The Buffalo Bandits are Undefeated No More (In Regulation)
The Buffalo Bandits started the weekend by defeating the Toronto Rock, again, to sweep the season series. Buffalo started down 0-5 before slowly chipping away and eventually securing the win. In game two, the Bandits were down 0-4 and 1-5 before coming all the way back and holding a lead with only 15 seconds left in the game. Sadly, the San Diego Seals would tie the game and eventually win in overtime 14-13. Bandits fans, the sky is not falling, the referees were not the reason they lost, and the team will be okay.
Game one showed the exact problem with the Buffalo Bandits offense...for opposing teams. If you told me the Bandits would go 1-for-6 on the power play (we’ll get to that later) and Josh Byrne (0g, 5a) and Dhane Smith (3g, 5a) would combine for only three goals, against a stingy Nick Rose and Toronto defense, I would assume the Bandits lost. However, the Bandits have plenty of weapons on offense it is hard to keep them down. Kyle Buchanan (3g, 0a), Chris Cloutier (3g, 3a) and Chase Fraser (2g, 0a) stepped up in a big way to help the Bandits escape with the win. Smith had 11 shots on net with no goals to show for it through three quarters. In the fourth quarter, he scored a hattrick on just 5 shots. Stop him, you can only hope to contain him. In game two, it was Byrne (3g, 2a), Smith (2g, 6a) and Ian MacKay (3g, 3a) doing most of the damage. A lot of what happened in game two seemed to amount to pure exhaustion from the Bandits. The offense finished with only 4 even strength goals in the second half and zero offensive goals for the last 10 minutes of the game. Despite having some great chances and plenty of shots on net, I thought the Bandits were lucky to hang around in this game as long as they did. It’s not that I thought they gave up or weren’t trying, but the extra juice the offense often has simply wasn’t there.
I thought the defense and Matt Vinc performed quite well against Toronto. I don’t believe in Toronto’s offense. The Bandits allowing 12 goals against an offense I don’t believe in isn’t great. Toronto had a good game plan though and hit their shots when it mattered. The defense did a nice job overall not allowing too many wide-open opportunities. Vinc was able to shut the door in the last 49 seconds to secure the win. There were a few the defense and Vinc would want back, but both did their jobs well enough to allow the offense to get back in the game and take over. It did not show up on the stat sheet, but I thought Zack Belter played a great game against Toronto. Against the Seals I thought Vinc struggled quite a bit. Often you can tell when Vinc believes he should have made the save. He will shake his head, slam his stick, and more importantly, not yell at the defense or huddle them up to discuss what went wrong. He did this quite a few times against the Seals. I understand it may not be an excuse, but I think playing back-to-back games was a big part of Vinc’s performance. At the same time, he was the only reason the Bandits hung around in overtime as long as they did. I have no doubt Vinc will bounce back in a big way against the Seals this weekend. Cam Wyers, the BSC MVP of the week, looked like a completely different player this weekend. He has been a solid defender all season, but this week he played big, and it showed on the stat sheet with a combined 3 assists, 20 loose balls and 2 caused turnovers. Nick Weiss also had a big weekend on defense scoring 1 goal, 1 assist, 18 loose balls and 3 caused turnovers.
The power play continues to be a massive issue for the Bandits. I think their numbers are a bit misleading with plenty of shortened power play opportunities (as a negative), or delayed penalty man-up goals (as a positive). However, an offense as talented as this simply cannot go 1-for-6 in a game. Rose made plenty of big saves on the penalty kill for Toronto, but the Bandits must be better than this. In game two, the power play unit went 4-for-7. However, two of the four goals scored were on 5-on-3 opportunities. Now, last year the Bandits struggled in this situation as well, so I won’t discredit those goals. The 5-on-4 power play continued to be an issue though going 2-for-5. It is hard to complain about an offense that has yet to score under 13 goals in a game, but a more consistent power play would go a long way towards a third straight championship. The penalty kill could be a bit better, but going 4-for-10 in two games isn’t too bad. In the last three games before this weekend the Bandits had given up 4 power play goals, 4 power play goals and 3 power play goals. Allowing just 4 power play goals in two games is a step in the right direction.
The bad news is that the Bandits are no longer undefeated. The good news is that the Bandits have an opportunity for revenge against the Seals when they face off against them again this upcoming weekend. It will be interesting to see how the team responds to their first loss of the season. Nothing helps a Bandits team more than a little extra motivation heading into an away game. I said it once and I will say it again, the Bandits will be alright.
Game 1 vs Toronto
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 – 8
Mid-Range - 4
Outside – 1
Transition -
*1 of the goals was on the penalty kill
* empty net goals
Matt Vinc
Inside – 1
Mid-Range - 7
Outside – 4
Transition - 4
*2 of the goals were on the penalty kill
(D-Defense, V-Vinc)
Goal 1 – Vinc is a professional, but this was the first shot of the game. I am not sure Vinc was entirely expecting it and should have had the save. (V)
Goal 2 – A good spin move put on by Boushy against Martin in his first game back allowed a great inside opportunity and goal.
Goal 3 – Big transition goal as De Snoo sneaks wide open in the middle of the field
Goal 4 – PP goal – good movement and a great shot by Dawick
Goal 5 – Simply a good play by Dawick and Boushy against Vinc and the defense
Goal 6 – PP goal – More of a transition goal, directly off the opening face-off of the second half. No one stepped to Ierlan. (D)
Goal 7 – The defense ended up in a bit of a confusing spot with no one able to step to Dawick leaving him too much time and space to unload a hard shot. (D)
Goal 8 – Boushy on his off-side with no defender in front of him rips a shot to the far post
Goal 9 – Another goal directly off the faceoff in transition as Ierlan passes it to Schreiber who streaks through the middle and beats Vinc
Goal 10 – I don’t like how far out this shot came from but Schreiber with an offhand bounce shot, tough to save
Goal 11 – No one on the defense stepped to De Snoo allowing him to pick his spot and hit it. (D)
Goal 12 – A good shot by Craig with the defense screening Vinc in front
1/12 on Vinc
3/12 on the defense
Challenges by the Bandits – 0/1
The Bandits challenged a no goal call on a shot by Byrne. Afte review the play was deemed inconclusive, the referees favorite review call to make. It was an extremely close call, but because it was called no goal originally, I can understand why it staid no goal.
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 – 1-6 on the PP
Rock – 2-4 on the PP
Ian MacKay – Holding – I am honestly not sure if this is legal or not. MacKay takes his hand off his own stick, hits the opponents stick with his hand trying to dislodge the ball, but never grabs the stick. This could be considered holding? Or just illegal in general, honestly not sure – good call
Nick Weiss – Holding – Another one that was tough to see, but it looks like Weiss may have had his off hand on the player’s stick in the tussle – good call
Steve Priolo – Roughing - Hostrawser had a rough hit on Spanger, Priolo took exception to it and backed his teammate up – good call
Nick Weiss – Slashing – This is a tough call. It essentially boils down to wrong place at the wrong time. Weiss was turning around and blindly taking a whack at the loose ball. He did not see Small flying into the play and gets all Small and no ball, It was not intentional, but from what the ref could see it was the right call – good call
Kyle Buchanan – Slashing – Kri got a bit too physical with Buchanan and was called for a hold. Buchanan did not like it and slashed Kri in the shin – good call
Dylan Robinson – Cross Checking – This seemed like a bit of a weak call and nice sell by the Toronto player – iffy call
Josh Byrne – Diving – Even before I noticed this call was made I thought Byrne sold the hit into the boards. I still do not agree with both a penalty and a diving penalty being called on the same play, but in this case I can see why – good call
Thomas Witty – Dead Ball Foul – Stood up for his teammate after Boushy gave a very hard off ball pick on Robinson, something Toronto has done plenty of in the last few games – good call
Steve Priolo – Dead Ball Foul – Priolo did get a bit too aggressive in the scrum going against Hendrycks, while Hendrycks was trying to get Whitty away from Boushy – good call
Ian MacKay – Unsportsmanlike Conduct – Said something bad enough to get a penalty for after Dhane scored his goal. I am not sure what could have been said in just a few words but apparently it was enough – good call
9.5/10 – good calls
I thought the referees did a nice job calling penalties consistently against both teams. It is very difficult to keep a Toronto vs Buffalo game under control, but they did a good job.
Game 2 vs San Diego
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.
Chris Origlieri
Inside – 8
Mid-Range - 4
Outside – 1
Transition - 2
* goals were on the penalty kill
* empty net goals
Matt Vinc
Inside – 5
Mid-Range - 5
Outside – 4
Transition - 2
*2 of the goals were on the penalty kill
(D-Defense, V-Vinc)
Goal 1 – A shot from the outside that just snuck through Vinc five-hole, that’s one he wants back. (V)
Goal 2 – Belter appeared to lose his man after he was picked leading to a wide open shot down the middle, that was saved, but the rebound was not. (D)
Goal 3 – Currier had a bit of room after he pulled back to the top of the floor, but Vinc needs to have that. (V)
Goal 4 – PP goal – outside skip shot on the power play, it does not seem like Vinc is seeing the ball well.
Goal 5 – Transition goal right off the face off. Buchanan attempting to cover Currier could not do it.
Goal 6 – Pretty good defense on this play, the shot was placed in the only spot Vinc was not. Vinc looked like his angle was a bit off.
Goal 7 – Right between Vinc’s legs, he is just not playing well tonight. (V)
Goal 8 – Nice transition goal by San Diego, the Bandits could not get back in time.
Goal 9 – PP goal – broken play with a Bandits player injured on the field.
Goal 10 – Great solo effort from Berg.
Goal 11 – A hard shot just sneaks through Vinc. (V)
Goal 12 – Quick transition by San Diego leads to a great shot in tight.
Goal 13 – High hard shot by Currier on the 6-on-5 with the goalie pulled, perfectly placed.
Goal 14 – Great job by Berg getting inside on an exhausted Bandits team for his 5th of the game.
5/14 on Vinc
1/14 on the defense
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 – 4-7 on the PP
Seals – 2-6 on the PP
Dan Dawson – Holding – This was tough to see on video. Dawson only has one hand on his stick and the opposing player loses his stick, so I am inclined to believe this one – good call
Cam Wyers – Illegal Crosscheck - Simply no reason for Wyers to cross check the player up high – good call
Dhane Smith – Illegal Crosscheck - Dhane got upset and had a high cross check – good call
Josh Byrne – Boarding – This is only a good call because it was called against the Seals shortly after as well – good call
Steve Priolo – Slashing – Priolo took a healthy hack at a player who did not have the ball – good call
Nick Weiss – Checking from Behind – It was a bad check, from behind – good call
Chase Fraser – Tripping – This was a tough trip to call. The player did trip, but Fraser’s stick barely touched the player’s leg, not something that should have caused him to trip – bad call
6/7 – good calls
The referees may have missed some calls against the Seals on the Bandits. However, the Bandits were playing exhausted lacrosse. The penalties they took were unnecessary and correctly called, except the tripping call against Fraser. As for the calls the refs missed against the Seals, the Bandits were not necessarily diving, but they were trying to bait the refs into making calls to get any advantage they could in a game they were running out of gas in.