Head coach John Tavares stressed the importance of playing smarter and understanding in-game situations following the Bandits’ 13-11 loss to the Philadelphia Wings on Saturday.
The Bandits – who led 11-9 with less than six minutes remaining in the fourth quarter – gave up four consecutive goals to the Wings, who utilized a power play as the catalyst for their late-game surge.
The Bandits will need to stay out of the penalty box when they meet the Halifax Thunderbirds 6:30 p.m. on Saturday at Scotiabank Centre. The Bandits and Thunderbirds are tied in the NLL standings at 3-5.
“We need to have a little bit more discipline, especially when we have the lead in the fourth quarter,” Tavares said.
The Bandits have lost three games this season when leading in the fourth quarter, including a 9-8 overtime loss to the Thunderbirds in December. The Bandits led that game 7-4 in the final minutes of the third quarter.
Buffalo also dropped a one-goal game to the Ottawa Black Bears in January as a fourth-quarter penalty to Nick Weiss led to an Ottawa power-play goal and a stretch of four straight tallies.
The Thunderbirds have a league-high 179 penalty minutes, which is 34 higher than the next closest team. The Bandits scored three power-play goals against Halifax in their first meeting and Tavares said he’ll be showing clips of the scoring chances Thunderbirds penalties can lead to.
Tavares also noted that avoiding the extracurricular battles that Halifax often creates to drag opposing teams into an undisciplined style will be critical to generating power-play opportunities.
“Be able to take a hit and not retaliate or be smart enough not to take a penalty unless it’s a needed penalty,” Tavares said following the loss to the Wings. “A good penalty isn’t in a prime scoring area. We don’t need to take a penalty in their crease or at center. It goes without saying.”
The Bandits enter their matchup with the Thunderbirds on a four-game skid for the first time since 2018.
Key members of the Bandits’ leadership group were on that team including Dhane Smith, Josh Byrne, Nick Weiss, Steve Priolo and Mitch de Snoo (who has been out with an injury was on the floor during Saturday shootaround prior to the matchup with Philadelphia).
Tavares said having a group who understands how to stay positive and spread that message with 10 games remaining is crucial.
“It’s hard to keep your spirits up when you lose games as often as we’ve been losing and in the fashion we’ve been losing, but the guys still understand that we’ve proven over the years we have the roster to be very competitive and win a lot of games,” Tavares said. “
“We’re still continuing to stay positive and we’re trying to make the playoffs. … Guys understand that, it’s just whether guys are going to commit to the little things like discipline and watching video, the game plan, and just committing to one game at a time. Having a leadership group understanding that, they know what it takes to win games. Even though right now we’re not showing it, we’re getting closer to winning form.”
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Nielsen developing into an “unbelievable lacrosse player”
Lukas Nielsen’s highlight-reel goal with one second left on the shot clock gave the Bandits a two-goal lead with 6:07 to play last weekend. Despite the Wings’ comeback, Banditland got a glimpse into Nielsen’s offensive skillset.
Nielsen got inside leverage on his defender and drew a second Wings player as he charged towards the net. He cradled the ball with his stick extended outwards in his left hand as he wrapped the ball over the shoulder of the Wings goaltender for the second goal of his NLL career.
The 21-year-old is the Bandits’ youngest player on the active roster and was in the lineup for Ryan Benesch, who was scratched. Tavares wanted some younger energy on the floor and was impressed with the way Nielsen spaced the floor.
Nielsen has four points in three games this season and his effort has impressed Smith, who also entered the league at 20 years old.
“You’re so nervous, and when you get your opportunity, you don’t want to step on toes, you don’t want to do anything out of your character,” Smith said on Saturday. “… He’s going to find his way, he just needs more reps. It was amazing this kind of see him score, obviously not the outcome we wanted, but for him, it’s the momentum that he needed, I feel like. He does so many great thing, and he’s an unbelievable lacrosse player, and he’s going to be here for a long time, so I’m excited to see him grow.”
Scouting the Thunderbirds
The Thunderbirds enter on a three-game losing streak and will play their second game without talented goal scorer Dawson Theede who has traded to the Oshawa FireWolves on Jan. 21.
The trade further hinders a Halifax offense that’s scored the fewest goals in the NLL this season (71). Halifax has scored less than 10 goals in each of its last three games and have lost five of its last six.
Goaltender Warren Hill made 46 saves in the first matchup against Buffalo and is tied for third in the league in save percentage (82 percent) among qualified goaltenders.
Clarke Petterson had a hat trick against the Bandits earlier this season and the game-winner in overtime. He leads Halifax with 14 goals while Randy Staats – who was held goalless in the first meeting with the Bandits – paces Halifax with 33 points.
During a matchup in 2024, Halifax’s Jake Withers went a perfect 30-for-30 in the faceoff dot. Just over two weeks after that game, the Bandits signed Connor Farrell.
Withers is tied for the league lead in loose ball recoveries (99), second in the NLL in faceoff percentage (74 percent) and third in faceoff wins (130). Farrell held Withers to a 61.9 percent mark back in December, which is the latter’s third worst win percentage this season.
“Farrell gives us a good chance every time he’s at the faceoff circle to at least get the ball,” Tavares said. “… If Withers is having a really good night, then we have to understand that we have to possessthe ball. We have to minimize turnovers. The last game, we had a few times where we’re trying to rush our transition and making some errant passes which led to unforced turnovers.”