Bandits Will Try to Lasso Knighthawks

With the 2013 NLL regular season winding down, the Buffalo Bandits (8-9) have already booked their ticket for the postseason. The only issue still facing the team right now is where they will face the Toronto Rock in the opening round.

Currently in the throes of a franchise-record seven game losing streak, the Bandits are looking to redeem themselves on Saturday at 7:30 pm at First Niagara Center during their home finale “fan appreciation night.” With a Bandits win or a Rock loss against the Minnesota Swarm, the Bandits will guarantee that the first round will be played at home in Banditland. The last time that the Bandits hosted a playoff game was the 2011 season.

Hoping to play playoff spoilers to the Bandits on Saturday will be their Thruway rivals the Rochester Knighthawks (13-4). The good news for the Bandits heading into the game will be the fact that out of the three games played between Buffalo and Rochester, the home team has come away with the victory.

In their first matchup of the 2013 NLL season, the Bandits narrowly escaped with the 11-10 victory on January 25.

The Bandits held a six goal (11-5) lead in the middle of the fourth quarter. The Knighthawks refused to give up and led a furious five goal rally that unfortunately came up one goal short in the end.

The Knighthawks got their revenge for that opening loss by dominating the Bandits in their next two contests at the Blue Cross Arena. In the second matchup of the season, the Knighthawks held the Bandits scoreless at halftime en route to the 9-6 victory on February 8. The February 8 game was the first game in Bandits franchise history that they were held scoreless by halftime.

In the third matchup of the season, the Knighthawks completely stymied the Bandits offense and held them to just four goals in the 8-4 victory on April 13.

With the hiring of head coach Troy Cordingley and his defensive wins championships mentality, goaltender Anthony Cosmo and the Bandits defense have been reaping the rewards of their hard work with a top three goals against ranking this season. Unfortunately on the opposite side of the coin, the Bandits offense has not found what it takes to hit the back of the net and show for it by ranking sixth in goals scored.

During the weekly NLL coaches call, Bandits General Manager Steve Dietrich addressed the offensive woes of the team currently and believes that the offense has to do a better job as a unit to get them back on track to their winning ways.

“The group that they have been putting on the floor just hasn’t meshed,” said Dietrich. “I thought that the addition of Mitch Jones added a different dimension to the team with his size and speed, but the coaching staff decided to put him out the back door against Rochester and I thought he did a remarkable job.”

Dietrich concluded his sentiments with the belief that, “If we’re gonna go anywhere, our left side needs to step up. I’m not trying to put any blame on any one individual, but somebody’s gotta step up or it’s gonna be a short playoff round for us.”

Leading the offensive charge for the Bandits on Saturday will be off-season acquisition Ryan Benesch with 69 points (22 G, 47 A), second year Bandit Dhane Smith with 57 points (19 G, 38 A) and currently leading the team in goals Mark Steenhuis with 56 points (27 G, 29 A).