As the Ides of March fell upon the Bandits in Vancouver, the air was rainy and cool. It was even heavier inside Rogers Arena in the dark, musty hallway outside the team’s dressing room following their 13-12 loss to the Warriors.
The nearby refrigeration unit made a constant humming noise as the fluorescent lights flickered from the power drawn by the massive motor. Nary heard a sound from the players, who strode with a moping shuffle, shedding what uniform they wore.
The club lost their third straight game and dropped to 5-6 on the season. Expressions of concern and worthiness defined the scene. It seemed as if they were questioning how they could defend the championship crown they had claimed eight months earlier.
With injuries on defense and Matt Vinc out, there wasn’t a recourse for righting the ship.
But things changed on the long flight home, and the team bonded with a reprise of commitment and perseverance. A couple of victories followed, and a change in the defensive roster gave the team confidence in finding ways to win.
“Guys started believing, and it was just contagious after that. You have to learn how to play with your defense because defense wins championships,” said Bandits head coach John Tavares.
“It’s great to see how the defense picked it up halfway through the year, and they are getting better every game.”
The Bandits’ record following that dismal loss in Vancouver speaks for itself. They have won nine of their last ten games, including seven-straight, with Sunday’s 10-8 come-from-behind victory over the Toronto Rock to sweep the semi-finals.
Once teetering in the unknown, the Bandits are back in the NLL Finals for the fourth straight year.
“It just shows how diverse we are. This group finds different ways to win. We can win with our goaltending and defense and in a high-scoring game,” said Tavares.
And Matt Vinc is healthy and happy, backstopping opponents to nine goals or less in the last five games for a .887 save percentage.
“Matt Vinc is the best ever to play under pressure in the playoffs. He does it year after year, and it’s not by accident,” said Curt Malawski, Vancouver Warriors GM and head coach on our radio pregame show Sunday.
And Sunday, Vinc displayed why he’s been the goaltender of the year for eight years, stopping 52 of the Rock’s 60 shots on net.
“Matt gave us a chance, and I thought he had a phenomenal game again. It’s hard to duplicate four goals against like he did in Hamilton. Holding that team to a six-goal average is phenomenal.
“When you’re down and flat, you need goalies to make big saves, and that gave us an opportunity to come back. And when we were coming back, he continued to shut the door down,” Tavares said.
Players like Chase Fraser again showed why the Bandits are so diverse, scoring three of the Bandits’ six goals in the fourth quarter, all assisted by Josh Byrne.
“We looked at each other and said, “All right, let’s go do it. We kept our composure and played our salad ball, and as the energy from the fans picked up, we just rode that wave and kept the momentum going forward. The fans help us a lot,” said Fraser, who finished with five goals in the series against the Rock.
That once dark and dreary night in Vancouver has changed to the bright colors of May and warm temperatures. From the question of confidence to the cadence of conviction, the Bandits are back to the NLL Finals.
“It’s the fourth time in a row we’ve made it back to the finals. Guys are hungry. We have a great balance of veterans and young guys. They buy into the system, and when you play as a team, not individuals, great things can happen,” Tavares said.
The Bandits will face the Albany Firewolves in the best-of-three NLL Finals starting Friday, May 17, in Albany and Saturday, May 18, in Buffalo. Game 3, if necessary, will be back in Albany on May 25.