There’s only one reason 42-year-old Matt Vinc is back in Buffalo this season – to win a championship.
He doesn’t need to prove anything to anybody – he’s a five-time NLL Champion and eight-time NLL Goaltender of the Year. He just wants to compete for a sixth championship, nothing less than that.
Even despite concerns about his age, he’s proven this season that he’s a worthy starting goaltender still in the league.
On Saturday against the Rochester Knighthawks, Vinc had a record-breaking performance in one of the best games of his career, saving a career-high and Bandits record 62 shots in a 13-6 win.
“Matt’s in phenomenal shape and he can play for as long as he wants on this team,” head coach John Tavares said. “I’m not sure how old he but he seems like he’s 25 at the peak of his career.”
In the first three games of this season, Vinc and the Buffalo Bandits have demoralized opponents and their offenses.
Vinc leads the league in goals allowed per game (6.85), saves per game (49) and save percentage (88%). All these numbers become more impressive when you put them next to his fellow NLL goalies.
He’s allowed 2.15 goals less than the next-best goalie, he’s saved 5.6 more shots per game than any other goaltender and his save percentage is six percent better than anyone else.
The 19-year NLL veteran isn’t just the best NLL goaltender ever, he’s the best goaltender in the league right now.
“I just think Matt’s very focused and he’s a huge competitor and Matt, he’s one of the best goalies for a reason and that just doesn’t disappear overnight,” Tavares said before the season. “Matt’s in phenomenal shape, he’s still a student of the game. He’s always trying to get better. He’s always trying to put the defense in the best position as possible.”
Just because Vinc is getting up there in age doesn’t mean he’s going to back away from contact – he’s embracing it.
With the time winding down on Saturday, a Knighthawks player jumped into the crease trying to get a shot past Vinc. Unfortunately for him, he was met by Vinc in the air when the goaltender somehow mustered enough energy, after more than 59 minutes of play in 20-plus pounds of equipment, to contest the shot.
Vinc was hit in the helmet during the follow-through of the shot but got up from the blow, shaking it off with a little bit of stretching.
“I didn’t know if he was just trying to draw (a five-minute penalty) or not,” Tavares joked. “I was a bit worried. The first minute I was good. The second, third minute I started asking questions on the bench, ‘Hey is he okay, he’s not moving over there.’ He’s fine and he’s in phenomenal shape so once he got up, I wasn’t worried at all.”
Vinc attributes his ability to bounce back from hits like that, as well as his athleticism, stamina and seemingly timeless talent in net, to something he’s been doing throughout his career – watching himself.
Watching tape of not just his games, but also of his past offseason workouts, ensures he arrives at each training camp in the same shape from his younger years.
“Something I started a long time ago was just like kind of recording workouts and journaling different things I did do at different times,” Vinc said before the season. “I kind of resort back to that each year. I bring them back out and I kind of go through the same thing and I go through the same progressions, whether it’s cardio, weight training, footwork, all that stuff to try to come to camp in the same shape that I was maybe five or six years ago.”
Vinc continues, year after year, to be a top NLL goaltender, but with plenty of defensive help in front of him, he hasn’t been on an island.
Headed by captain Steve Priolo and assistant captain Nick Weiss, the Bandits defense has been a vital part of Vinc’s success. The team has allowed 20 goals this season while Vancouver, the next best team, has allowed 28. Contributing to those numbers has been their relentless shot-blocking nature; the team blocked 10 shots against Rochester on Saturday, putting them at 27 blocked shots this season.
This unselfishness from the defense, along with a potent offense, has allowed Buffalo to have a share of the lead for all but six minutes through three games this season and Vinc to stay calm in the crease.
“We blocked a lot of shots, so it just seemed like we’re pretty comfortable with where they’re shooting from and sometimes, you’re just getting hit with the ball,” Vinc said. “And I’m pretty fortunate that some of the bounces went our way and we were able to put up a pretty big lead. It’s a little bit easier to play when we’re scoring a couple more times in the third to go up by 6 or 7.”
The Bandits have numerous all-star caliber players and need everyone to be on the same page to win, but it certainly helps that Vinc is on their team and not the opponents.
“He’s our backbone,” Dhane Smith said.