Let’s Get Down to Business
The Buffalo Bandits took on the Toronto Rock this past Saturday and got rocked (pun intended) 7-18. It is losses like this that make me want to ignore the NLL for an entire week. I hate having to watch highlights of the Rock dominating the Bandits across all social media platforms. It can be tough. For the Bandits, they are headed into a bye week. They will have two weeks to think about this loss and how they are going to respond to it.
Typically, I go through and break down what went right and wrong after each game. This week it is easy. Everything went wrong for the Bandits. The offense, the defense and Matt Vinc played poorly. This game was a long time coming for the Bandits. The last four games Buffalo has won have been by one goal each. Beating the Halifax Thunderbirds and the San Diego Seals by one goal is understandable. However, a team of this caliber should be able to come away with more convincing victories. Long story short, a punch to the mouth was going to happen eventually for this team. Therefore, I am going to switch it up this week and write about the typical complaints that I see after games like this. So here we go.
Let us start at the top, Johnny Tavares, Buffalo Bandits legend and incredible head coach. He is not going anywhere anytime soon. The idea that Tavares is a bad head coach seems to be fading a bit. With the adversity this team has faced this season, it is incredible they are sitting 11-4 and second in the East. At some point, the blame needs to be pointed at the players. Tavares can create whatever schemes he wants, tell the team to play tough and strong, but in the end, it is on the players to execute the game plan. That being said, I would like to see the offense switch it up a bit. The style they play is currently not working due to two main injuries of Tehoka Nanticoke and Brandon Robinson. I would like to see the offense play a higher tempo, quick passing, and fast shooting style of offense. This would help the current offensive roster be a little more efficient until some of these players get healthy. Johnny has led this team to back-to-back championship finals and currently has an 11-4 record. He is doing just fine.
We now switch over to the players, or one in particular, Matt Vinc. I cannot believe anyone still has complaints about this man. I understand he is getting a little older and he may not be playing at the same level he was a few years ago. However, he is still easily one of the top five goalies in the league. Devlin Shanahan has potential, but Vinc is a much better goalie. Vinc is third in the league in saves with 611, even after finishing last game with only 19. Of the goalies in the league that have played at least 700 minutes, Vinc is tied for second with Nick Rose with an 80% save percentage. Before this game against Toronto, where once again the entire team imploded, Vinc was coming off a 49 save, 6 goals against performance against arguably the best offense in the league. The Bandits won that game 7-6 in overtime. How quickly we forget.
I still believe that the offense will be okay. There are two frustrating aspects of the offense right now. One, not knowing when any of these injured players are expected to return, thanks NLL. Two, their unwillingness to mix it up. Right now, with the pieces the offense currently has healthy, they need to be quicker and more aggressive. The offense takes too long to set up the same plays repeatedly. It would be nice to see faster passing and one-step shots. There are aspects of this offense that are working well, but not well enough to put up the number of goals needed to keep winning. We will have to wait and see what this team looks like coming off the bye week.
The defense has been the most consistent aspect of this team the whole year. I would argue Vinc has also been rather consistent with only a couple of rough games, the same amount the defense has had, but I will give it to the defense for now. The defense has been dealing with a few injuries of their own. Losing rookie Dylan Robinson is a rather big loss to this unit. If you asked me at the beginning of the season, I never would have guessed that he’d be able to make such a big impact this season. Outside of Dylan, the team has remained rather healthy which likely contributes to the unit being consistent. When the defense and Vinc are on their game this team is very tough to beat and one of the best in the league.
I understand if the Bandits had lost any of the overtime or recent one-goal games their record could look very different. The offense has been struggling to put it together with the inconsistent roster. The defense and Vinc have been keeping this team alive. The Bandits have three games left this season to get ready for playoffs. If they win all three of those games, they will once again be the top team in the East. There is no reason the Bandits cannot find a way to put it all together and finish the season strong. If they can get a healthy roster, rattle off three wins and have an offense that can put together a few games with double digit goals, they will be a scary team to see in the playoffs.
Goalie Breakdown
Taking the week off, just like the Bandits did.
Referee Corner
Ditto
Priolo Potential Suspension
There has been some discussion wondering if Captain Steve Priolo will be suspended for one game due to his major penalty against Toronto. I looked into the league’s suspension policy to see what might happen.
RULE 40: DEFINITION OF GAME MISCONDUCT PENALTY GAME MISCONDUCT - A “Game Misconduct” penalty involves the suspension of a player for the balance of the game. A player incurring a game misconduct penalty is subject to fine and/or suspension from the League office. For all game misconducts regardless of when imposed, a total of ten (10) minutes shall be charged in the records of the offending player. When warranted, players can receive more than one game misconduct in one game.
40.1 ACCRUAL OF MAJOR PENALTIES IN A SEASON - In regular season games or Playoff games, any player who incurs a total of three (3) major penalties, excluding fighting majors, will be assessed a game misconduct. For each subsequent two (2) major penalties, excluding fighting, a game misconduct shall be assessed and shall continue as such throughout the season. If a player is assessed a fighting major with five minutes remaining or less in regulation time, neither the fighting major nor the additional major per Rule 38.1 shall be included in the player's accrual.
40.2 ACCRUAL OF GAME MISCONDUCT PENALTIES IN A SEASON - In regular League games or Playoff games, any player who incurs a total of three (3) game misconduct penalties (exclusive of designated categories) shall be suspended for one game. The player will serve the suspension in the next regular League game or playoff game of his team. 53 For each subsequent game misconduct penalty, the automatic suspension shall be increased by one game. For each suspension of a player, his club shall be fined five hundred dollars ($500.00).
Bandits Player’s with Major Penalties
Priolo Major Penalties
10 minute Game Misconduct against NY Riptide – 1/28
10 minute Unsportsmanlike Conduct – 2/4
5 minute major – Slashing against Toronto – 4/1
Nanticoke Major Penalties
5 minute major - Goalie Interference against Albany – 12/3
10 minute Game Misconduct against Albany – 12/3
Brad McCulley Penalties
5 minute major – Roughing against Colorado – 3/18
Bryce Sweeting Penalties
5 minute major – Unsportsmanlike Conduct against Colorado – 3/18
Carter McKenzie Penalties
10 minute Game Misconduct against Toronto - 4/1
With all of this information, it appears as if Priolo should be in the clear as of right now. Priolo would have to have three game misconduct penalties or three major penalties. They do not cross over. He needs to be very careful about his game misconduct penalties. If he gets one more, he will have to sit for a game. Every game misconduct after that he will have to sit for two games, and then three games, etc. Two more game misconduct penalties could essentially end his season depending on when they happen.