Bandits start another quest

By Budd Bailey

It’s become a tradition like no other … at least in the history of Buffalo sports.

Every spring, the Buffalo Bandits win a championship. And every autumn, they raise a banner on Opening Night of the following season to celebrate it. Or so it seems.

The tradition goes all the way back to, um, 2023, when the team won the first of its three consecutive championships. This year’s version followed the script nicely – take a bow, and then go win the game. In this case, the evening resulted in a 15-11 win over the Georgia Swarm before 19,070 in the KeyBank Center Saturday night.

The look back into the past makes for a slightly odd evening from a playing standpoint, but it’s a small price to pay for winning a title.

“We talked about it,” coach John Tavares said. “It’s a great night celebrating the banner. … We made sure that the players’ minds were aware of the team they were playing. They came out with some fire in the belly. I thought we did a good job of focusing on the game.”

“It’s crazy. It feels like it hasn’t kicked in,” Dhane Smith said. “It’s amazing to bring the same group back. We cherish the moment, but it’s hard to switch to play a game. It was an amazing night.”

What’s left unsaid, at least by the Bandits, is that this year could make some serious history. No team has won four championships in a row in the National Lacrosse League. Buffalo and Rochester of the mid-2010s share the league record at three. What’s more, the Bandits are acting like they are going to give this team every chance to go for a Grand Slam of titles. They acquired veterans Ryan Benesch and Mitch de Snoo in the offseason to help fill a few holes in the roster causes by free agency and retirement.

“It’s amazing to see them full circle,” Smith said. “We’ve had a great team in the past few years. I was telling de Snoo that I’m still doing the routines that we used to do. We still have that connection. Ryan only had one tonight, but they’re going to fall.”

Tavares is handling the situation about the possible four-peat in his usual manner. He’s ignoring it.

“I don’t tell them anything,” he said. “I tell them about the next game. The next game is the most important game. That’s how we’ve played it since I was coach. We’ve never talked about winning the championship.”

However, it was difficult to miss the fact that the game felt like a case of getting the band back together again. Buffalo scored five goals in the first period: two by Smith and one each by Steve Priolo, de Snoo and Benesch. The last time those four players suited up for the Bandits together was on April 15, 2017 – oddly enough against Georgia. In other words, it felt like Turn Back the Clock Night.

It was a loose first half, as evidenced by the 8-8 score after 30 minutes. We’ve learned over the years that the shooters in this league are too good to given them much shooting space. But we’ve also learned that this Bandits’ team knows how to make adjustments … and that Matt Vinc is really good when he can smell a victory.

“We didn’t give up much on the transition in the second half,” Tavares said. “That definitely helped. Defensively, we were a lot more stingy. In the first half, (Shayne) Jackson (four goals on the night) was shooting the ball very well. He did get one in the second half, but we came out with more pressure on him. We made a few adjustments.”

Along the way, the teams shared a very unusual moment. Georgia goalie Kevin Dobson decided to stop Ian MacKey in the Bandits’ trip around the Swarm’s net. In the process he delivered a nasty cross-check to the head/neck area. Dobson was given a well-justified five-minute major for the infraction. The odd part was that the netminder actually served the penalty in the penalty box.

A scan of the NLL rule book showed no provision for that sort of penalty for a goaltender, who never heads to the box for minor penalties.  Then again, the guidebook didn’t rule it out either. Everyone was left wondering what was going on.

“A long time ago, goalies used to serve their (own) penalties,” said Tavares, an original Bandit. “On the bench, we weren’t sure either, because it’s very uncharacteristic to get five. We were asking because we weren’t sure. The fans liked the idea that a goalie had to serve the five.”

Ex-Bandit Devlin Shanahan came on in relief, and he played well on the penalty-kill. Buffalo did score one second after the penalty had elapsed (Tehoka Nanticoke), but it didn’t turn out to be an overly decisive moment. Dobson returned to the field, the game went on, and the Bandits never led by less than two goals in the final period.

Dhane Smith led Buffalo with four goals and four assists. For whatever reason, he looked a little more assertive on offense, while Josh Byrne, MacKay and Nanticoke had two goals each.

If you are looking for an unsung hero on the night, look no further than Connor Farrell. He was a remarkable 26-5 on faceoffs for the night. No one could remember a Bandit doing better in a game at that particular art. A little research showed that it's the best winning percentage by a Bandit in at least the last three-plus years.

“I had a lot of guys helping me out, getting loose balls,” Farrell said. “It was good.”

“We only dressed eight defensive guys. We usually dress nine,” Tavares said. “It was important – winning the faceoffs and getting possession of the ball. I don’t remember a 26-5 night in our favor in a long time. In the past years, it’s been the other way around. He’s been a welcome addition to the team. He’s a great team guy, and the fans love him.”

The Bandits will have a little time to enjoy this one. They will take a week off before hosting Halifax on December 13. What will they be doing during that time? Tavares had the surprising answer: healing from some injuries.

“We have some nagging injuries, even though it’s the first game of the season,” he said. “It’s nice to rest some guys. I don’t like the week off personally, but it helps the team. You get that with an aging team, and we have a lot of veterans.”