Rinse and Repeat
The Buffalo Bandits (6-2) played in their second game of the weekend against the New York Riptide (1-5). The Riptide were coming off their first win of the season after defeating the Albany Firewolves 16-10. I thought this game would be tough for the Bandits having to play in their second game in as many days. Often times in hockey we see teams on a back-to-back stretch play poorly towards the end of the second game. However, for the Bandits, they played almost a carbon copy of their win over the Philadelphia Wings the night before.
The first half of the game started off slowly for the Bandits as the Riptide jumped out to an early 3-1 lead. The Bandits are not a team that is ever going to make excuses but playing in back-to-back games is never easy. When the second half finished the Bandits and Riptide were tied up 7-7. The defense struggled, often leaving players open and making it tough on Vinc. After the first half, I expected much of the same in the second half but that is not what happened.
Again, teams working on a back-to-back typically struggle coming out in the second half compared to their opponent, especially when that opponent is the home team. The Bandits were unfazed by any type of exhaustion or excuses they may have had in the second half. The Bandits outscored the Riptide 9-3 in the second half to take a 16-10 victory, including outscoring the Riptide 7-3 in the third quarter. The night before the Bandits outscored the Wings 10-3 in the second half and 6-1 in the third quarter. It is hard to say exactly what is being said in the locker room at half time but whatever it is, it’s working.
The big story of the night was the depth scoring. It is an aspect of the Bandits that we have been continuing to harp on with the injuries to the offense. Sadly for the Bandits, the injuries continue to pile up. Josh Byrne was struggling in the first half looking a little bit injured and worn down. Towards the end of the second half, he went down and did not return. It appeared as though he twisted his ankle and as of writing this article there are no official updates other than a lower-body injury. The Bandits needed the “next man up” mentality more than ever in this game and they got it. Ian MacKay is listed as a transition player for the Bandits but this year he has been playing more time as a lefty forward as well. In this game, even before Byrne went down, MacKay was often out with the forwards on the left side. MacKay finished the game with 4 goals and 2 assists, one of the best offensive outputs of his career. Another player that had a big game was Brandon Robinson. Robinson finished the game with 3 goals and 4 assists for 7 points. MacKay and Robinson stepped up on the left side in the absence of Byrne combining for 13 points for the Bandits. On the right side, the efforts of Dhane Smith and Tehoka Nanticoke did not go unnoticed. Smith finished the two game set with an MVP-like 6 goals and 14 assists for 20 points. Nanticoke would finish the two games with five goals and three assists after being held to just two assists in the previous two games.
Despite the defense looking shaky at times, Matt Vinc once again had a solid performance. Vinc finished the weekend making 87 saves on 106 shots. In the Bandits 8 games this season, Vinc has allowed 10 or fewer goals 6 of the 8 games. The defense had a few players rotated in between the two games. That fact on top of being a little exhausted between the two games may have been the reason they looked slower and more unorganized than usual. Adam Bomberry in his first two games as a Bandit went almost completely unnoticed, in a good way. Bomberry is a stay at home lockdown defender. The less you hear his name, the better he is playing. He will continue to get better as he becomes more integrated into the team’s defense. It was interesting to see Carter McKenzie get a chance to play in both games. I think he could be a great young bigger defender for the Bandits but he has been hard pressed to find time on the active roster early in the season.
A major difference in this game was the Bandits’ ability to score on the man advantage. Buffalo was 7th in the league on the power play before playing against NY. The Bandits scored five goals on seven opportunities. The Bandits would go on to win this game by six goals making the five goals on the power play that much more important.
The Buffalo Bandits went into this weekend looking like a good team that had every opportunity to win both games. If the Bandits were able to split the series, they would be sitting with a 5-3 record. Through the first eight games, I would consider that a good start. However, with the Rochester Knighthawks and Toronto Rock only having two losses so far and the Halifax Thunderbirds only having three losses, every win counts. The Bandits now sit 6-2 after a great weekend. Buffalo returns home with a highly anticipated rematch against the Knighthawks next weekend, expect some fireworks folks.
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.
Steve Orleman
Inside – 9
Outside – 7
*5 of the goals were on the penalty kill
Matt Vinc
Inside – 7
Outside – 3
*1 goal was on the penalty kill
Goal 1 – quick transition goal
Goal 2 – penalty kill, behind the net dunk
Goal 3 – bad defense
Goal 4 – Vinc a little slow to get over but poorly played by the defense as well
Goal 5 – pick and roll, bad defense
Goal 6 – Teat incredible shot, defense lost track of him
Goal 7 – bad defense, lost track of Sundown, wide open in front of the net
Goal 8 – bad defense, again lost track of Digby, wide open in front of the net
Goal 9 – Teat incredible shot
Goal 10 - bad defense, again lost track of Digby
Vinc finished the game with 42 saves and once again played incredibly. The defense allowed too many in close opportunities against Vinc. Seven of the ten goals allowed were in close defensive breakdowns. Two of the three outside goals allowed were taken by the incredible Jeff Teat and the final one came on a quick transition play.
The offense again had a great blend of inside and outside goals. The depth on the offense showed off after Byrne went down with the injury. There was plenty of crisp passing and great goals from players stepping up.
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 – 5-7 on the PP
Riptide – 1-4 on the PP
Nick Weiss – slashing – Started the penalties off against the Wings with a slash, just found that funny. Weiss was angry with an extra shove from the Riptide player and took a baseball bat swing to the player’s leg – good call
Steve Priolo – Roughing/Unnecessary Roughness/Game Misconduct – I will break this all down in the section below – good call/good call/good call
Adam Bomberry – holding the stick – Tough call against Bomberry. Digby was holding Bomberry’s stick and grabbing him prior to the penalty call but it was not seen away from the play. Bomberry lightly returned the favor and I believe Digby dropped his stick easily to draw the penalty. From what the ref saw it was the right call but also a weak call and missed the earlier call against Digby – mixed feelings
Tehoka Nanticoke – Unsportsmanlike Conduct – This was a strange play. A Riptide player called out Nanticoke for diving on a play that gave the Bandits possession of the ball. That possession resulted in a goal. Nanticoke went after that player and the altercation was off screen. I have to imagine the anger got the best of Nanticoke and it was the right call – good call
Four of the four penalties called against the Bandits were correct. The call against Bomberry, from what the ref saw, was the correct call but it is not a play I think Bomberry was truly at fault for.
The Priolo Breakdown
The series of events in this faceoff melee were interesting and I will try to break it all down. Dylan Robinson was actually the one at the heart of this scramble that caused a few different penalties to Priolo. Robinson shoved Andrew Borgatti, who had the ball, from behind resulting in a stoppage of play and Riptide possession. After the whistle was blown, Robinson took a big swipe at Borgatti’s helmet while he was down. Brent Noseworthy stepped in and knocked Robinson to the turf in retaliation for the slash. Priolo also took a few swipes at Borgatti, mainly going after the ball but still after the whistle. This resulted in Priolo’s first roughing call. The second call was when Priolo stepped in to hit Noseworthy who had already stepped in to hit Robinson. That was the second unnecessary roughness call. Noseworthy was also given a roughing call on this same play. Priolo then refused to go to the box, continuing to “plead his case” or yell at the refs, however you want to see it. This was when Priolo was given the 10-minute game misconduct. All of the calls were correct calls. Robinson also deserved a penalty for slashing but we will let that one slide because Priolo took it for him. Priolo should not have taken the first roughing call. The second roughing call and stepping up in defense of Robinson I am okay with. However, the team captain should understand when to stop yelling at the ref and simply accept your two-minute penalty while the game is still in the first quarter. There was no reason to defend the call as much as he tried to at that point in the game or possibly ever. I could not find a great definition of a game misconduct but it seems it is up to the referee’s discretion when to assess one. Might be a “you know it when you see it” type of penalty, as it was in this case.
10-minute game misconduct
RULE 39: DEFINITION OF MISCONDUCT PENALTIES
39.1 MISCONDUCT PENALTY - In the event of “Misconduct” penalties to players, the players shall be ruled off the floor for a period of ten (10) minutes each. A substitute player is permitted to immediately replace a player serving a misconduct penalty. A player whose misconduct penalty has expired shall remain in the penalty box until the next non-technical violation stoppage of play.
39.2 MISCONDUCT PENALTY AND MINOR ASSESSED - When a player receives a minor penalty and a misconduct penalty at the same time, the penalized team shall immediately put the “in-home” player in the penalty box and he shall serve the minor penalty.