Buffalo Bandits Win Regular Season Home Finale

The Buffalo Bandits defeated the Halifax Thunderbirds in a tight back and forth game by a score of 15-12. It was the Bandits 4th sellout crowd of the season on their way to the regular season attendance record. Personally, I think the Bandits deserve some kind of banner or trophy to display in the arena for the fans to be proud of their accomplishment! As for the game, this was about as close to a playoff atmosphere as you could get during the regular season. It was great to see the Bandits clamp down and take over late in the fourth quarter when it mattered most to win the game.  

The offense was horrible in the first quarter. The Thunderbirds did a nice job early playing the Bandits tight and physical leaving very little room for them to work. I am going to give the Halifax defense credit for the dropped passes and sloppy play of the offense. The offense was out shot 7-0 in the first 5 minutes. It took a 5-on-3 powerplay with 3:08 left in the first quarter before they would get on the board. It wasn’t until 34 seconds into the second quarter that the Bandits would score their first even strength goal. However, at that point, the flood gates seemed to open. The Bandits would go on to score 13 goals in the final three quarters, 5 of which came in transition. Steve Priolo (1g, 2a) and Kiel Matisz (0g, 4a) led the transition outburst with impressive performances, both season bests in a Bandits uniform. Dhane Smith (1g, 10a) and Kyle Buchanan (4g, 1a) had perfect chemistry as they combined for all four of Buchanan’s goals. Smith’s 10 assists were a season high as he has come on strong in the last two games and is back on pace to once again break his own single season assist record. His counterpart Josh Byrne was up to his usual tricks scoring 4 goals and adding 4 assists for another 8-point night. Ian MacKay (2g, 1a) has at least two goals in his last 5 games as he has become a focal point of the offense, especially with Chris Cloutier in and out of the lineup due to injury. The Bandits offense has scored 15 goals in back-to-back games and is looking more like they did to start the season as they gear up for playoffs. 

The defense was tough to judge in this game. The Thunderbirds have the second-best offense in the league when it comes to goals per game average. They are going to get there's. However, the defense was able to control the Halifax offense for the majority of the first quarter and locked it down for the final 9 minutes and 45 seconds of the game. The second quarter was a bit of a weak point for them giving up 5 goals in about 6 minutes of play. Cam Wyers had a rough game. Yes, he scored a big goal in transition, but his defense was lacking. He wasn’t fast enough or tough enough multiple times throughout the game that led to scoring opportunities or goals. The rest of the defense had a solid game. There were times that defenders were beat, but often not more than once or twice. If Wyers can bounce back the same way Whitty did in this game, this defense is looking primed for their season finale. Matt Vinc continues his tune up to the playoffs with two great performances in a row. Holding Halifax to only 10 even strength goals while they put 63 shots on goal is impressive. He made the big saves when he needed to and made the onslaught of shots look easy. I had only two goals that may have been on Vinc. I don’t have an exact stat, but I feel like any time a goalie can limit softer goals to 3 or less, it gives the team a great chance to win.  

As I said in the last article, the best penalty kill is not taking any penalties. If you remove the illegal substitution, the Bandits have been charged with 2 penalties in the last two games. That is unheard of for the Bandits. It may be a change in referee philosophy, or the Bandits are working hard to clean up their act. Either way, it is great to see. However, out of the three chances Halifax was given on the power play, they were able to score twice. It is tough to stop such a potent offense, and even though they let a couple of goals in, I thought the penalty kill did a nice job. As far as the power play, the Bandits are 3-for-5 in their last two games as momentum has been building for the unit. Special teams have not hurt the Bandits this season, but they have not benefited much either. If special teams can finish the year strong, this team will be unstoppable. 

I often referenced the last two games in this article instead of just this game. In these last two games, the Bandits have looked like the team that started the season 7-0. Despite the opposition being different, there were plenty of parallels between the two games. However, as much as the game against the Colorado Mammoth was a get right game, this was a statement win by the Bandits. A strong home win against the number three team in the league puts everyone on notice that the Bandits are still the team to beat. I mentioned a few weeks ago that even though Buffalo has maintained its position in the standings, the fear of playing them seemed to be disappearing. After a win like this, the Bandits may have cemented themselves as the favorites to win it all with one week remaining in the regular season.  

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.          

Drew Hutchison 

Inside – 8 

Mid-Range - 4 

Outside – 3 

Transition - 5 

*2 goals were on the penalty kill      

*0 empty net goals  

Matt Vinc           

Inside – 6 

Mid-Range - 4 

Outside – 2 

Transition - 0 

*2 of the goals were on the penalty kill        

Goal 1 – Massive miscommunication by the defense. It looked like Matisz went to double down low and left Robinson wide open to walk all the way in and score. Instead of attacking Robinson Wyers remained on the top of the crease and allowed him to walk in (D) 

Goal 2 – Wyers slow to get to Peterson who winds and fires. 

Goal 3 – Wyers played soft on his man. The pass and shot were great, but Wyers needs to be there. (D) 

Goal 4 – Decent defense, could have been tighter but a wicked shot by Theede 

Goal 5 – No one covering Staats who winds and fires a missile. The Bandits attempted a defensive formation called box and one, Staats took advantage of it. (D) 

Goal 6 – Screened shot and the defense once again gave time and space for a free shot that is well placed (D) 

Goal 7 – PP Goal – Theede walked in, picked his spot, and scored 

Goal 8 – Dawson got beat 1 on 1 and instead of Wyers attacking the guy with the ball he stands there and tries to play defense  

Goal 9 – Belter gets bullied 1 on 1 all the way to the net and Staats scores, solid defense but better offense  

Goal 10 – Outside bouncer by Jamieson. Defense was a bit slow to get there, but it was a nice shot 

Goal 11 – PP Goal – Peterson walks in and takes a shot that goes right through Vinc, should have had it (V) 

Goal 12 – Bad angle shot that Vinc needs to have sealed off (V) 

2/12 on Vinc      

4/12 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 rulebook and my best judgement to understand some hot topics from the previous game.              

Bandits – 2-2 on the PP         

Thunderbirds – 2-3 on the PP              

D. Smith – Delay of Game – Dhane came out of the box quite early, and it seems like he knew it after it was called. Tried to get away with one, but could not – good call  

I. Mackay – Slashing – Unless something happened off video and I did not see anything by MacKay that would have warranted a slash – bad call  

I. MacKay – Slashing - The refs often get the second guy in. MacKay was upset about being dragged down, turned and slashed the player – good call  

2/3 – good calls     

This is back-to-back weeks that the referees seem to favor change of possession calls over penalties and I am here for it. Outside of the illegal substitution, the Bandits were only charged with two penalties, one I don’t agree with, bringing their total to 2 in the last 2 games. That is unheard of for Buffalo. It is hard to tell if we have seen a true shift in the Bandits style of play to avoid penalties, or if the referees have backed off calling penalties in general, possibly a combination of both. Either way, you love to see it.