Paraphrasing the Buffalo Springfield classic song: There’s something happening here. But what it is ain’t exactly clear. There’s a Bandit with a lacrosse stick over there. Telling me, I got to beware.
We still have no idea of NLL playoff positioning, but we know that the club will open the postseason at home from April 24 through the 27th. Stay tuned for the exact date and opponent.
You can sense the Bandits are starting to meld into their dominating force with an unbashful, aware presence.
“We’d been struggling on offense the past few games, and our defense played unbelievably and kept giving us opportunities,” said Dhane Smith, Saturday night on the radio postgame show from Denver.
“We believed in ourselves, and we knew it would come. The coaching staff gave us the game plan, and we did a pretty good job executing it. The message was that when one guy scores, we all score, and it showed Saturday night.”
Smith maintained his average of seven points per game by going 2+5=7 and crossed the 1200-point plateau of his career.
But Wait..
A couple of franchise firsts are very clear: a goal scored by a Bandit goaltender, Matt Vinc, from his crease with an outlet shot right into an open Colorado net, and zero penalties called on the team for the entire game!
“It was a great 60 minutes. It might be the first time in Buffalo Bandits history that there were no penalties in the game, and that discipline paid a lot of dividends for us,” said Bandits head coach John Tavares.
“We challenged the offense to score 12 or more goals, and they did so, including one from our Goalie.”
Total Team Effort
They received substantial assistance last Saturday night from the entire Bandits playing roster, which included eleven players involved in scoring, eight in transition, and scooping 64 loose balls, seven causing turnovers, winning 13 draws, and soaking eight shots.
Not one player is selfish from the lot.
“All the guys are great goal-scorers. Offensively, there is one ball, and all guys want it. It’s a matter of sharing the ball and guys taking on some roles that don’t include it. Set picks, get through the middle, and make passes when you have the ball.
“What’s great about this is that the guys never complain and take on the roles with pride,” Tavares said.
Tim Edwards, Ian MacKay
Buffalo Bandits v Colorado Mammoth
The Art
For a player like Tavares, who has shot the ball hundreds of thousands of times, coaching a player to the perfect shot is a very delicate situation.
“I try not to get into their heads. The stick is delicate; you know what to do with it. I don’t want to ask somebody to take a shot that’s not in their repertoire, so I leave that in their hands and talk more about the goalie’s style and what he does, or maybe the goalie’s sweet spots.
“When you shoot the ball, I feel the more deception, the better. If you can reach back and hide your stick behind your body and not let the goaltenders see where the ball is coming from, it will be a lot more challenging for them.”
Bird is the Word
Another massive game for the Bandits is on Saturday night at home against the 10-6 Halifax Thunderbirds.
“That’s a first-place game and a tie-breaker against them. I reminded the guys that we are playing a really hot Thunderbirds team on Saturday. We have to prepare and be ready,” Tavares said.
The Greatest Fans
It’s also Fan Appreciation Night, which features player and Fan of the Year awards.
Bandit season ticket holders are invited to the club’s official shoot around Saturday morning inside Key Bank Center. In addition, Bandit season ticket holders will receive a gift of a replica NLL Cup.
The traditional jersey off the players’ back, literally, at the end of the game, with selected fans lined up on the turf receiving the game-worn jersey from their assigned player.
“Every team we play wants to beat us, and we are just as desperate as those teams. It was amazing to clinch a home playoff game, but we want to keep going,” said Smith.
Something is happening here, and it’s clear on the beware notice.
Director of Lax Ops
Scott Loffler, the Bandits’ senior director of lacrosse operations and alternate governor, joined the halftime report last Saturday. He reflected on the changes over his 15 years with the club.
“The biggest thing I have seen is the support and recognition we receive in the Buffalo and Western New York Community, even into southern Ontario,” said Loffler.
“The bandits have been around for thirty-plus years, but people didn’t know who we were when I started. Our guys would be out in the community, and they would have to ask who we were.
“Now, the guys can’t go to the mall or Wegmans without getting noticed and stopped for photos and autographs. It’s really nice to see the notoriety and recognition these guys are getting, and quite frankly, they deserve.”
Contract Talk
Our discussion continued with an update on the collective bargaining agreement discussion with the National Lacrosse League Players Association and the team owners.
“They have a standing meeting every week with standard discussions and CBA. The ownership group and the league presented an offer to the players about six weeks ago. We received a response and a counteroffer. I think things are heading in the right direction. As long as we don’t have those big gaps going forward, I think we’ll get something done.”
And the NLL future
“Brett (Frood, NLL Commissioner) has done a good job resetting the focus of the league and ownership groups. He has spearheaded efforts to get corporate sponsorships, media rights deals, and other things that will bring in a ton of revenue and a ton of eyeballs to the league and the sport.”
Broadcast Information
Saturday night’s game from Key Bank Center will be on 1520 AM and audacy.net, with the pregame show starting at 7 pm. Television coverage will begin at 7:30 pm on CW23, ESPN+, TSN+, and NLL+
Pat Gregoire will fill in for Steve Bermel, who is on special assignment, and join me in the booth. Dave Buchanan will be between the benches, taking notes and conducting interviews.