Looking back on the Buffalo Bandits 2014 regular season, I’m reminded of the novel “A Tale of Two Cities” by Charles Dickens. This 2014 season for the Buffalo Bandits and its fans has truly been the best of times and unfortunately the worst of times.
With the hiring of head coach Troy Cordingley and the offseason acquisitions of Ryan Benesch, Joe Resetarits, Andrew Watt and Rory Smith, the Bandits were looking forward to 2014 being the year that the team turned around its fortunes and looking forward to possible playoff possibilities.
From December 28, 2013 through March 15, 2014 the Bandits truly came together and worked as a fully functioning unit en route to first place in the Eastern Division and 8-2 record. With Troy Cordingley at the helm and his defense wins championships mentality, the upgraded defense helped rebuild the confidence of starting goaltender Anthony Cosmo and was able to be brilliant on most nights en route to his NLL record breaking 752 save season.
All of the hard work, confidence and just that little bit of swagger produced from starting red hot with an 8-2 record, was shattered with the 14-5 loss to the then undefeated Edmonton Rush on March 21. The 10-9 overtime loss to the last place Minnesota Swarm the following week only further unraveled the psyche of the team.
In a weird twist of fate, with all of the changes that the team made to distance themselves from their 2013 counterparts, the lack of success slowly transformed the team back into its 2013 self.
With the lack of a passing game, troubles hitting the back of the net and undisciplined penalties being taken, the Bandits offense fell deep into a downward spiral which they were unable to recover from. These offensive struggles led to the regular season ending eight game losing streak.
Even through all of this season’s highs and lows, the Buffalo Bandits find themselves on enemy turf this Saturday night against the Toronto Rock in the opening round of the 2014 NLL playoffs.
The last time the Bandits and the Rock faced each other in the postseason was back in 2012 at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto. In the first round matchup, the Bandits were down 7-6 in the final minute of the fourth quarter.
With the final possession in hand for the Bandits, the offense performed a Mighty Ducks style “flying V” offensive attack with John Tavares taking the final shot in regulation that appeared to tie the game and send it into overtime. Upon further review, the officiating crew on hand ruled that Bandits forward Tracy Kelusky stepped into the crease which nullified the possible game tying goal and sent the Bandits packing.
The big question heading into Saturday’s game will be which Bandits team will show up that evening. Will it be the fully confident 7-2 team or will it be the struggling 1-8 team?
Leading the Bandits to postseason glory will be the NLL’s all-time leading scorer in the playoffs John Tavares. In his postseason career, the Bandits captain has recorded 77 goals and 106 assists.
The other Bandits players that will be looking to assist Tavares on Saturday will be Bandits leading goal scorer Mark Steenhuis with 27 goals and Bandits overall points leader Ryan Benesch with 69 (22 G, 47 A).
