Buffalo Bandits down Mammoth in Championship Rematch

 The Buffalo Bandits used a big first half lead to cruise to a 12-8 victory over the Colorado Mammoth. The Bandits sprinted out to a 7-1 first half lead. A complete offensive and defensive performance led to the first half lead and the eventual victory. The Bandits only lost the second half 5-7 but that is not something they are used to.  

The Bandits offense was in search of a rebound performance in the goal department. Last game, I thought the Bandits offense performed quite well but ran into an impressive Brett Dobson. This game, they were looking to light up the scoreboard and that is exactly what they did. The dynamic duo were at it again as Josh Byrne (3g, 4a) and Dhane Smith (2g, 5a) led the team in scoring. Brad McCulley had the surprise performance of the night. His two goals and four assists for six points were third on the team. McCulley is one of those people that does the dirty work for the left side of the offense. He sets aggressive picks and works incredibly hard off ball to get Byrne and Chris Cloutier good looks. In this game, he had one of his best offensive performances, on the stat sheet, in his career. Last season, McCulley had games with four points, five points and eight points. He has the talent and ability to put numbers on the board; it is about finding those opportunities for him when he is not doing the dirty work for his teammates.   

The Bandits defense did not necessarily need a rebound from last game. The defense and Matt Vinc have given up under 10 goals in three of the four games this year. That includes playing through multiple injuries to start the season. Last game however, the Bandits allowed the top players on Georgia’s offense to flourish. That is what I was focused on for this game. The Bandits did an excellent job limiting the top scorers on Colorado. Connor Robinson (0g, 1a), Zed Williams (1g, 0a), Tyson Gibson (0g, 2a) and Chris Wardle (0g, 0a) all struggled in this game. Eli McLaughlin (3g, 2a) and Connor Kelly (3g, 1a) performed well for Colorado, however, it took them a combined 26 shots to find success.   

The special teams was the biggest negative for the team in this game and possibly the only one. The penalty kill continues to perform at a high level only allowing Colorado to go 2-for-6 on the power play. One of the goals they allowed was on a 5-on-3, which are tough to defend. On the other side, the Bandits power play unit struggled in this game going only 1-for-4 on their opportunities. The even bigger issue, they allowed three shorthanded goals while on a 5-minute power play and scored zero. The Bandits were able to score two shorthanded goals of their own. The Bandits power play has been one of the best in the league to start the season. I am not worried about one down game from them.   

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.         

Dillon Ward    

Inside – 3  

Mid-Range - 6  

Outside – 3  

*1 of the goals was on the power play   

*2 shorthanded goals against 

Matt Vinc           

Inside – 4  

Mid-Range -3  

Outside – 1  

*2 of the goals were on the penalty kill          

*1 goal 5v3  

*3 shorthanded goals against       

Goal 1 – Nice power play goal by Williams in tight  

Goal 2 – Great set up and quick stick by the offense  

Goal 3 – Transition breakaway, nice play by Colorado  

Goal 4 – Contested faceoff breakaway, nice goal  

Goal 5 – Last second shot, Vinc was set and ready, missed it, nice off hand shot  

Goal 6 – PP goal, nice hard mid-range shot  

Goal 7 – Well placed shot  

Goal 8 – Quick transition goal  

0/8 on Vinc      

1/8 on the defense    

The offense stalled a bit in the second half but they had a great game with McCulley showing up big. The offense scored a wide range of goals, mainly firing strong mid-range goals.  

Vinc and the defense put an incredible game plan into action. The only negative they had was allowing three shorthanded goals, one of them on a transition breakdown. 

Challenges by the Bandits   

1/1  

The Bandits challenged a no goal call when Josh Byrne dove through the crease. Byrne was not close to the crease with any part of his body, the call was reversed and the Bandits won the challenge.   

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.              

We have seen a decent amount of illegal body check calls. I looked up what the definition of the call is. Honestly, I do not think it helps understand the rule any better but here it is. 

Rule 70: ILLEGAL BODYCHECKING: 

It is illegal to bodycheck an opponent from behind, above the shoulders or below the waist. It is legal to bodycheck an opponent in possession of the ball from the front or side, above the waist and below the shoulder, and to bodycheck an opponent while the player leaves his feet to shoot, pass or catch the ball, or otherwise engage legally in offensive play provided contact is legal as outlined above and below, and there are no other violations and the check is not into the boards. Officials shall consider the positioning of players when contact is initiated, specifically whether the player being checked is in a vulnerable and/or defenseless position, which may include a player’s head being down or being unaware of an impending hit, and significant distance travelled by the player making the hit. An appropriate penalty for illegal body checking shall be assessed based on the severity of the illegal contact.      

Bandits – 1-4 on the PP         

Colorado – 2-6 on the PP              

Illegal Substitution – I believe it was Justin Martin who left the bench a bit early on a quick transition play by Colorado. This led to a penalty shot – good call  

Matt Spanger – Body Checking – The hit was a little late and from behind but it did not seem like an illegal hit – goodish call   

Josh Byrne – Holding – Big transition pass by Ward led to Byrne sprinting back for a stick check on a breakaway. In the heat of the moment, I could see why the referee made the call but when slowed down it did not look like a foul – goodish call  

Matt Spanger – Holding – Spanger allowed the offensive player to get behind him and held him up to stop the scoring chance – good call  

Josh Byrne – Goalie Interference – I think Josh’s face and reaction explains all we need to know about this call, not a good one. Josh did not touch Ward on his way through the crease – bad call  

Dalton Sulver – Cross Checking – this was a crosscheck, it was a soft one, but the action was there. Kinnear was also giving a diving penalty to even out the play – good call  

Chase Fraser – Body Checking – Unnecessary high elbow by Fraser. It was almost the exact same kind of hit that Dawson was called on five minutes earlier – good call   

Chase Fraser – Slashing – Fraser takes a slash at the Colorado player in a scrum against the boards while going for a loose ball. It seemed like Fraser was upset most of the game. I am not sure if he felt calls were being missed against him but you could tell he was frustrated – good call  

6/8 – good calls     

I thought the referees had a bit of a mixed game. They missed a few calls, called a couple of bad ones, but overall, they were consistent between the two teams. I liked the fact that they called the two major penalties, reviewed both and upheld both.