Bandits Fried the Wings in OT
The Buffalo Bandits were able to defeat the Philadelphia Wings in overtime on Saturday night 13-12. There were many story lines to come out of this game but the biggest one was as cliché as it gets. Where there is a will, there is a way. The Bandits had to find every ounce of effort they had in order to sneak past the Wings.
A lot has been said about the Bandits depth on offense the last few weeks with big injuries to Chris Cloutier and Josh Byrne. Players like that are nearly impossible to replace. One small positive was that the Bandits knew they would be without them headed into this game. What they did not know was that throughout the game they would lose Tehoka Nanticoke, Brandon Robinson and Ian MacKay. The Bandits needed every player on the team to step into roles they are not used to playing.
Brad McCulley was ready for the challenge. McCulley finished the game with 4 goals and 5 assists for 9 points, all career highs. In a game where the Bandits scored thirteen times, only three players scored goals. This was McCulley’s best game and it was not simply due to his statistics. McCulley has never looked more confident than he did in this game. The best example of this was his third goal of the game. McCulley was able to throw a hard fake shot to get around his defender, dive through the crease and bury the goal. This is an element of his game that we have not seen much of early in his career.
I really do not know what more I can say about Dhane Smith. If there was ever a player that put his team on his back and carried them to a victory, it is this man right here. In a game where forwards dropped out left and right, Dhane continued to find ways to score goals and wrack up assists. Once again, one goal stands out above the rest. In overtime, the Wings won the faceoff and decided not to take a time out and the Bandits were able to stop the Wings from scoring. After the Bandits grabbed the ball, they called their time out. I have to imagine the only thing on John Tavares’ clipboard was “get the ball to Smith”. That is exactly what the Bandits did and Smith did the rest. In a game where Philadelphia had one alpha forward to stop, they had no answer for the great Dhane. In overtime, when the Bandits needed Smith more than ever, he stepped up and ended the game. Smith finished with an incredible 5 goals and 5 assists for 10 points.
Matt Vinc did not play his best game of the season. The first half of the game there were a few goals Vinc would like to have back. However, when the game was on the line in the 4th quarter, Vinc only allowed one goal. Vinc made a massive breakaway save late in the 4th quarter to keep the Bandits in it. He also came up big stopping the Wings’ one OT opportunity to give Smith the chance to play hero. The defense as a whole played well. A few times players were left wide open in front of the net on blown switches. I think that is a consequence of having a wide variety of players playing offense, defense, and not their typical positions.
Nate Kozevnikov played in his first ever NLL game. However, it is more than that. Nate has been recovering from an injury since the Bandits drafted him in 2019, 29th overall. Now, in 2023, he finally got his big opportunity to play in the NLL. In the first half, Nate looked like a player who was coming off an injury in his first professional game. The confidence was not there, the play was not there, he looked lost and off. However, in the second half, he looked like a completely different player. He had a few great looks on net, some just barely missing. His passing and overall play looked much better in the second half. He may not have scored his first goal but he did have two assists and two caused turnovers. Not bad for his first NLL game.
The Buffalo Bandits went far beyond the next man up philosophy. At this point, many of us expected John Tavares to sign a contract mid game and play offense. The Wings may not be the best team in the league but they are good enough to keep up with a badly depleted Buffalo team. I do not think anyone would have blamed the Bandits had they gone on to lose this game. The Bandits did not see it that way and did everything in their power to will this team to a victory. It will be interesting to see if the Bandits can get any players healthy before they see Halifax in two weeks. For now, they sit with an incredible 8-2 record, first in the East.
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.
Zach Higgins
Inside – 8
Outside – 5
*3 of the goals were on the penalty kill
Matt Vinc
Inside – 8
Outside – 4
*2 of the goals were on the penalty kill
Goal 1 – Thought Vinc should have had this, far low shot
Goal 2 – Freak goal, ball was going away from the net and then kicked into the net
Goal 3 – Penalty kill, good high shot
Goal 4 – Penalty kill, another far shot I thought Vinc should have had
Goal 5 – Good shot, Vinc was ready for a one timer and over shot the wrap around
Goal 6 – Another wrap around from the other side, I think Vinc would want this one back
Goal 7 – Resetarits with a great shot
Goal 8 – McIntosh with a great far corner shot, defense let him walk right in
Goal 9 – Resetarits with too much time, just snuck it in
Goal 10 – McIntosh with another snipe
Goal 11 – Jones with a great high shot
Goal 12 – Bad defense, left Riorden wide open, Weiss was playing without a stick
Vinc likely wants three of the goals back.
Vinc finished the game with 40 saves and played great when it mattered most. There are a few goals he would want back but only allowing one in the 4th quarter allowed the Bandits to stay in it. Once again, the defense was lost on a few switches allowing some in tight opportunities.
The offense was incredible given the number of in game injuries they had to deal with. Finding a way to score eight inside goals is very impressive for the patchwork offense that was left.
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 – 3-4 on the PP
Knighthawks – 2-4 on the PP
Carter McKenzie – checking from behind – I think this was actually called for boarding. I thought this call was a little weak. However, with only 6 seconds left on the shot clock and the play well over, there was simply no reason to check Mitch Jones – good call
Bryce Sweeting – dead ball foul – Sweeting came off the bench and slashed Alex Pace on an over and back dead ball violation. Any other time this is likely not called but because the play needs to be whistled back into action, it was going to be called. I think Sweeting simply got confused as to what was happening – good call
Brandon Robinson – holding – Robinson had lost his stick on the play and grabbed onto Kiel Matisz as he ran past – good call
Brandon Robinson – roughing – This one was tough to see. Chad Tutton was bating Robinson after the scramble that left Ian MacKay stuck in the Wings net. It was hard to see if Tutton also deserved an equal roughing penalty or neither deserved anything – bad call
Three of the four calls against the Bandits were the correct calls. There were zero calls against the Bandits in the second half and a few times, they could have been called for penalties.
Let’s discuss the punch to Dhane Smith. Smith and Chad Tutton were going back and forth in a physical off ball battle that Tutton initiated. Tutton ended up throwing a full punch to Dhane’s head. There were two officials watching the play that called a penalty immediately. Tutton was given a two minute minor for roughing.
Rule 85: ROUGHING - Shall be defined as any excessively violent holding, pushing or punching motion with or without the glove on. Any deliberate or excessively violent contact or crosscheck by a defensive player against an offensive player who has established a legal screen/pick position. Any avoidable act on the part of a player, which is deliberate or excessively violent whether it be with the body or stick.
85.1 MINOR PENALTY - The referee, at his discretion, may assess a minor penalty, based on the severity of the infraction to a player guilty of roughing an opponent.
85.2 DOUBLE MINOR PENALTY - The referee, at his discretion, may assess a double minor penalty, based on the severity of the infraction to a player guilty of roughing an opponent.
85.3 MAJOR PENALTY - The referee, at his discretion, may assess a major penalty, based on the severity of the infraction to a player guilty of roughing an opponent.
I am not sure how punching a player in the head is not up to the severity level of at least a double minor. I understand both players were involved in the altercation. However, Smith was not prepared for a punch and it easily could have led to a bigger injury. I think this should have been at least a double minor. If the Bandits throw any punches in future games, we will have to see how the penalty is assessed.