Albany FireWolves vs Buffalo Bandits
The season’s home opener is always a glorious time of year. There is nothing but hope and excitement. Any negativity from last season is wiped away with the yearly intro video on the jumbotron. There will be plenty of orange and black in the seats eagerly waiting for another chance at the title. The Buffalo Bandits are kicking their season off against the Albany FireWolves. In my opinion, this could not be a better opening matchup.
The FireWolves are in a complete rebuild after losing their top 5 point getters in the offseason. Joe Resetarits (111 points) and Ryan Benesch (81 points) are the two biggest players out the door for the FireWolves. Overall, I do not think the FireWolves pose much of a threat to the Bandits this season. However, this game is a great opportunity for a Bandits team that is attempting to change its identity.
The Bandits are looking to rebound from a championship round three loss to the Colorado Mammoth that ended their season. Getting an opportunity to start your new season against a weaker opponent is exactly how you want to get the ball rolling. The Bandits will be looking to get tougher on both offense and defense. They have brought in some great additions (as mentioned in my previous article) that will help the team’s development. It could however cause some early growing pains for a veteran team. I am not saying they will necessarily struggle but changing a team’s philosophy does not happen overnight.
On offense, the Bandits will look to continue their gorgeous tic-tac-toe style goals while air Byrne continues to dive through the crease. What will be different this year, starting with this game, will be the gritty goals right in front of the crease. Look for Robinson and McCulley to open shooting lanes and scoop up loose balls for a quick dunk in front of the net. The only threat the FireWolves possess on defense is their goalie Doug Jamieson (10.34 gaa, .787 sp) who has been known to single handedly steal games.
On defense, the Bandits once again look to get a little tougher with some of their offseason acquisitions. If the defense and Matt Vinc cannot hold a FireWolves team, missing most of its offense from last year, in check, we will have some major issues to address. The defense should look to keep the FireWolves offense to the outside with their tough style of play. I expect little to no issue on the defensive side of this game.
Again, I really do not think there is a better matchup than the FireWolves for the Bandits season home opener. The Bandits veteran players are likely a bit rusty coming off the offseason, the new additions will get a great chance to find where they fit on this team in a positive opening matchup and the fans will get a good look at the tougher style Buffalo Bandits. How much physicality will be needed in this game is still to be seen. This game could get out of hand quickly, but either way this is a great game to get any rust or jitters the players may have out of their system before tougher opponents show up.
Prediction
Buffalo Bandits 13 – Albany Firewolves 7