Buffalo Bandits Go Back-to-Back
The Buffalo Bandits swept the championship series against the Albany Firewolves to win their first back-to-back championships since 1992 and 1993. Not only did they sweep this series, but they also went undefeated throughout the playoffs. Banditland did not disappoint with a sellout crowd of 19,070 fans! It is one thing to win a championship, it is another to win back-to-back championships and it is another to be able to raise the cup at home both times.
Like the series against the Toronto Rock, game one and game two were very different in the championship series. Game one featured an incredible second half performance by the offense and the defense. Game two saw both teams have exhausted defenses and goalies that opened the scoring quite a bit. In game one it took the offense until the fourth quarter to score eight goals. In game two, they scored nine goals with eight minutes remaining in the second quarter. According to “nllstats.com” Dhane Smith and Josh Byrne tied throughout the playoffs with 34 points each. However, it was the secondary scoring that came up big for the Bandits against Albany. In game one, outside of Dhane and Josh, the scoring was evenly spready out. In game two, Chase Fraser had an incredible five goals and two assists. Christ Cloutier had two goals and three assists, Tehoka Nanticoke had two goals and one assist, Brandon Robinson added a pair of goals and Kyle Buchanan got the game started with a shorthanded goal and added two assists on top of it. While the defense and Matt Vinc led the charge throughout the playoffs, it was the offense that played hero in game two of the finals.
The defense and Matt Vinc were incredible at the end of the year and all the way through the playoffs until they ran out of gas in game two of the finals. Heading into the final game of the playoffs, Vinc was 4-0 with a 7.13 GAA and an NLL playoff history best .866 save percentage. Those impossible to keep up numbers came crashing down a bit in game two of the finals. That does not discredit the charge that the defense and Vinc led to get the Bandits to the finals. If it wasn’t for them who knows what would have happened all the way back to game one of the playoffs against the Georgia Swarm when it took the offense until overtime to get their tenth goal of the game. Last year it was the offense that led the Bandits to their championship, this year it was the defense. Paul Dawson was a massive veteran addition to this team who has gotten a lot of credit for the defensive turnaround after the trade deadline. Speaking of which, Steve Dietrich also deserves a lot of credit for making that trade happen. The rookies in Cam Wyers and Zach Belter continued to get stronger throughout the year and the finals did not look too big for them. The veterans did what they do best and were the backbone of this finals run.
It is strange to look ahead already, but why don’t we take a peek. There are a few veteran question marks headed into the off-season that feel irreplaceable. Matt Vinc, the oldest and arguably the most in shape player on the team, once again has a big decision to make about his future. He is the one of the few players to win three championships in a row. I think there is a possibility that he wants to do it again. Steve Priolo, Paul Dawson and Kyle Buchanan are the other big question marks. I truly do not believe you can replace Kyle Buchanan. There is no player who works harder and does the little things better than Kyle. Priolo, the captain of the team, and Dawson would also be tough to replace on the defense. All that being said, as long as this team has Dhane and Josh, they will always have a shot. The Bandits get another full year to enjoy a championship staying in Buffalo. Next year, they will have a rare chance to three-peat as champions.
Game 1
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.
Doug Jamieson
Inside – 5
Mid-Range - 4
Outside – 2
*2 of the goals were on the penalty kill
Matt Vinc
Inside – 2
Mid-Range - 5
Outside – 1
*None of the goals were on the penalty kill
1st goal – A bad play by the defense allows a good look from Simmonds that Vinc fights off. However, the rebound by Kurtz just sneaks past Vinc.
2nd goal – Outside goal on a delayed penalty. Weiss was being blocked and Belter screened Vinc on a free shot by Walker.
3rd goal – Simple shot from an off angle, thought Vinc should have had it.
4th goal –
5th goal – Mid-range low shot, Vinc looked confused on the shot, quick movement by the Albany offense
6th goal - Belter was beat 1v1 against Simmons who finishes with a great shot
7th goal - Martin missed his check on Simmons and Vinc guessed wrong on a great bounce shot
8th goal - Quick movement and quick shot by Firth, nice late play by Albany
1/8 on Vinc
3/8 on the defense
Challenges by the Bandits – 1/2
First Challenge – Albany’s first goal, originally called a goal - It was a close call on a few different players who were almost in the crease, but the call stood.
Second Challenge – Buffalo’s seventh goal, originally called no goal - The shot did bounce a bit weird, but Fraser did not touch down in the crease before the ball went in.
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 – 2/3 on the PP
Albany – 0/1 on the PP
Connor Farrell – Cross Checking – Connor got a bit excited after a faceoff and cross checked an Albany player. It was not the biggest cross check, but it was a penalty – good call
1/1 – good calls
I was worried about how the referees were calling the game in the first quarter. Even though the penalties were in favor of the Bandits, they were calling the game tight, which often does not favor Buffalo. However, there were only two calls total in the second half. That is how I like to see playoff lacrosse called.
Game 2
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.
Doug Jamieson
Inside – 8
Mid-Range – 4
Outside – 3
*2 of the goals were on the penalty kill
Matt Vinc
Inside – 7
Mid-Range - 4
Outside – 2
*2 of the goals were on the penalty kill
1st goal – This was a transition goal that I thought Vinc should have had. The defense had Kaschalk well defended. It was a nicely placed shot, but I thought it could have been saved.
2nd goal – Simmons was given just a bit too much time and space and buried a great shot.
3rd goal – PP goal – quick passing by the Firewolves leads to an easy finish right before the first quarter ends.
4th goal – A great move by Simmons to get inside and score.
5th goal – Quick passing and a quick shot by Firth before Priolo could get hands on him.
6th goal – Great screened bounce shot by Firth.
7th goal – The defense did not do a good job out of the timeout. There was only one pass and an open mid-range look for Longboat.
8th goal – Brandon Robinson was beat 1v1 against Longboat who had a great diving finish.
9th goal – Another bounce shot against Vinc as Smith doesn’t get hands to Firth.
10th goal – Four Buffalo defenders try to block the shot while none of them attack the shooter, terrible defense.
11th goal – Bomberry failed to pick up a loose ball and then gets burned by Simmons who runs right around him
12th goal – PP goal – bit of a scramble play after a loose ball by Vinc. Vinc could not get set back up after Albany regained possession and took a quick shot.
13th goal – Quick passing and a quick shot by Firth when the Bandits had all but given up and started celebrating
1/13 on Vinc
4/13 on the defense
Challenges by the Bandits – None
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 rule book and my best judgement to understand some hot topics from the previous game.
Bandits – 2/3 on the PP
Albany – 2/5 on the PP
Chase Fraser – Body Checking - This was a hard set pick by Fraser that was a big aggressive. Personally, I think it should have been an illegal pick and change of possession, not an illegal body check. However, I can see why it was called early – good call
Justin Martin - Roughing – The Albany player embellished this play a bit, but Martin did get him up high with what looked like a punch. I believe it was more of a high shove, either way it was a penalty – good call
Not Sure – Illegal Substitution - I could not tell who made the mistake but there were six players on the field for the Bandits – good call
Dhane Smith - Roughing - This happened off screen. I assume both players were going at it as they were much of the game and the refs were over it – good call
Chase Fraser – Unsportsmanlike Conduct - I thought this call was a bit soft. Chase was chirping at the Albany bench after scoring a hidden ball trick goal. These are adults. I am not sure what he said. He accepted the penalty with a smile, but the call seemed a bit ticky tacky – bad call
Zach Belter – Boarding - It was nice this call was reduced from a major to a minor, but even that was questionable. This looked like a good hit, it just happens to be hard and close to the boards – bad call
Zach Belter – Dead Ball Foul - Grenon went after Belter after the boarding hit and both players received dead ball fouls – good call
5/7 – good calls
I thought the strategy of the referees was interesting. They called a very tight first quarter in both games. After that they did not call much. They were trying to send an early message which is fine, but teams want consistency more than anything. This kind of strategy is simply strange.