Bandits make it exciting but still win

By Budd Bailey

It was an unexpectedly “entertaining” night for the fans of the Buffalo Bandits at the KeyBank Center on Saturday.

The crowd of 19,070 had watched their favorites take a 14-7 lead over Las Vegas with a little more than 10 minutes to play. Since 2016, the Bandits were 22-0 when they had a seven-goal lead at some point in the fourth quarter, so it seemed time to light up a “rhetorical” victory cigar.

Then the Desert Dogs scored five goals in a row in a little over six minutes. The once-comfortable lead was a bit too cozy with four minutes left. But Dhane Smith added a crucial insurance goal, and the Bandits held on for a 15-13 win. The victory was followed by a bit of an exhale from the Buffalo side.

“Not the way we wanted it, but … good teams find a way,” Buffalo forward Ian MacKay said.

“We did get shorthanded there, losing two defenders (Mitch de Snoo and Zack Belter were both injured) so we were down to seven,” Bandits coach John Tavares said. “We asked a lot of our defenders. They got a lot of minutes, and when you get tired you tend to sit. That’s probably why they had a lot of good opportunities shooting from the outside. It’s tiring. We want guys to go outside and pressure. When you’re tired, it’s easier to sit back and give him that shot. But the ball was finding its way into the net.”

The finish couldn’t spoil the way most of the game went from a Buffalo standpoint. Overall, it was a good performance – just not one you’d want to hang on the wall and admire for a while.

“It’s a funny one, because I thought we played pretty well at times,” Kyle Buchanan said. “At times we were showing what we could do and at other times we were taking lapses. The league’s too good to do that now, but obviously a win is a win. I said last year that playing mediocre and still winning is the kiss of death, because you can’t fall into that routine and into that trap. We’ve got stuff to work on still.”

The Bandits had a nice balanced scoring attack on the night, which usually is the best path for them to win. Josh Byrne and Smith are always going to get some points, but Buffalo is much more dynamic offensively when the rest of the offense is scoring as well.

“That shows how unselfish those guys are,” MacKay said about Byrne and Smith. “If it’s not going for them, they are willing to go to the middle and set picks and work hard for loose balls. They’ll be the first two guys to alter a play to get someone else open.”

In this case, Buchanan put up four goals to lead the team, while Ian MacKay had a natural hat trick. The latter’s offensive outburst came midway in the second quarter, ending a stretch where Buffalo only had scored once in more than 20 minutes.

“It’s tough to defend an attack by committee,” Tavares said. “It’s a lot easier for the defense to double them (Smith and Byrne) and make them pass. … It takes five for the offense to be successful.”

While the goal-scorers took the bows, Byrne had three goals and six assists for nine points, and Smith went 2-6=8. In other words, it was business as usual for them.

On the Las Vegas side, some of the names were quite familiar to the Bandits and their fans. The contest marked the return to Buffalo of Chris Cloutier and Chase Fraser, who signed with the Desert Dogs as free agents in the offseason. The two of them received their championship rings from last season this weekend. Cloutier finished the game with four goals, with three of them coming during the fourth-quarter rally. Fraser had a goal and three assists.

It was a bit odd seeing them on the floor in an opposing uniform, but that’s the nature of the business.

“They were a big part of our team for the last five, six years,” Tavares said. “I’m coaching to win, but I definitely noticed them in the game. … I did get worried when they cut it to two, because Fraser could take over at that point. But we did a good job on him. I’m happy they are in a good place, but I’m a lot happier that we won the game.”

“They are awesome guys that I shared some amazing years with,” Buchanan added. “I wish them the best of luck.”

The Bandits seemed a little relieved to be able to play games on consecutive weeks. Byes had interrupted the first month of the schedule, so this game marked the start of something of the normal routine. Buffalo will play weekly through early March.

“Our league is sort of funny – depending on the team, you might have a funny schedule or you don’t,” Buchanan said. “Now we go week to week, where we practice in the middle of the week or the night before. We can look at the week and know what to expect. On the other side, it’s a bad excuse. We have a veteran group, and we should be able to figure it out. But I think (a more regular routine) should help.”

The Bandits hit the road next week, but a plane trip won’t be necessary. They’ll be in Rochester on Saturday to take on the Knighthawks.  

(Follow Budd on X.com via @WDX2BB)