Vegas
Bandits head coach John Tavares and general manager and defensive coordinator Steve Dietrich were keen on maintaining the team’s focus, especially considering it was their inaugural trip to the vibrant city of Las Vegas.
The temperature was hovering around 90 degrees as the sun dipped into the mountains west of the city.
After a grueling five-hour flight last Friday, the team displayed unwavering dedication by engaging in a two-hour practice session. They then retired for the night, returning the next morning at 9 am Saturday for the traditional shootaround.
“That’s why we wanted to practice Friday night. With Vegas and so many distractions, we didn’t want the guys disappearing until the shoot around,” said Dietrich.
“It worked out well. We had some floor time Friday night, so we could get them away from that stuff and get focused. It was something we needed to do.”
The transformation from day to night in the valley of the desert sun is a sight to behold, with neon and video board illumination matching the light from the ball of fire in the sky.
And now, ladies and gentlemen…
The Bandits, not to be outshone by the bright lights of the mesmerizing Vegas marquees, delivered a stellar performance against the Desert Dogs. This victory earned them a home playoff game this Saturday against Georgia.
Dhane Smith established a new National Lacrosse League regular season assist record with a fantastic 2+10=12 performance and crossed his 700-career assist mark.
Josh Byrne claimed the league scoring title with his torrid 8.2-points-per-game average, finishing 53+82=135, three points shy of establishing a new regular-season scoring record set by Smith in 2016 of 137 points.
The two, thick as thieves, finished the regular season first and second in scoring and are so exciting to watch.
So Good
The remaining offensive players were also stellar, including Tehoka Nanticoke, who was awarded the game belt for his third-quarter hat trick and playing with reckless abandon.
Everybody played well and went back to playing Bandit Ball!
“It feels a lot like last season when everyone was doing everything for each other and for the team. And when we play like that, we are a very, very dangerous team,” said assistant captain Nick Weiss, who scored a career-high 29 points, 113 loose balls, 21 caused turnovers, and 13 blocked shots.
Defense… Defense… Defense
But the Bandits defense, backstopped by goaltender Matt Vinc, took the headliner by allowing only five Desert Dogs goals. Vinc was solid, stopping 18 Vegas shots in the fourth for a 42-save performance.
Is this defense new?
“No, just our guys are finally starting to play to their potential. Paul Dawson has brought so much to our team, bringing that mentality to stand in front of shots,” said Dietrich.
“With him doing it, it makes everyone else do it. It has completely brought our group together.”
Including his games in Colorado, Dawson blocked 25 shots (13 with the Bandits).
Bandits captain Steve Priolo led the game with 10 loose balls for a regular season total of 120 – the eighth 100+ loose balls in his career. In addition, the team’s captain went 2+3 in his last five games, had 24 caused turnovers, and blocked 24 shots.
Ian MacKay scooped 160 loose balls on the season, caused 19 turnovers and blocked 12 shots. In addition, the fourth overall pick in 2018 scored 12 goals and 17 assists for 29 points.
“We’re sinking our teeth into what we should be doing every night, and it’s finally paid off, as you can tell by the scores of goals against the last two games.
Numbers
The Bandits ended the regular season by winning four straight and six of their last seven games. In the previous two games, the team has allowed only 12 goals, with Vinc recording a .876 save percentage.
In the last three games, the Bandits power play has scored 12 goals on 16 attempts, with 75% standing and 39 blocked shots! Overall, the Bandits led the NLL with 138 soakers, including 15 Saturday night, six by rookie Cam Weyers.
“It’s the perfect time for us to hit our stride going into the playoffs, and the boys are getting it done,” said Weiss.
Georgia on my Mind
So much has changed for both teams since the last meeting on December 29, where the Bandits lost to the Swarm 9-8. Six lead changes, a hot goaltender in Brett Dobson, and a four-goal fourth-quarter run by the Swarm were just enough to defeat the Bandits.
Georgia finished the regular season 10-8, claiming the fifth spot in the standings, and made the playoffs for the first time since 2019. They missed the playoffs last year after starting the season 0-7, and despite going 8-1 mid-season, they dropped their previous two, finishing 8-10.
The Swarm won the NLL title in 2017, defeating Saskatchewan two games to none. This will be the first post-season match-up between these two clubs. As the Minnesota Swarm, the two teams met twice in the post-season, with Buffalo winning both games.
In the 16 regular season games played, the Bandits posted a 9-7 record, but the Swarm held the edge inside Key Bank Center with a 5-3 record.
Finishing 4-2 in their last six games, including a one-goal loss to Rochester last week, the club is led by Lyle Thompson (42+45=87), Andrew Key (36+51=87), Shayne Jackson (30+53=83), and Seth Oaks (26+31=57).
Goaltender Brett Dobson enters his first post-season after recording a .781 save percentage and a 10-7 record. The defense is led by Jordan MacIntosh, Liam Byrnes, Adam Wiedemann, and Mike Manley.
Across the Table
On the late-night edition of our game coverage in Vegas, I was fortunate to talk with Jake Elliott, the most knowledgeable broadcaster in the NLL and host of the popular “Lacrosse Classified” weekly podcast.
Jake has been a part of the NLL coverage for years, and this season was the play-by-play voice of the Vancouver Warriors and analyst for the Vegas Desert Dogs.
His longtime “Lax Class” has been the go-to source for game and player reviews, interviews, league news, and everything box, including every junior and summer ball level.
Jake’s personality resonates with his straightforward approach, which gives him credibility on every subject. There’s always praise when warranted, but never a swatch of glaze when you talk box with Jake.
Knowing it was late for many of you to listen to the Halftime Show from Vegas, here are some excerpts of our conversation, edited for clarity.
On the unified standings
“As I said on ‘Lax Classified’ a couple of weeks ago, this might be the biggest move in league history to go to unified standings. This is just year one, and we are going to see a lot more of this in the future… The biggest thing is that the fans get to see the stars, like Dhane and Josh, come through their city at least once every two years. It’s really important for the team, the league, and the fans.”
Bandits players you like the most
“Oh man, where do you start? Almost an unfair question. Watching Josh Byrne growing up in New Westminster, I put a finger on him pretty early in his career that this guy was going on to do some pretty special things, and he hasn’t let me down, so I probably put Josh at the top because he’s from my neck of the woods.
Another BC guy I’ve watched for a long time is Chase Fraser. I don’t know if this kid knows how to score an ugly goal, but those two would be right up there at the top.
When you watch Matt Vinc, you’re watching the greatest goaltender ever to play this sport. It looks like he’s got some gas and years left in the tank. It’s been a marvel to watch him throughout his career and see what he has accomplished.”
I selected Georgia as a surprise team. Jake?
“I don’t think anybody wants to match up against the Georgia Swarm. They have all the tools to beat anybody in this league. A sleeper would be Panther City. There’s another team that can beat anybody on any given night. We’ll see what happens with the Albany Firewolves. If they get their game right and Dougie is on, they could also be trouble for somebody else.”
And the NLL Finals, who?
“Oh, John, I knew you were going to do that to me here. It’s hard to count out these Bandits now that they’ve been knocking on the door for a few years and finally got over the hump. Now they know how to win a championship, and it wouldn’t surprise me to see the Bandits back (in the finals).
“I am not just pandering here to the Bandits Mafia. I really believe they have a good shot. I think Toronto is ready. Wouldn’t it be something if we got to see Buffalo and Toronto in the final for a best-of-three?”
Broadcast Information
Saturday’s game will be on ESPNU, ESPN+, and TSN+. The broadcast time is 7 pm.
Radio coverage will be on 1520 The Bet, with the Pregame Show starting at 6:30 pm. Steve Bermel will join me in the booth, while Dave Buchanan will cover the game between the benches.