready to strike. I have no doubt the Bandits will get back to playing Bandit ball right away, but they need to bring it every night, just like their opponents.
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.
Rylan Hartley
Inside – 5
Mid-Range - 4
Outside – 0
Transition - 0
*3 goals were on the penalty kill
*0 empty net goals
Matt Vinc
Inside – 5
Mid-Range - 2
Outside – 4
Transition - 2
*2 of the goals were on the penalty kill
Goal 1 – PP goal – After Vinc made a few nice saves Fields take a free low shot at the top of the floor and it sneaks through Vinc five-hole
Goal 2 – Rebound goes to Zedd who fires a high hard shot off the cross bar, off Vinc and in
Goal 3 – Zedd continues to kill the Bandits. Outside low hard shot but Wyers does not attack him and allows the shot with no time left on the shot clock, need to be more aggressive (D)
Goal 4 – Zedd goes 1v1 against Priolo, wins the battle and scores in tight while the defense is still trying to figure out who to cover (D)
Goal 5 – Waters pushes Whitty to get enough space inside to take an off-angle inside shot. No where for the ball to go but it squeaks past Vinc, one he needs to have (V)
Goal 6 – Lanchbury left wide open after a couple of picks for a free shot. Another one that just gets past Vinc low (D, V)
Goal 7 – A goal in transition as the defense loses the offensive player who is right on the crease and buries a quick shot past Orleman (D)
Goal 8 – After a scrum in the corner in the offensive zone the Bandits allow a transition goal as Llord gives it to McConvey who sneaks behind the defense and buries the goal in tight (D)
Goal 9 – Ryan Smith given time and space to shoot, a player you cannot give that to, but a shot Vinc had a good look at as well (D, V)
Goal 10 – PP goal – After a lengthy referee time out to fix a shot clock reset the Knighthawks can use the timeout to their advantage and score on a set play quickly after play resumes
Goal 11 – McConvey gets inside on a pass from Fields and waits out Vinc as long as he can to get him to open up and bury the goal between his legs
Goal 12 – Fields with a low skip shot from the outside
3/12 on Vinc
6/12 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 – 3-3 on the PP
Rochester – 2-2 on the PP
I. MacKay – Delay of Game – MacKay was running over the ball after the whistle not allowing the Rochester player to pick it up and restart play. This was a bit of a ticky tacky call, but it is the correct call if the referee wants to make it – good call
T. Nanticoke – Delay of Game – Nanticoke cannot run through or leave the crease and immediately go after a player who has control of the ball. It did not give him an advantage per say, but he cannot be the next player to touch the ball, therefor the call was made – good call
First delay of game penalty against MacKay by the book...
“92.2 THROWS, RETAINS OR ROLLS BALL AWAY - A minor delay of game penalty shall be imposed on any player or goalkeeper who throws, retains or rolls the ball away that results in a delay of game. This shall include any action by a player that disrupts the restart of the game such as holding onto the ball, or tossing the ball to the official, rather than immediately putting the ball down directly upon expiry of loss of possession inhibiting a fast restart for the opposing team. The onus is on the defender to be beyond two yards during a settled or fast restart situation as per rule
22.1. Violation shall result in a minor penalty. Should the offensive player attempt to get closer to the defensive player inside two yards as a means to draw a delay, the offensive player shall be penalized for a delay of game, accordingly. The official shall be cognizant of the game situation, specifically recognizing the distance between opponents during fast restarts and shall restart play fairly and accordingly.”
Second delay of game penalty against Nanticoke by the book...
“67.4 RIDING PLAYER IN CREASE TO GAIN ADVANTAGE ON DEFENDER – A riding player is in contact in the opposing crease and exits, thereby gaining an advantage as deemed by the discretion of the official, and initiates contact on an opponent who has possession of the ball is in violation and will be assessed a delay of game minor penalty.”
2/2 – good calls
Both delay of game calls were a bit interesting to be called. I believe I have found both rules that explain why they were called. I could see both calls being let go. However, in a heated competition the referees kept their whistles quiet. I thought early in the game they lost control of how physical they were allowing the teams to be, but it settled down after the first and was called well after that.