More Colors
Sporting another uniform look this Friday night at KeyBank Center, the Bandits will Marvel Super Hero™ Night against the Saskatchewan Rush.
Incidentally, this will be the first visit by the Rush since March 16, 2018. The last time the Bandits played the Rush was a year later, in 2019, in Saskatchewan.
With wild colors and comic book design, there is hope the Bandits will snap a three-game losing streak and turn into heroes by night’s end.
Also, the Bandits will honor a Hometown “Super” Hero from Banditland, chosen from submissions made by the fans leading up to the game.
Cliff Notes/Vancouver Game
Yeah, this one stung, and the goalmouth shot by Nanticoke was a goal to tie the game at 13, but I digress.
Tough to face a Warrior two-man advantage at the start of the game. Then, have a shorthanded goal scored when the Bandits had a two-man advantage. Their five-goal run didn’t help either, and that was tough on starter Devlin Shanahan.
The Bandits battled back from an 8-3 deficit, outscoring the Warriors 9-5 with 12 players contributing in scoring, which included Josh Byrne’s 5+3 night. Steve Orleman did a fine job in relief, making 30 saves and recording a .833 save percentage.
Give the Warriors credit. They played well and snapped a four-game losing streak amongst a good crowd, which included ten Bandit alumni: Kyle Couling, Matt Disher, Neil Doddridge, Garrett Billings, Jamie Hackel, Chris Levis, Andy Ogilvie, Marty O’Neill, Chris Seller and Craig Stevenson.
Different Situation
Worried? Frazzled? Skinned your knee jumping off the bandwagon? Hold tight here.
Injuries and inconsistent play have put the club into a situation they haven’t been in since 2018: losing more than four games in a season.
I expected the competition around the loop to be fierce. With the new unified standings and playoff format, every team is striving to be in the final eight spots.
“It’s been a roller coaster ride. We’ve played really well against some teams and struggling against others,” said Bandits Dhane Smith. “I know that’s a part of the game, but I feel like we haven’t played a full sixty minutes.
“I need to put the ball in the back of the net as I’ve been gripping my stick too much this year, and I feel like I need to help out a little bit more.”
There is no denying that Smith could help in scoring goals. Still, he’s leading the league in helpers with 61, and coupled with his defensive assignments – oh, and 72 loose balls – Dhane has undoubtedly been helping.
But he wants more.
And that “wants more” sets an example to spread horizontally across to his teammates.
“It’s important to stick to what we are good at. We shouldn’t be adjusting to other teams; we should be playing our game and letting them adjust to us. We need to win.”
My Perspective
We’ve come to the point of the season when wear and tear takes its toll, and nerves begin to fray, which creates isolation and frustration. Sometimes, “I and me” comes into play, which doesn’t work in a team concept.
The Bandits need to take advantage of keeping the “we and us” in the matrix. Still, I feel there needs to be a better power of affiliation, creating discussion amongst the team to share aspirations, passions, and motivations.
Empathy certainly plays a significant role in this.
At this point, 5-6 on the season and losers of three straight, the Bandits need to put more value on the relational, not statistics. The leadership team needs to infuse positive influence to help transform the team back to championship status.
The above is not just a word salad but new realistic approaches companies, and teams for that matter, are implementing.
Dr. Chris Siuta, the Bandits mental skills coach, works very close with members of the team, and knows the intricacies of sports performance.
“This Bandits team knows how to create the balance for winning success. Now is the time for fine tuning of individual player and team routines,” noted Dr. Siuta. “No large changes or adjustments needed. These defending NLL champions are getting themselves ready for a big mid-season run into the playoffs.”
Roster Status
Dietrich and the staff continue to look outside the existing roster to enhance the defense.
“With the injuries to our defense, it’s hard to keep losing those guys. I like the mix of young kids we have. Still, I’d love to get another veteran player with a voice and calming presence on the bench and the floor,” said Dietrich on Friday’s pregame show in Vancouver.
“With the unified standings, everybody [else in the NLL] is in it, so nobody really wants to give anything up. There hasn’t been a match yet, but we’re hoping we might be able to get something done soon.”
Stat Rat
Chris Cloutier is 9+5 in his last five games. Congratulations to Chris for scoring his 100th career goal in the third quarter of Friday’s game in Vancouver. Ian MacKay is 6+7 in his last eight games. Sam La Roue played in his first game of the season and earned two assists.
Nick Weiss is on a seven-game point streak, 2+14. Byrne recorded his seventh hat trick of the season and now has eight games of seven points or higher. Bandits captain Steve Priolo has two caused turnovers from 250, making him only the fourth player in NLL history to achieve that mark.
Kyle Buchanan has nine goals in his last five games. Chase Fraser has 15 goals in his previous six games.
Smith leads the NLL with 61 assists and 15 power play assists. He is tied for first in the NLL with four short-handed points (2+2) and is 7+26 in his last five games. The alternate captain now has 1,023 points, second all-time in Bandits history.
The Bandits are second in the NLL with seven short-handed goals. The Rush are first with nine.
Let’s Go!
Friday night’s game against the Rush inside KeyBank Center will undoubtedly be fun and exciting.
Always is, with the great fans of Banditland!
Broadcasting in living color and live sound
CW23, ESPN+, and TSN+ will carry Friday’s game on television. Broadcast time is set for 7:30 p.m.
Radio coverage will be on WGR Sports Radio 550, with the pregame show starting at 7 p.m. We will have updates from both teams’ coaches and players. Steve Bermel will join me in the booth, while Dave Buchanan will have updates between the benches.