Head coach John Tavares challenged defenseman Dylan Robinson to be more assertive in transition and push the offense last week, ahead of the Buffalo Bandits’ matchup with the Colorado Mammoth
After Steve Priolo plucked a skyward loose ball, Robinson heeded Tavares’ advice and sprinted down the floor to create a one-on-one opportunity with Mammoth goaltender Dillon Ward. Robinson buried the shot on the run for his third goal of the year, which matches his single-season career-high.
Robinson will look to mirror that aggressive approach in transition when the Bandits battle the Philadelphia Wings for Native American Heritage Night at KeyBank Center on Saturday at 7 p.m.
“I thought he was a bright spot in the game,” Tavares said. “Regardless of the score he continues to work hard. He got in the little tussle there in the second half, scored a transition goal. … He has the ability to score some goals and it was nice to see him run the ball and bury one. Hopefully that’ll be more consistent from him. Years past we predominantly had [Ian] McKay doing that so we’re looking for that next guy to do it. Weisser [Nick Weiss] had a couple transition goals early but we’re kind of lacking in our transition department so it was nice Dylan stepped up.”
Robinson and his teammates will be donning specialty Native American Heritage jerseys designed by forward Clay Scanlan.
Robinson has stepped up in the absence of key defensemen Mitch de Snoo, Zack Belter and Matt Spanger, who made his season debut against Colorado.
A first-round draft choice in 2022, Robinson is third on the team with 39 loose ball recoveries, a byproduct of collecting 25 loose balls in a three-game span that included a career-high 10 against the Las Vegas Desert Dogs on Jan. 3.
Following the game against the Desert Dogs, Tavares likened Robinson to former Bandit defenseman Justin Martin, who retired prior to the start of the 2025-26 season.
“Dylan is hard working guy for us,” Tavares said on Jan. 3. “Doesn’t get much credit. He’s slowly becoming our unsung hero like Justin Martin was. He gives it his all, all the time. I love watching him play. I think he brings some energy, he plays with emotion, and he’s physical and aggressive on loose balls and he has ability to put the ball in the net as well.”
Even down late in the third quarter against the Mammoth, Robinson displayed that emotional edge and ripped off his helmet to fight.
Tavares said in mid-January that Robinson was continuing to elevate his game and confidence level, the latter of which was prevalent in the scrap with Thomas Vela as Robinson tried to bring his group back in it with a spark.
“It shows that regardless of what’s going on on the scoreboard, we’re not giving up and we’re gonna try to make this as difficult as possible,” Tavares said. “I’m sure he was trying to get those guys riled up and try to get us back in the game. It was nice on his part for showing up to a fight. He didn’t have to do that, but he did.”
How to watch
TV (Buffalo broadcast market): CW23
Streaming: ESPN+
Radio: WGR 550AM (Pregame coverage begins at 6:30 p.m.)
Bandits release Matisz, activate Dooley from practice squad
The Bandits on Wednesday released transition player Kiel Matisz and elevated defenseman Taylor Dooley from the practice squad to the active roster.
The 36-year-old Matisz was held without a point in six games this season but was tied for fourth on the team with 38 loose ball recoveries.
Dooley was the Bandits’ 2024 first-round pick and is in his second NLL season after playing four games as a rookie in 2024-25. The 24-year-old has a point in two games this year and last played on Jan. 10 against the Rochester Knighthawks.
Nanticoke continuing to be “a big part of our offense”
After going without a point in a 9-8 loss to Halifax on Dec. 13, Tehoka Nanticoke has been a driving force for the Bandits and is coming off a five-point game against the Mammoth.
Nanticoke had two goals and three assists against Colorado which marks his highest single-game point total since March 8, 2024.
The 2021 third-overall pick has 15 points in his last five games and has multi-goal efforts in back-to-back games. Nanticoke helped the Bandits go 4-for-5 on the power play against the Mammoth and Tavares said the man-up unit was “clicking.”
Nanticoke – who has nine goals and nine assists on the year – has at least five shots on goal in each of his last four games. Tavares talked about how Nanticoke is utilizing his smarts to elevate the rest of the offense.
“He’s been inserting himself this year, and he’s a very high-IQ player, very intelligent and nice to see him be productive last game, even though we lost,” Tavares said. “I thought Tehoka was a bright spot on offense, thought he had a good game. Nice passes and put the ball in the net on opportunities. He has the ability to draw penalties as well so Tehoka’s a big part of our offense.”
Scouting the Wings
The Bandits are in 10th in the NLL standings and outside the eight-team playoff picture. They’ll face off with a Wings team that’s tied for 13th with a 1-6 record and six straight losses since winning their season opener.
The Bandits allowed 20 goals to the Mammoth, which is the most they’ve allowed in a regular season game since 2017. Tavares stressed the importance of moving on quickly to try and erase the three-game losing streak.
“You can’t take anybody lightly in our league,” Tavares said. “We’re pretty close to Philadelphia in the standings, so I don’t know that’s even a consideration to take them lightly. They have a great team. They have a great goalie. We’re in a three-game losing streak, and I don’t think we can look ahead and say, ‘Hey, this is an easy game.’ Every game is going to be challenging from here on out.”
The Bandits will face yet another quality goaltender as Nick Damude is tied for fifth in the NLL in save percentage (80 percent) among goalies who’ve played a minimum of 300 minutes.
The Wings are led by former Bandit forward Joe Resetarits who finished tied for third in the NLL last season with 122 points. Resetarits has a team best 19 assists and is second on the Wings with 30 points.
The Wings have another potent offensive weapon in former Duke All-American and Tewaaraton Award winner Brennan O’Neill who leads their team in goals (14) and points (32).
“Makes it a lot more challenging when [O’Neill] can attack from so many different angles and areas of the floor,” Tavares said. “He has ability to get to the net, and he has a great outside shot too. He changes planes on his shot, which seems to be very effective. We’re definitely going to have to focus on him; he’s the focal point of their offense. He’s a big, strong guy and we do have a big defense, so hopefully we can keep him on the outside and prevent him from using his size as well.”