Oh, What a Relief
Coming off a dominating 14-7 win over Calgary last Saturday, this team is beginning to rise from a wobbling record that befuddled everyone in, on, and around the 2023 NLL Champions.
For those of us in the United States, the relief of filing our tax returns on Monday allowed us to fully concentrate on the team’s last regular season game in Vegas and who, when, and where the first round will be.
Qualifying for the 25th time to play in the postseason was a huge achievement for the team, who cruised into championship play for the last handful of seasons with the best record and home field throughout.
This time, things are different. And I couldn’t be more thrilled. It’s like waiting on standby for a flight or queuing up for whatever is available. The unpredictability of this playoff journey adds a whole new level of excitement.
Just Win Baby
But there is a lot more than just winning.
“Obviously, everybody wants to win every game, but if you focus on winning, you get lost in what needs to be done in games: Loose balls, cutting off reverse transition, hard defense, and not taking dumb penalties, especially on offense,” said Josh Byrne, who has scored 50 goals so far this season.
“Those little microcosms of what will eventually win with the game’s little details.”
Stay Calm
And don’t get too wrapped up in playoff scenarios this week. We should have some idea come faceoff Saturday at 10 p.m. from Vegas.
If you want, go to Graeme Perrow’s site, nllstats.com, and select his “Could Happen” icon in the lefthand column. This allows you to pick from the remaining eight games marked in red and see the results striped in green.
Big O = Lots of Goals
The offense performed beautifully last Saturday, with Smith & Byrne scoring 14 points, Chase Fraser scoring four goals, Chris Cloutier scoring three, Kyle Buchanan scoring 2+2, and Tehoka Nanticoke scoring 1+2. All in all, eleven Bandits contributed.
Steve Priolo’s post-goal celebration, in which he balanced himself on top of the dasher boards and gave the adoring fans a monster-simulated hug pressed against the glass, portrayed the team’s enthusiasm going forward.
“It’s been a long season and a tough grind. The guys have been through a lot. “We are a veteran team and have done everything (over the seasons).
“We are incredibly close. We all care about each other and want each other to succeed. I’m just proud of our guys for sticking with it. It feels like we are playing our best ball,” said Byrne.
In the Line of Duty
While the Secret Service and professional bodyguards are responsible for taking the shot if an intruder attempts, so too are defensemen in hockey and lacrosse (at least hockey players are well-padded from head to toe).
Besides skin and bones, a box lacrosse defenseman who soaks shots almost every game doesn’t have much protection.
Last Saturday night especially.
With a somewhat new defense, Bandits players stood in front of the Calgary shooting lanes and soaked 14 shots, including four by Cam Wyers and three by Priolo.
Paul Dawson, Adam Bomberry, and Justin Martin soaked two each, along with Dylan Robinson’s one. I’m sure more will be added to the official scoresheet by week’s end.
The Bandits defense had a great game, confounding Calgary all game. Matt Vinc was, well, Matt Vinc, stopping 43 Calgary shots for a .860 save percentage.
“He looked very calming, which helped the defense. It was nice to see him look comfortable. I thought he made a lot of big saves. We need him to play like that moving forward,” said Bandits head coach John Tavares.
The players expect to soak more shots from now on as the 6’5” 230-pounders will have no problem taking a shot for Vinc.
“That calming presence goes a long way on defense. Not to mention, the rest of our leaders back there are doing a great job of stepping up and starting to understand what we are trying to do,” said Byrne.
Broadcast Info
Saturday’s game from the Michelob Ultra Arena in Las Vegas will be on 1520 AM The Bet. The pregame show will start at 9:30 p.m.
General Manager and defensive coordinator Steve Dietrich and Bandit Nick Weiss will update us on the Bandit camp. Desert Dogs head coach Shawn Williams and player Rob Hellyer will do the same.
Television coverage will be on ESPN+ and TSN+ starting at 10 p.m.