The Rivalry is Back

The Buffalo Bandits took on the Rochester Knighthawks in one of the more highly anticipated games of the season. Rochester came into the game at a surprising 5-0, while the Bandits were 4-1. This game was going to decide who would take an early hold on the Eastern Division. It was a fun game to watch but in the end, Rochester was simply the better team, defeating the Bandits 15-12.

Offensively the Bandits are too top heavy right now. With Fraser and Cloutier out with injuries, the Bandits depth on offense has taken a hit. Brandon Robinson and Brad McCulley are likely not going to be consistent goal scorers. McCulley may find his scoring touch as the season goes on but even in college, he was not a high scoring forward. McCulley and Robinson have very important roles on this team. However, they are set up players, not goal scorers. Kyle Buchanan is another player who is playing his role well but simply is not going to be the high scoring player the Bandits need. Currently this team is going to be heavily led by Dhane Smith (4g, 2a) and Josh Byrne (4g, 4a). Tehoka Nanticoke is playing well but his shots are not falling. Joel Tayler, in his first game of the year, was able to score his first goal in 2,148 days. He will be another player similar to Robinson and McCulley but on the right side of the offense. While the team is down depth scoring they need to find a way to get players like Nanticoke and McCulley great goal scoring opportunities if they want to win games.

Defensively the Bandits played okay. This is a game that the defense and Matt Vinc would likely want to have back. Vinc played well but gave up a high number of outside goals. The defense collapsed in the second half giving too many players open lanes. The energy in the building shifted heavily towards the Knighthawks in the second half. The defense ended up looking lost and slow down the stretch.

This was a game of runs, quarters and halves. The first half saw the Bandits in good shape up 8-5. In the second half Rochester turned it up and won the second half 10-4. In the second half Rochester was faster and wanted it more. Rochester deserves a lot of credit for this win. They were not intimated after being down in a physical first half. Ryan Hartley was a massive part of this game as well. Hartley has developed into a legitimate top goalie this season. In this game, he finished with 43 saves and 12 goals against. Headed into this game, Rochester was averaging only 9.6 goals against per game. Given some of the injuries to the Bandits offense, the Bandits being able to put in 12 goals is impressive.

Face offs and loose balls, what do they mean? It appears as if they have very little effect on the outcome of the game. This is nothing against Max Adler. He is getting better and better as a faceoff specialist as the stats show in this game. Adler was 24 of 31 at the faceoff dot. The Bandits won the loose ball battle 80 to 68. In theory, the Bandits had 30 more opportunities with the ball than the Knighthawks did. However, the Bandits were still out shot 56 to 60. Face-offs and loose balls appear to have no direct correlation to the result of the game. Are they nice to win? Absolutely. Are they necessary to win the game? Obviously not. Loose balls and face-offs simply do not translate into goal scoring opportunities as much as caused turnovers do.

The biggest question going into this game, are the Knighthawks for real? They proved that they are. Rochester has a well-balanced team. The offense has a balanced attack with Conner Fields, Curtis Knight, Holden Cattoni, Thomas Hoggarth and a surprise of the season Ryan Smith. Their defense and Hartley have stepped up big time compared to last year. Rochester is currently the team to beat in the NLL. We will see how this develops over the season. There is no doubt that the Bandits have another threat to the East Division title.

Breakdown the Goals

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, how many were breakdowns in defense and how many were on the goalie.

Rylan Hartley

Inside – 6

Outside – 6

*2 of the goals were on the penalty kill

Matt Vinc

Inside – 7

Outside – 8

*2 of the goals were on the penalty kill

Vinc could work on letting in a few less outside shots. He made many big saves in tight but some of the longer-range shots I am sure he would like to have back. The biggest missed opportunity was the behind the net dunk. The game was tied 11-11 at the time and it was a shot Vinc should have covered. The goal went in the net in the only spot it could but it is one you would like to see saved. The defense started to breakdown in the second half allowing open lanes for the Rochester offense.

The offense had a nice blend of inside and outside goals. In the second half they struggled a bit to find an inside lane but the attack seemed balanced throughout the game.

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 - 2-4 on the PP

Knighthawks – 2-5 on the PP

Despite how many fans want to criticize the refs after a loss, the calls were even and each team scored two power play goals. I am not sure how the result could be the refs fault in this scenario but let us look at the calls.

Dylan Robinson – cross check – it was quite an obvious cross check in the back – correct call

Tehoka Nanticoke – dead ball foul/goaltender interference – this one could have gone either way but anytime the goalie is run into with that amount of force the call is likely going to be made. I do think Hartley played this call up but it is a smart move given the situation – correct call

Joel Tayler – slashing – I thought this call was weak. It is always going to be the second person coming in who is called but either way it was not a very violent play. The Rochester player slashed Tayler on his way by, Tayler retaliated with a light slash that missed and a cross check that was called – bad call

Brad McCulley – roughing – McCulley cross-checked a player in the back, luckily both players ended up going to the box. There was a missed holding penalty on Dhane Smith on the same play but we’ll let that go – correct call

Unknown – illegal substitution – hard to see with the camera angle so I will give the refs the benefit of the doubt on a quick transition play by Rochester – correct call

Dylan Robinson – roughing – this was a quick hook by the refs. Called out Robinson and Curtis Knight for equal roughing penalties. It was a move to try to keep the game under control. I do not know if it needed to be called but because they both went, I am also not against it – correct call

Max Adler – roughing – this one was tough to see. Adler was shoved up against the Rochester bench. He is a scrappy player who does not like to take those kinds of hits. It did look like the original hit was legal and Adler retaliated by roughing. Again, it is usually the second person in who gets the call. At that point in the game Adler needs to keep his emotions in check – tough to take but correct call

Correct calls – 6/7

The game was evenly called. A few calls here and there could have gone the other way but for the most part, it was an evenly called game.