The Buffalo Bandits Get Punched in the Mouth

The Buffalo Bandits dropped their second home game of the year, this time to the Calgary Roughnecks by a score of 11-17. This was their biggest home loss since losing 13-8 to the Colorado Mammoth on March 18, 2023. The game was much closer than the score indicates. The Bandits were down 9-10 heading into the fourth quarter and the score was 11-13 as late as 9:27 left in the game. Despite the lack of penalties called, this was one of the more physical teams the Bandits have come up against all season. I think that was their downfall as the fourth quarter dragged on. 

The offense was interesting in this game. On one hand, they left a lot to be desired. On the other, they had four goals called back, each one could have made a difference in how the game finished. Let’s start with the negative because it directly ties into the goals that were called back. The left side of the offense, ignoring Josh Byrne, has been missing the last few games. Chris Cloutier (0g, 2a) has scored only 1 goal and 4 points in the last three games. Ian MacKay (1g, 0a) who has shifted back to playing a more defensive role due to injuries, has 2 goals and 3 points in the last three games. Clay Scanlan (1g, 1a) surprisingly leads the three lefty forwards with 2 goals and 5 points in his last three appearances. It’s simply not enough from forwards that started the season red hot. The balance of the offense has shifted too far to the right side, leaving Byrne (2g, 3a) to carry the load on the left. This allows the right side of the opposing defense to focus solely on Byrne and dare the others to beat them, which they have not been doing. Now, Cloutier and MacKay both had goals called back, along with Byrne, in this game. Hopefully that is a step in the right direction. Dhane Smith (2g, 2a) finished with only four points in the game. Dhane and Josh have not been good enough as of late. The depth of the offense has allowed the team to continue putting balls in the back of the net. However, two of the best players in the world need to start playing like it once again. Scoring only 4 goals on 25 shots is simply not good enough. The pace they were both on to start the season was unsustainable. However, they have fallen too far back to Earth and have been averaging below their last season points per game. I am not concerned about the offense that is still on pace to score over 250 goals this year, but there are some things they need to improve on. 

The defense started the game playing near perfect lacrosse. Matt Vinc made a few early big saves to join them in the hot start. Then the wheels began to fall off. There was a combination of reasons why the Bandits allowed 17 goals in this game. First and foremost, Vinc was off. It was simply not a good game by Vinc. Last season, there were times when Vinc wasn’t making the big saves. In this game, he was making the big saves, but not the seemingly easy ones. The Roughnecks used only four players to score 16 of their 17 goals. The Bandits simply did not have an answer for what Calgary was throwing at them. Curtis Dickson led the way with 6 goals and 2 assists, using a similar style play to score 4 of his 6 goals. The Calgary offense was bigger and more physical than any team the Bandits have gone against so far. This seemed to confuse the defense off a bit. Often the Bandits make great half time adjustments, but in this game, they did not seem to have any response to the way the Calgary offense was playing. Once again, I am not worried about Vinc or the defense. Both do a great job responding to bad loses with great performances. 

Instead of discussing the poor special team performance from this game, zero power play goals and only killed 50 percent off the penalty kill opportunities, let’s do a rapid reaction from the late deals made by the Bandits at the trade deadline. I’ll focus on the player only aspect of the trades because the picks get a bit confusing and don’t affect this season. As for the players, the Bandits shipped out 22-year-old Sam La Roue and brought in Ron John (great name) and Kiel Matisz. This is a monster move by the Bandits. As much faith as I have had in La Roue and his time as a Bandit, it was getting increasingly difficult for him to find his way onto the active roster and in a game. Kiel Matisz is a player that PK and I have been after for a couple of years now. Most recently, he has been playing an offensive role, but he will likely drop back on defense and play a strong transition role for the Bandits. He is currently two points away from being top three in points on the Bandits. He will be a big boost to the transition game, as well as being a solid defender. On top of all that, he is a former team captain of the Philadelphia Wings, bringing even more veteran savvy to an already loaded defense. Ron John is a 26-year-old transition player. His best season was two years ago when he had 12 points, 83 loose balls, and 20 caused turnovers. Last season was a bit of a down year, but not by much. He is currently on pace for 10 points, 74 loose balls, and 15 caused turnovers. He is another great addition that can help now, and in the future. It is very tough to judge La Roue in comparison to John due to the number of games played, but it seems as if John is an upgrade from La Roue. Last year, the Bandits added Paul Dawson at the trade deadline, and they almost never lost again. This year, the Bandits added depth and transition, without giving up much, just in time to ramp up for another championship run. Matisz is that star of the deadline, but John should be able to help as well. 

The Bandits may have lost to the Roughnecks, but in similar fashion to their other loss on the year, they get the chance at redemption right away. To me, this is their biggest test yet. How do they respond after a tough loss. Can they go all the way to Calgary and give it right back to them? Or does Calgary really have the Bandits number. Possibly the biggest question is, can the Bandits keep their emotions in check during a revenge filled game. Only time will tell, but the Bandits need a big win to stay atop the standings and on top of the league.  

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.          

Nick Rose 

Inside – 7 

Mid-Range - 3 

Outside – 1 

Transition - 3 

*0 goals were on the penalty kill      

*0 empty net goals  

Matt Vinc           

Inside – 7 

Mid-Range - 7 

Outside – 3 

Transition - 1 

*3 goals were on the penalty kill        

Goal 1 – Cook comes flying in from the bench, no one on defense picks him up and he buries a hard shot (D) 

Goal 2 – Cook uses his size to overpower the defender and tuck a shot far post 

Goal 3 – Cook snuck past Dawson as the entire defense was up pressing up high leaving Cook 1v1 against Vinc (D) 

Goal 4 – Hendricks in transition did a nice job disguising this shot making it seem like he was going to shoot it far post, but instead fools Vinc and floats it near post (V) 

Goal 5 – Even though this is a nice shot it is one Vinc needs to have from that distance and no screen in front (V) 

Goal 6 – LaRoue is beat clean by Mayea who cuts inside and scores (D) 

Goal 7 – Martin looses Dickson after a rebound and Dickson fires an underhand shot that beats Vinc (V) 

Goal 8 – PP goal – Dickson set a nice pick to give King a clean look at the net and he hits with a bounce shot 

Goal 9 – Dickson shoots around Dawson and gets it to go through Vinc 5-hole (V) 

Goal 10 – Dickson did a nice job stepping around the defense and sneaking it under Vinc’s legs again 

Goal 11 – King simply with a great shot 

Goal 12 – Dickson starts low, goes high, shoots around a player and scores, for the 100th time (V) 

Goal 13 – PP goal – Great step-down shot in a perfect spot through the Bandits screen 

Goal 14 – Dickson simply would not be stopped, one handed shot that Vinc needs to save (V) 

Goal 15 – Mayea catches and dunks an unfortunate rebound  

Goal 16 – PP goal – Nice shot by King 

Goal 17 – At this point the Bandits had given up as the sloppy defensive play continued (D) 

6/17 on Vinc      

4/17 on the defense    

Challenges by the Bandits – 0/1  

The Bandits challenged the 15th goal scored by Calgary. It was extremely close but there is no angle good enough to see that Pace stepped into the crease. I agree with the referees decision.  

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 – 0-2 on the PP         

Roughnecks – 3-6 on the PP         

Steve Priolo – Holding – Unless Priolo used his off hand to grab Cook, I do not see much of a penalty on this play, especially not a hold – bad call 

Steve Priolo – Slashing – Priolo did take a pretty healthy hack at the Calgary player, on the power play, away from the ball. I don’t think it was overly aggressive and it’s something you see all the time throughout a game, but still can’t happen – good call 

Thomas Whitty - Illegal Cross Check – it's tough to see but seems like a weaker call as Whitty finishes a check against the board and does cross check the player twice, once again did not seem overly aggressive, but it was technically a cross check – good call 

Dhane Smith – Goalie Interference – This penalty must be changed by the league for the safety of goalies and players. Rose knows exactly what he is doing as he steps way out of his crease to force Dhane to collide with him causing a goalie interference penalty. I don’t blame Rose for doing it because the refs continue to call it. The league needs to look at this and change the call – good call 

Zach Belter – Illegal Cross Check – Belter gives a Calgary player a good old aggressive shove from behind – good call 

Steve Priolo – Illegal Cross Check – Priolo and Isaacs got tangled up and Priolo gave an aggressive retaliation cross check – good call 

5/6 – good calls     

The referees were fine in this game. There may have been a few missed calls going the Bandits way, and a few bad call against the Bandits, but those are going to happen. The Bandits were, in a way, only called for three penalties. They had zero penalties in the first half, the first clean first half since April of 2017. Outside of that, there were three calls that mattered before the goalie interference call and at that point the game was a bit out of reach. It will be interesting to see how tight the next game is called between these two teams.