While not a perfect weekend for the Buffalo Bandits, the top team in the East improved to 13-2, maintaining a 3 game lead over the second-place Toronto Rock at the top of the East standings, and they still have a two-game lead in the loss column over the San Diego Seals for the best record in the NLL (The Seals have played two fewer games).

The weekend started on a good note with a Thursday night handling of the Philadelphia Wings at Wells Fargo Center by a score of 17-12. The Bandits led 14-4 headed into the final minute of the third quarter before the Wings chipped away in garbage time. The team came out of the gate hungry with a 7-2 first quarter capped off with a goal from transition player Frank Brown’s first goal in his first game since 2019-20. There was plenty of balance on the scoresheet for the Bandits, as four players eclipsed 5 points (Dhane Smith 2G 5A, Josh Byrne 2G 4A, Kyle Buchanan 3G 2A, Connor Fields 2G 3A). Chase Fraser added 4 goals, including 3 of the 4 Bandit goals in the 3rd quarter to help put the nail in the coffin before the start of the fourth. Matt Vinc saved 35 of 42 shots faced in 48:17 before Doug Buchan took over in net for the final 11:43. Chris Cloutier, Ian MacKay, and Ethan O’Connor were the other goal scorers. Like Brown, O’Connor scored his first goal of the season, although his last goal came during the 2018-19 season as he missed 2019-20 with an injury. Philadelphia owned the shot share, both in total shot attempts and shots on goal, but most of that discrepancy came during the fourth quarter.

The Bandits traveled to Denver on Saturday looking to extend their win streak from 7 to 8. The first quarter started well for the Bandits, who led 2-0 after 15 minutes, but the Colorado Mammoth offense woke up in the second quarter and exploded for 7 goals compared to 3 for the Bandits. While the bandits were able to take the lead back with a 3 goal run to start the third quarter, the teams traded goals back and forth the rest of the game with neither team relinquishing more than a single-goal lead or deficit the rest of the way. Connor Robinson scored with a minute remaining in regulation to break a 14-14 tie, and the Bandits were unable to counter, dropping their first game since February 12. Robinson had 4 goals for the Mammoth to lead the way for their offense. Zed Williams’s 3 goals and 2 assists and Ryan Lee’s goal and 7 assists helped the Colorado offense keep pace with the heavyweight Bandit offense. Dhane Smith (3G 9A) and Josh Byrne (3G 5A) once again controlled the game for Buffalo with exceptional score lines, and Chase Fraser added 4 more goals and an assist to add to a great weekend for him. In goal, Matt Vinc struggled in his second game of the back to back giving up 15 goals on only 49 shots, and gave up a few goals that he visually immediately wished he could get back. While Max Adler had his best game of his young NLL career with 21 wins on 34 faceoffs (61.8%), two transition goals from his Mammoth counterpart, Alex Woodall, helped to neutralize the advantages at the dot. One note of a bright side, the Bandits won the shot share advantage in this game and scored 14+ goals for the 5th straight game and 8th time this season.

Coming Next: April 9 vs New York Riptide – 5:00 p.m. at Key Bank Center

Well for starters, this game will be on ESPN2, so if you can’t go, you’ll be able to watch the Bandits on cable in addition to their usual ESPN+ availability.

The schedule normalizes itself this week as the Bandits go back to only one game this weekend, as they will host the New York Riptide on Saturday. It will be their second matchup of the season, with the Bandits having won the first meeting on January 30 on Long Island in an 18-17 overtime track meet. Chris Cloutier buried the game-winning goal on the powerplay 1:11 into overtime.

Keys to the Game

• The Rookie and The Vet: The Riptide offense operates through 17 season veteran Callum Crawford and 24-year-old rookie, Jeff Teat, who was the #1 overall pick in the 2020 NLL draft. When Crawford was a rookie in 2006, Jeff’s dad, Dan Teat, was in his 10th season in the NLL playing for none other than the Buffalo Bandits. Crawford has 33 goals and 44 assists in 13 games. Teat is following closely behind with 25 goals and 49 assists in 12 games – he spent time in December in COVID protocol. Crawford operates the right side, Teat operates the left. They’re a 1-2 punch in every sense of the phrase, and they will find a way to get their points whether their opponents like it or not. When it comes to limiting their production, keeping their shot production to the outside is going to be the Bandits’ best chance of keeping their goal totals down. Specifically for Crawford, it will be crucial for the Bandits’ defenders to not allow Crawford to have a 1v1 matchup isolated on the right side, as he is one of the best 1v1 players in the league.
• Once Crawford and Teat get theirs: In his first season, Jeff Teat has established himself as a premier passer, so even when the Bandits limit Teat’s near-net production, they must also keep him from having passing lanes to the front of the net. The triple threat of secondary scoring of Connor Kearnan (30G 20A), Larson Sundown (12G 19A), and Dan Lomas (6G 5A in 5 games since returning from a summer achilles injury) have been crucial in helping the Riptide remain a top 5 scoring team despite being towards the bottom of the league in shot attempts. Their secret is their ability to finish near the crease and on special teams when penalty-killing units take the shooting lanes away from Teat and Crawford.
• Dare New York to Keep Up: In January, the Riptide went toe to toe with the Bandits’ offense and matched their production possession by possession until forcing overtime. After back-to-back games with 15 goals on March 12 and March 26, the Riptide were limited to 5 goals on Saturday against Philadelphia and 7 on Monday in Colorado. Needless to say, they’re going to come out hungry to get back into double-digit goals this weekend. But frankly, as long as the Bandits counter this with their conventional offense-first approach, they should be able to come out with more goals at the end of the game. And Matt Vinc responded to that 17 goals allowed game with 8 GA the week after against Rochester, and then after their loss to Toronto on February 12 when they gave up 12 goals, he limited the FireWolves to 8 goals the week after. It’s very likely the future Hall of Famer will be ready to go Saturday afternoon.

Photo Credit: NLL.com