Better to see
You’ve watched the scene before on most spaghetti westerns with a group of bandits around a campfire with flames from stolen fence posts crackling in the background.
There is not much conversation—only the faces of the weathered and rough staring aimlessly at the rouge flames flipping without direction.
When out of the dark, rides one lone bandit. Sliding off his leather-worn saddle, he joined his boys after a swig of whatever it might be. As he crouches amongst the feared, he mumbles from a dust-laden throat, and I paraphrase:
“Better to see you now, Burnzie. For tonight, we ride and take on the Knighthawks.”
All agreed with a nod and were more than eager to ride.
They did so convincingly, with a 15-7 win, the lowest season-opening goals against in franchise history.
Despite the K-Hawk’s short-lived four-goal run, Matt Vinc made 54 saves, including 32 in the second half.
And, what a way to open the Bandits scoring with Vinc’s outlet pass from his perch to a running Dylan Robinson, who then tossed it to the sure-shot Teyhoka Nanticoke for a 1-0 Bandit lead.
Dhane Smith, aka the Great Dhane, was just that, with 11 points. Congratulations to Kyle Buchanan, who eclipsed his 600-career point total with a hat trick.
The defense played well and contributed two empty netters, 12 blocked shots, and a bucket of loose balls. It also held K-hawks Connor Fields and Ryan Smith, the second-best one-two scoring punch in the league, to three points.
The Bandits won the game as a team, which is a compliment to this group’s leadership.
“Our leadership group is second to none, from Dhane, Josh, Bucky, Vno, Weiser, Pri; they know when to bring it,” said Bandits GM and defensive coordinator Steve Dietrich.
It’s good to shake the chaps off that one.
Understudy
All of the above is great exposure for the young Bandits who wait in the wings, especially the rostered Lukas Nielsen, the club’s number-one pick from this season’s draft.
“Lukas has gotten so much better, and when he gets an opportunity, we know he will do a great job,” said Dietrich on the radio pregame show.
“We are asking a 19-year-old kid to move across the country with a bunch of people he hasn’t been with before; it will take some time. He lives with Zack Belter and likes to talk, so he’s opened him up a little bit.”
The addition of Thomas Whitty has added grit to the left side of the Bandits defense. Dietrich had been after Whitty for a couple of years, and after the trade with the Knighthawks, he thought he’d fit right in.
And fitting right in is the return of Matt Spanger, who missed part of the season and playoffs with an injury.
“Spangs is a guy you don’t realize how much you miss until he’s not playing and how valuable he is to the team. He’s a guy that does the little things every game. Plus, he’s a great guy and fits in really well with our room,” said Dietrich.
You Talkin Practice?
Over the seasons, I’ve noticed how serious the players are about practicing and preparing for a game. This past Friday and Saturday are perfect sequences. After picking up players and staff along the way Friday night en route to Rochester, the bus emptied at the backdoor of the Blue Cross Arena, and the players, with their equipment, prepared for a two-hour practice.
There were plenty of rudimentary drills, which included running, passing, and shooting on the goaltenders. Every player was padded up as if it were a game-type situation, and they practiced like it, too. Following a breakout session of defense and offense on opposite ends of the floor, the team combined again for a little five-on-five action while developing game schemes. It was all business up until the final whistle of the night, which was a call to center and a chant ending the session with a “1-2-3 Bandits.”
No Rest for the Wicked
Back at it the next morning with a 7:45 AM bus back to the arena, the players independently prepared themselves for the morning shoot around with specific stretches, body movements, cutting, jogging, and running. This is before gloves, sticks, and helmets.
The morning shootaround, too, includes running and shooting but then intense installation of the game plan, both offensively and defensively, goaltending, and faceoff. Every move is gone over as if blocking for a theatre production. It requires the utmost attention because there are no playbooks.
To the Dot
I noticed faceoff specialist Connor Farrell constantly practicing his draws by himself and assistant coach Eric Vinc.
Farrell, a former college football player, also jumped into lacrosse after losing a bet with his school roommate. He has spent much time working on his art and knows exactly what he needs to do.
“My job is to get the MVPs the ball: Josh, Dhane, Bucky, Nanticoke, Fraser, Clouts, all of them,” said Farrell, who emailed Dietrich mid-season and said, “I’m ready.”
“Once you win a few draws, your chest starts pumping more, so you feel confident.”
This Bandit team has an aura of confidence, and that’s a good thing so early into the season.
I could tell it from around the campfire.
Those Bandit Helmets Look Great
If you’re watching the game Friday night from Ottawa, you’ll notice the Bandits’ new helmets have a more defined orange metallic look. Because it’s an NLL Friday Night on TSN broadcast, I’m sure there will be some close-ups of Bandits players for you to witness the decals, which include multiple applied applications.
Bandits equipment manager Ted Cordingley said applying the designs and masks takes 45 minutes to an hour for each helmet.
One notable decal on the back of the helmets is “Every Child Matters,” which is in reflection/honor/continuing the discussion campaign of the horrendous actions of the residential schools to change the indigenous way of life.
Broadcast Information of Friday night’s game.
In addition to the NLL Friday Night on TSN, the Bandits/Black Bears game will be on CW23 and ESPN+. Broadcast time is 7 PM.
Radio coverage will be on 1520 The Bet and audacy.com. The pregame show, which will feature coach and player comments, will start at 6:30 p.m.