Bandits fall short against Ottawa

By Budd Bailey

It was a game that was there for the taking. Jeff Teat and his Ottawa Black Bears took it.

They scored four straight goals in the fourth quarter to erase a 7-6 lead for the Buffalo Bandits, and held off the Bandits in the final minutes to take a 10-9 win.

While Buffalo’s second loss within a week and a drop to .500 (3-3) is a cause for concern, Teat certainly deserves top billing for what happened on Friday night before 17,190 in the Key Bank Center. He scored three of the goals in that late-game burst, and assisted on the fourth in a virtuoso performance.

Teat finished with five goals and two assists on the night. He also recovered nine loose balls, blocked a shot and caused a turnover. Teat is only the second player in NLL history to do all of that in the same game.

“He can put the ball in the net,” coach John Tavares said. “He’s a great scorer. He was the difference in the game.”

Meanwhile, Rob Hellyer was quite good as well. He had two goals and five assists as he played Scottie Pippen to Teat’s Michael Jordan. Teat leads the league in goals, assists and points, while Hellyer is tied for second in the NLL in those same three categories. They make up the league’s most dynamic combination at the moment, and are greatly responsible for the Black Bears’ 4-3 start – a half-game ahead of the Bandits.

Dhane Smith knows something about elite offensive play, and realizes that Teat is as good as anyone right now.

“He’s so calm,” he said. “He has some guys that get him open. He obviously can create for himself as well. He’s a great shooter, one of the best in game right now. He’s hard to slow down. You know he’s going to score a few. Our defense played great, but he’s a great player.”  

Buffalo at least put the outcome in the final few minutes by scoring two goals to cut the margin to one score. The Bandits had a couple of chances to tie the contest, but couldn’t quite notch the equalizer. The close call only added to the feelings from a frustrating night, which featured a critical goal drought of more than 15 minutes from late in the third quarter until late in the fourth.

“I appreciate the last-ditch effort, but close only counts in horseshoes and grenades,” Tavares said. “I thought we worked hard, but we seem to be running into the hot goalie right now. They had plenty of chances to score, and (Zach) Higgins stood on his head.”

This was a back-and-forth game until then. Buffalo scored the game’s first two goals, but that was the last two-goal lead by either team until early in the fourth quarter. The comparative shots on goal moved almost in lockstep together during the course.

“We were going back and forth, and couldn’t go on a run,” Smith said. “We need to step it up a bit.”

But the Bandits had some problems generating much energy on offense in their losses. When the team isn’t taking off for transition goals on occasion, it’s been difficult to generate enough scoring to win. Buffalo is 3-0 when it scores at least 10 goals this season, and 0-3 when it doesn’t.

“All I can do is try to put the players in a position where they can be successful,” Tavares said. “Scoring is an art in sport. That’s why those guys get paid a lot of dollars in whatever they’re playing. You have to be able to score to win.”

Meanwhile, here’s a statistic that may cause a second look. From the 2007 season through last week, the Bandits had not played a game in which they didn’t have any power-play opportunities. But they had zero in their last home game against Vegas, and they had none this time against Ottawa. That’s rather remarkable in terms of probability, but non-mathematics majors know that the Bandits aren’t even having a chance at scoring a few goals with the extra man. When the offense isn’t going well, a power-play score at the proper time might have been helpful in either game.

“I don’t think I’ve ever experienced that,” Tavares said. “It’s hard to believe that could happen. We could have used (a goal).”

On defense, the Bandits received a reinforcement earlier in the week with the acquisition of Mike McCannell from Philadelphia. With practice snowed out in Ontario this week, McCannell had the chance to introduce himself to his teammates in the morning and then play with them at night.

“It’s a change, but these guys are great,” he said. “We communicated a ton on what we needed to do schematically, our talk and terminology – they really got me up to speed quick. In the shootout, I felt good.”

“I thought he did a good job of fitting in,” Tavares said. “Usually if someone comes in defensively you notice the bad things, and I didn’t see anything. For him to come in with one practice and do as well as he did, he’s a welcome addition.”

McCannell is a fresh body to help out the defensive unit, what with Mitch de Snoo out indefinitely with an injury. He has a little time now to get to know his new teammates a bit more, since the Bandits are off this coming week.

“I’ll watch more film, talk with the guys more – it gives you more time to prepare,”

McCannell said. “I’d be ready to go next week, but from the Xs and 0s point of view, it will be good to get on a par from everyone else.”

However, Tavares isn’t sure that a bye week will be a cure for what ails the team – not that he has a say in the matter now.

“I’d rather play next week,” he said. “A loss never sits well. I get eager to play again, especially when you lose. Waiting two weeks for a long time, but it will be a good rest for the guys. We’ll regroup.”

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