The Buffalo Bandits flexed their new offensive muscles in last week’s 14-10 victory over Toronto. However, it was Buffalo’s defense that earned the most praise for the victory.
Tonight’s road battle in Rochester will put that defense to the test. The Knighthawks rolled up 22 goals on Philadelphia last week. Mike Thompson will be hard pressed to repeat as NLL Defensive Player of the Week considering Rochester’s firepower.
Rochester had some question marks entering the season considering the moves they made in the offseason. However, Cody Jamison is an elite talent, Stephen Keough should have no trouble following in his fellow Orange alum’s footsteps and Matt Vinc make this team a sure contender.
Considering the influx of talent to Rochester this year, the Bandits are sure to have their hands full this evening. Add in the fact that this is a road game and the I-90 rivalry will be sure to be in full force.
To think the Bandits can stymie another offense the way they did last week seems silly. Rochester has a great balance of veteran leadership (Mike Accursi, Pat McCready) and young, elite talent (Jamieson, Keough, Cory Vitarelli). Darris Kilgour won’t subscribe to trying to run and gun with Rochester, but you can expect Buffalo’s transition game to play a huge role. Continue reading →
Buffalo’s three veteran additions combined for seven of Buffalo’s goals and had nine points total on the night. Luke Wiles had a great first outing (3+1) and looks to be exactly the type of player the Bandits were searching for. Kevin Buchanan (2+1) and Mat Giles (2+0) also had strong nights in their Banditland debut.
Of course, the ageless wonder, John Tavares, proved he is still the best to play the indoor game. Despite suffering various ailments over the past few seasons, Tavares had a tremendous debut against Toronto. There should be no surprise that his eight-point (2+6) game has set the table for the superstar to lead the Bandits in scoring once again.
In total, the Bandits had nine players with multiple points and fourteen players in total who registered at least one. In addition, Mike Thompson was stellar in goal. Thompson turned aside 41 shots which registered an impressive .804 save percentage.
Perhaps the most impressive fact about this victory was the second half surge the Bandits enjoyed. Trailing at the half, Buffalo handily dominated the second half and came away with the victory. That says a couple of things; there are finishers on this roster and they have a strong ability to score in bunches. Continuing the ability to roll up dominant second half lacrosse will be key for the Bandits this season.
A big surprise was that Darris Kilgour chose to scratch Tom Montour and Roger Vyse. Frank Resetarits was also scratched, although he is less of a surprise. Montour is one of the best transition players in the league and Vyse’s talents have long been showcased in Buffalo. Vyse’s recent contract extension obviously adds to the surprise factor here, but apparently Kilgour wanted to see some of his new toys in action. I wouldn’t be surprised to see Vyse and Montour (or all three) play against Rochester this weekend. It is possible that Kilgour simply wanted to try out his new players before determining a concrete depth chart.
Kilgour said he is planning on getting Angus Goodleaf in four to six games. If Mike Thompson is going to continue to play at the level he showed on Saturday, Goodleaf may see his workload trimmed a bit. Thompson has long been a cornerstone for this team and looks capable of running together another impressive season.
Ten goals against is a very good number for the Bandits to surrender. The defensive corps may actually be the greatest strength of this team – despite the big names playing out of the front door. It doesn’t seem like a stretch to expect the Bandits to keep their team goals against between 10 and 13 this season.
Considering the additional flood of talent to the nine remaining teams this season, the Bandits will be facing a particularly difficult test nearly every week. One point that Darris Kilgour often cites is that every game in this league is tough, no matter what a team’s record may be. That may never be truer than in this season. Even the teams whose records will sink are likely to be capable of pulling wins against the league’s top contenders.
A particularly busy offseason has the Buffalo Bandits roster looking quite a bit different than it has in recent seasons. A few trades and interesting roster moves brought some turnover to the team that still has the talent to be one of the NLL’s power teams this season.
Mike Thompson will anchor the crease for the Bandits this season.
Darris Kilgour’s club made a significant step forward in establishing quality secondary scoring, something that hurt the club at points throughout the 2011 season. Luke Wiles and Kevin Buchanan will certainly compliment John Tavares, Mark Steenhuis and Tracey Kelusky at forward. Of course, Roger Vyse and Chad Culp’s offensive abilities won’t go unnoticed either. Mat Giles also should be counted on to provide some offense this season. How much will be determined by his playing time.
Wiles and Buchanan represent a step forward in re-establishing the dominant offense that drove the team to the 2008 NLL Championship and a ridiculous 8-0 start in 2009. The potential of the two puts them right on plane with players like Kelusky and Vyse. While that group of four doesn’t possess the all-world talent of a Steenhuis or Tavares, they may turn out to be more valuable to the overall success of the team than the two stars.
The X-factor on the offensive side of the ball may very well be Jeremy Thompson. The rookie is a promising talent and it will be interesting to see if he cracks the line up in his first year. Playing for a coach who has long favored proven veterans over rookies, Thompson’s first year may be used for development more than production. However, the first round selection has the opportunity to step in to fill the shoes of the recently departed Brett Bucktooth. Continue reading →
Remember the glory days? The Empire Sports Network broadcast Sabres games, had a handful of talk shows and a nightly highlight show that was centered around Western New York sports.
At one point Empire was truly thriving. It was the perfect outlet to serve WNY in terms of Sabres and Bills coverage in addition to high school, college and other professional sports. Unfortunately the Adelphia scandal all but killed Empire and it died off prior to the 2005-06 NHL season.
The recent MSG/Time Warner spat has blacked out a vast majority of Sabres fans and has left many questioning what the next step will be in this regard. the contract dispute is nothing more than the final straw for many. The lack of respect MSG has shown the WNY market is pathetic. Aside from Sabres games, there is little acknowledgement for the region. That includes commercials. Unfortunately the Sabres; contract with MSG runs for the next few seasons, ending in 2016-17. If the contract must run its course, then so be it. But is there a chance that a different entity could step in?
There is no secret that Ted Black comes from television. All the reports about him during the Pegula sweepstakes pointed to the success he had in building FSN-Pittsburgh. Between Pegula’s deep pockets, Black’s prowess with a sports television station and the obvious market demand in Buffalo; it would seem a regional sports network would do well here.
The first point that should be made is that there has been mo mention of anything along these lines happening. Who knows if Pegula would even be interested in forking over more dough to bankroll this type of venture? In addition, there is the current MSG contract to consider as well.
But just thinking outside the box certainly paints a picture that this type of channel would not only have plenty of content, but the potential for a strong, successful lineup. The Sabres, Bandits and Bills would obviously be the cornerstones of this channel, but UB, Niagara, Canisius and additional high school and college sports would provide ample filler. Building around some of the staples which Empire succeeded with, there is a foundation that can be augmented by additional coverage and programming. Continue reading →
A 2011 NLL All Star, Brett Bucktooh was one of the final cuts for the Bandits this season.
With the 2012 NLL season fast approaching, Darris Kilgour made the final cuts to the Buffalo Bandits roster. The 23-man roster has 17 holdovers from last year and a few surprising omissions. Bandits.com has the official release.
Kevin Buchanan, Mat Giles and Luke Wiles are the new faces up front for Buffalo. They will replace a prominent name from the last few seasons, Brett Bucktooth (a 2011 All-Star). Jay Thorimbert was also cut from the final roster; however his release is slightly less surprising.
Bucktooth was a highly touted prospect and had tons of potential when he broke into the league. He had a few solid seasons, but never seemed capable of taking the next step in his development. His disappointing play compounded those issues in recent seasons. He went from a player who could be counted on to one that was passed over in clutch situations. Continue reading →
The Buffalo Bandits made a pair of moves this week. First, locking up Roger Vyse with a three-year contract and then acquiring Mat Giles in a trade with Minnesota. Buffalo sent a conditional fourth-round pick to the Swarm in the deal.
Roger Vyse (81) and Tracey Kelusky (17) are two of the many weapons the Bandits enter 2012 with.
Vyse rebounded from a sub-par 2010 season to register 36 points (16+20) last season. He has consistently been counted on by Darris Kilgour to provide offense behind the likes of Mark Steenhuis and John Tavares. Vyse led Buffalo in playoff scoring (7+2) in 2011. Locking up Vyse secures a quality secondary offensive threat for the Bandits as they enter the 2012 season.
Buffalo’s second big transaction of the week was bringing in Giles from the Swarm. Giles is a big body offensive threat whose season point total dipped below 50 for the first time since 2007. Giles recorded 43 points (16+27) for Minnesota last season, a total that would have been good for fourth on the Bandits’ roster.
The only condition on the pick exchanged for Giles rests on his place on the Buffalo roster. From the Bandits press release:
“The pick is conditional on Giles being on the Bandits roster or practice squad at any time in 2011 or 2012. Should Giles not make the Bandits active or practice roster, Buffalo will instead send their sixth-round pick in the 2013 Entry Draft in place of the fourth-round selection.”
Based on Giles history and talent, there is little reason to think he won’t secure a permanent roster spot. Giles joins a cast of secondary scoring that may be unparalleled throughout the NLL. Buffalo now boasts an extremely deep roster of forwards. Giles and fellow newcomer Luke Wiles will join incumbents Brett Bucktooth, Kyle Clancy, Chad Culp, Brandon Thenhaus and Vyse in battling for roles behind the Bandits’ primary offensive threats; John Tavares, Mark Steenhuis and Tracey Kelusky.
Buffalo produced only 169 goals last season, seventh in the NLL and third lowest among playoff teams. Clearly the offseason moves made by Darris Kilgour are to revamp the Bandits offensive attack. It is hard to fathom a roster that will not only include Buffalo’s two superstars and the remaining eight front-door players. While another trade would not be out of the question, the one certainty is that there will be some interesting position battles as the Bandits open training camp.
—
The Bandits also announced the signings of three 2011 draft picks. Dwight Bero, Lloyd Chrysler and Connor Daly were all inked to deals as well. Daly, a third-round pick, is the most likely to make an impact with the Bandits. However, Darris Kilgour has a long history of patience with his draft picks.
In a news release put out this morning, the Buffalo Bandits announced they will be hosting the 2012 NLL All Star game. All the details can be found at Bandits.com.
Last year’s game was held at Turning Stone to a decent crowd, considering the venue. Holding it in Buffalo was probably an easy decision for the league. This is the best fan base in the NLL and the attendance numbers are always near the league’s best.
This is just another Terry Pegula bull’s eye. There hasn’t been much attention given to the Bandits since the ownership change – mainly because they are a model franchise. But it is good to see the Bandits getting some love too.
February 25 will be a fun day for lacrosse fans and it will certainly be a nice draw for the City of Buffalo as well.
The Buffalo Bandits added seven new players to the organization at the 2011 NLL Entry Draft, yesterday.
Without a first round choice the Bandits saw the biggest names in the draft go before they had a selection. One interesting move was made by Rochester in order to draft Johnny Powless. The Knighthawks traded a perennial Bandits pest, Shawn Evans, to Calgary for the Powless pick.
The Bandits first pick came at the top of the second round which they used on Jeremy Thompson from Syracuse University. Buffalo also drafted Jeff Cornwall from Coquitlam, BC.
It will be interesting to see how these picks fit into the Bandits roster. In recent years Buffalo has run out a lineup with a veteran look while waiting on their young talent to progress outside of the NLL.
Buffalo’s final five picks had a fairly even split of NCAA and junior players. Here is the rest of the Bandits’ picks (s/t to TBN):
Gonzaga’s insurance marker in their WCAC lacrosse championship win was rather unique. Have a look:
The goal secured a 10-8 victory over Good Counsel. I’m sure people are going to ask, “where is the goalie”. I’m going to go out on a limb and say Good Counsel had set up a ten-man ride to try and get the ball back to tie the game. Good job by Gonzaga to have a play to negate a ten-man ride and a player who can hit the cage from 80 yards. This thing has officially gone viral, you know because even Sportscenter was showing lacrosse. Usually you need the Final Four to take place for such an event to occur.
Two in the Box 