This weekend didn’t go entirely as planned for the Buffalo Bandits. There were some things that worked and looked very good, and other things that should make fans a bit worried. That being said, many of the issues were expected with the new faces in the lineup and there seemed to me a good amount of positives to balance things out. The Bandits are still in a good position at 1-1, not exactly jumping ahead in the division but not falling behind either.
The big story from this weekend is Dhane Smith, who looked excellent in his first game in Buffalo. It’s hard to even explain how impressive he looked, especially in comparison to the rookies that the Bandits have had of late. Through two games he has four goals and two assists, with three of those goals coming in the Saturday night game in Minnesota.
It isn’t all stats either. Smith seemed to dominate the play. He was smart, made crisp passes, and put himself and others in a position to score. His play towards the end of the game stood out, as he was able to scoop the ball half way across the field to a teammate while trapped in the corner. This guy is the real deal.
Johnny Tavares, although not putting up the raw numbers that he did last season just yet, doesn’t appear to be slowing down too much. Shawn Williams seemed to be having some problems though, not being able to do a ton offensively. He’s been a nice feeder, as he does lead the team in assists, but they’d probably like to see him scoring a bit more.
Speaking of players who should be scoring more, it’s hard to look past Luke Wiles. Wiles only had one goal in the two games and seemed kind of lost in the shuffle. This was a guy who appeared to be the next in line when it comes to great scorers in Buffalo. His 39 goals and 31 assists were vital in the Bandits success. If they want to do anything this year he needs to be scoring. Their key players need to produce, or else they likely won’t have the scoring to be able to compete with the other teams in the division.
Anthony Cosmo was pulled in both games in favor of Kurtis Wagar, not a great sign for the former All-Star goaltender. Playing in his first full season in Buffalo, he was supposed to bring stability for the Bandits between the pipes. He hasn’t gotten off to the best start, but Coach Darris Kilgour is adamant that he is man going forward. Cosmo got better as last season went along, maybe it will repeat again this season.
The Bandits season has still just begun, and there are still many things we are yet to learn about the team. Next week should answer some more of the questions as they head to Rochester to take on the 0-1 Knighthawks. Coming off an opening weekend loss to Washington, the Knighthawks will likely be ready to rumble. It may be Casey Powell’s first game of the season as well, making their offensive unit even more powerful. Whether the Bandits will be up to task… we will have to wait and see.
