The Buffalo Bandits have ended their preseason on a high note, beating the Colorado Mammoth 9-8 on Sunday. The Bandits did seem to get lucky in this one, after a late fourth quarter collapse almost led to a loss.
Joe Resetarits led the offensive unit, putting in two goals and adding five assists. Jerome Thompson continued his consistent preseason play by getting three assists, while the rookie Corey Fowler put in two goals of his own. Also contributing to the win offensively were Dhane Smith, Tyler Ferreira, and Mark Steenhuis who all contributed one goal and one assist.
The Bandits all around played a very solid game. They had a great defensive and goaltending effort put forth in the first half, which saw the score at only 3-3. Anthony Cosmo got the start in that first half and stopped 20 of the 23 shots he faced. The defense played a very physical game, which forced Mammoth forwards to shoot from the outside, making it a more difficult place to score from.
The second half however (mainly the fourth quarter) is one the Bandits would probably like to forget. They set the bar high for that second half when in the third quarter, goaltender Dave DiRuscio and the defense were only faced with three shots on net; THREE, now that’s just huge and speaks so much of how this defense improved in the offseason. With that said, the Bandits when on a goal run putting in six straight goals to make it 9-3 going in to the fourth. The Mammoth were able to score five in a row while capitalizing on several powerplay opportunities. Coupled with the fact that offensively, the Bandits just couldn’t find the back of the net, it was a surprise to me that Colorado didn’t get the comeback win. You could tell that this got Bandits HC Troy Cordingley so furious, because it seemed anytime the Bandits got the ball in the Mammoths zone, he was constantly yelling at the forwards to start cutting in through the middle, to set picks, and the offense was just not listening. They were just passing the ball around the outside, seemingly just killing time when in fact they should have kept their play up and keep the scoring going.
With the time, I think the Bandits offensive unit will learn its lesson from this, because if they want to be successful in the regular season, you have to keep the scoring going. Bring the intensity anytime (and the whole time) you’re out on the floor. The Bandits open up their regular season on January 2ndagainst the New England Blackwolves at the Mohegan Sun Arena
