Buffalo Bandits Devour the Wings
The Buffalo Bandits showed the Philadelphia Wings who the true owner of the wing is. Yes, I know that is not what the Philadelphia Wings stand for, but it is too good of a comparison to let it go. The game was closer than the score indicated. The Bandits were able to use a six-goal run in the fourth quarter to pull away and win the game with ease. It was not as easy as it should have been up until that point.
I was never worried the Bandits were going to lose this game despite the Bandits only leading 12-11 with about 12 minutes left. There are three aspects that go into why I was calm throughout the game. First, I do not believe the Wings are a good team. Second, the Wings were playing their third game in eight days, and I expected the wheels to fall off as the game went on. Third, the Bandits have a potent offense. The Bandits were coming off only their third game all year being held to less than twelve goals in a game. I mentioned in my last article that I was not worried about the offense despite the lackluster performance. Luckily for me, the offense came back with a vengeance to prove me right. The Bandits scored a season high of 18 goals against the Wings. The dynamic duo was as good as we have seen them all year. Josh Byrne finished with three goals, seven assists for ten points on fifteen shots on goal. Dhane Smith led the team in goals with five, tied with Byrne for assists with seven, and led the team with a season high twelve points in the game. It was Dhane’s first twelve-point performance since last year against the New York Riptide on January 28th. It was also his first five-goal performance since facing the Wings last season on February 18th. I mentioned in my last article that I was disappointed with the secondary scoring, as they only scored three goals. In this game, they combined for eight goals including Chase Fraser scoring five points on two goals and three assists. It was Fraser’s first time with at least five points in the last six games.
The defense was not nearly as impressive as their counterparts on offense. There are two ways to look at what the defense has done in the last two games. On one hand, they have done a great job in not allowing opposing offenses to get inside. Over the last two games combined I had the defense and Matt Vinc allowing only four inside goals. That is an impressive stat. Especially when some of those are on the power play or a fluke rebound. However, they have allowed a combined eleven mid-range goals and eight outside goals. Now at first glance, it seems like that is a goaltending issue. I did not have a single goal in this game as one Vinc would want back. Do you hope Vinc can make an incredible save and pull one of those out? Sure, but he finished this game with 51 saves so there is a good chance he did that on multiple occasions. The defense is having a major issue with communication and playing as a unit. Many of the goals allowed in the last two games are due to poor switch-offs and not knowing exactly who is covering who. This allows sharp shooters such as Holden Cattoni (4g, 4a) to have an open lane, pick his spot and fire. No matter how great of a goalie Vinc is, if a talented offensive player is given time and space to shoot, there is a good chance twelve times out of sixty-three shots, it will be unsavable. The defense needs to figure this issue out quickly. Luckily for them, they have a few more “tune-up” games to work it out before playoffs.
Special teams are downplayed a bit in a game where there was a total of five calls against both teams and the final score was 18-12. However, it is important to note that the Bandits power play went 3-for-3 in this game. Last game, the power play unit went 0-for-3 in a one goal overtime loss. It was great to see them get back on track. As for the penalty kill, they finished the game 1-for-2. The more important part of the penalty kill was the lack of penalties called against the Bandits. This may have been the cleanest game the Bandits have played all season. The three calls against them were all iffy in my opinion. I can understand why the referee called them, as I explain in the referee breakdown below, but they were not obvious or aggressive penalties which is great to see from the entire team.
The Buffalo Bandits got a much-needed victory to put themselves back above .500 and firmly in a playoff position. This game showed the strengths and weaknesses the team is currently going through. If the defense can continue to grow together as a unit and get better with their communication this team will be tough to beat. Unfortunately, they are running out of the time to get it figured out. With the way Dhane Smith and Josh Byrne are playing, the offense is strong enough to will this team to plenty of victories. If the defense can catch up and play closer to what we saw last year, this team will be firmly in championship contention come playoff time.
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 – 9
Mid-Range - 5
Outside – 2
*3 of the goals were on the penalty kill
Matt Vinc
Inside – 2
Mid-Range - 8
Outside – 2
*1 of the goals was on the penalty kill
1st goal – I am not sure why, but Wyers got spun around following the wrong player and Resetarits stepped into a nice bounce shot
2nd goal – La Roue was a bit slow on a switch off and Jones made a nice move to get around him
3rd goal – No one was challenging the shot by Cattoni and he sniped it
4th goal – Tutton was able to scoop a rebound that Vinc and the defense could not find
5th goal – Great transition play by Tutton lead to a great opportunity for Resetarits who does not miss
6th goal – Cattoni with another great shot, MacKay was a smidge late on a switch off but in the lane
7th goal – PP goal – Cattoni with another great, looked like Vinc may have been screened
8th goal – I’m not sure if we have heard this name before but Cattoni scored again as he was left open in the middle of the field and took another great shot
9th goal – The defense allowed Jones to step in and fire a good-looking shot
10th goal – Another bad switch by the defense allowed Resetartis a free look on net on a delayed penalty
11th goal – Belter was on McIntosh and then took a step back and allowed McIntosh a good shot opportunity that he took and buried
12th goal – A quick outside shot through a slight screen beat Vinc with just under 9 seconds remaining in the game
0/12 on Vinc
Almost all on the defense?
Challenges by the Bandits – 1/1
The Bandits challenged the no-goal call on Brandon Robinson’s shot. Upon review, you can see the ball enter the net before the net is moved away from the goal line. It was a good challenge and correctly overturned.
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
Philadelphia – 1/2 on the PP
Josh Byrne – Delay of Game – Josh had the ball in his stick when a loose ball push was called on Fraser. It is true he did not drop it immediately. However, he released the ball in enough time and placed it down right where he was. I would say this is often not called, but it could have gone either way – good call
Brandom Bomberry – Body Checking – The hit was a bit excessive on a player without the ball. However, it looked worse than it was as Sam LeClair jumped in the air before getting hit – good call from the referee's view
Chase Fraser – Slashing – Fraser was cross checked in the chest and took a small swipe at Armstrong. His stick hit Armstrong in the face. If his slash would have caught him in the shoulder, I don’t think the penalty is called. However, it did hit Armstrong in the face, and Armstrong sold the contact well – good call
3/3 – good calls
As expected, this game was not an intense battle. The referees did a nice job letting a lot go and letting the players play. There was a total of only five penalties called in the game. That is what we like to see.