It was a strange game, and the Bandits delivered a subpar performance, hobbled offensively without the services of Tehoka Nanticoke, Clay Scanlan, and Tyler Hendrycks, all on IR. Nothing against Coltrane Tyson, who had played in only one game as the fourth righty. It was a tough situation for him to make an impact.
“I hold myself to a high standard, and I hold the guys, especially the offensive group, to a high standard. Obviously, you have those games where you forget what makes you successful, but we want to continue, and it starts with me,” said Dhane Smith, who finished in third place (39+79=118 pts) in the NLL’s regular season scoring race.
Going down 12-8 to the FireWolves cost them a home game in round one, and now they face the Swarm in Georgia this Saturday night in a single-elimination game.
“You don’t have to say much to them. They know the big moments, which games are important, and when it’s time to ramp it up. Read the urgency. They want another shot at it,” said Steve Dietrich, general manager and defensive coordinator.
I thought Oshawa played an excellent game on Tucker Out Lymphoma Night, with desperation and emotion, featuring stifling defense, a confounding offense, and a 44-save performance by goaltender Doug Jamieson.
Even his sprint to the other end to join the palm-sandwich scrum was impressive, and Emerson Clark’s antics kept the sold-out house entertained. He definitely won the glove toss.
The proverb, often used as much as a bald tire, says that all good things must come to an end. The club’s seven-game win streak is now a memory – but at least a good one that vaulted them into the playoffs. Their 11-7 finish matched the 2024 configuration, and look what happened there.
“It comes down to wanting to play with these guys. We know we have a special group, and each week we’ve been getting better, accepting the standard and raising it.
“We came up with 10 things as a group you want to be great at. If we can hit six or seven of those, we will be successful, and I think we’ve been doing a great job of sticking with the game plan,” Smith said.
I am not worried one bit about the Bandits’ performance last Saturday night, which featured a four-goal run in the second half that snapped a 25-minute scoring drought and included Smith’s league-leading fifth short-handed tally. The defense had its moments of strong play, and Matt Vinc turned aside 36 FireWolves shots.
“This has been a pretty special group that knows when the lights come on, it’s a big moment. I trust these guys who know what they are doing; they’ve won three championships in a row,” said Dietrich.
Let’s just turn the page on that game and focus on the next encounter, win or go home, against the surging and unbelievably talented 12-6 Georgia Swarm, who finished the regular season on a two-game winning streak and boast the best goaltender in the league, Brett Dobson, who finished the campaign with a 7.86 goals-against average and a .847 save percentage.
“I want to lead by example and make my game better by putting the ball in the net, picking up loose balls, and being vocal on the bench; I can always be better,” said Smith.
You’re Under Arrest
Dan Arestia, longtime lacrosse writer covering every level of lacrosse and host of his podcast, Sticks in Lacrosse, was my pregame show guest Saturday night via the Nissan Hotline, had this well-defined evaluation of the Bandits.
“If you want to understand the way Buffalo plays, you can see it within a singular player, Dhane Smith. It’s extremely precise, extremely fluid, and there aren’t a lot of mistakes to it. It’s a lot of we understand where your weakness is, and we can attack it; we’ll take what you give us, and it will be smart and well executed.
“Whatever game you want to play, they are up for it, and they can handle any pace. Smith can dodge to create space for himself as a shooter, at his very best as a passer, but can do either one of those things so effectively that the one thing that the opponent is not as good at, it’s the one thing he’s going to do to try and beat you.”
Get Into the Groob
Gary Groob, co-host of NLL Lacrosse Talk & ALL Lacrosse Live, who reports on lacrosse at every level, including internationally, was my guest on the radio halftime report Saturday night in Oshawa. Here is his prediction on the Bandits in post-season play.
“In a one-and-done situation, I’ll take Buffalo over anybody. I’ll put Matt Vinc against anybody in the league. I’ll put this Bandits team, with their three recent championships, knowing how to win, knowing when it counts, and knowing what to do, against anybody in the league.”
Test 1-2…Broadcast Information for Saturday Night’s Game in Georgia
Radio coverage will be on 1520 AM The Bet and on Audacy.com, with the pregame show starting at 7 pm EDT.
Television coverage will be available on ESPN+, TSN+, and NLL+ (not available in the US). Local television coverage will be determined later in the week. Coverage will begin at 7:30 pm EDT.
If you want to match the radio audio with your smart TV, press the freeze button on your remote at the opening faceoff, then unfreeze when you hear the radio faceoff. You can also sync the radio audio anytime during the game using your remote and the freeze button.