Schedule Analysis:
For the Buffalo Bandits, their 2015 National Lacrosse League regular season schedule is quite treacherous. The first half of the regular season will see the Bandits more on the road and away from the friendly confines of Banditland.
Through the first nine games of the 2015 season, the Bandits will have three home games and 6 away games. If the Bandits and their fans thought double the road games were bad enough, in the month of January alone, the Bandits will also be dealing with two back-to-back games in that stretch. The first of the back-to-backs will occur during their first two games of the season on January 2nd/January 3rd against the Black Wolves and Rush and games five and six against the Swarm and Knighthawks on January 30th and January 31st.
The second half of the season looks a lot more promising for the Bandits if they can survive the first half with a winning record. The final nine games of the 2015 schedule sets the Bandits more at home and less on the road with 6 home games and 3 road games. The only drawback to the second half is the two back-to-back games for their 11th and 12th games on March 13th/ March14th against the Rock and their 16th and 17th games on April 25th and April 26th against the Stealth and Black Wolves.
Team Acquisitions:
(D) Nick Weiss – Vancouver Stealth
(G) Dave Diruscio – Peterborough (MSL)
(F) Corey Fowler – Kitchener-Waterloo (MSL)
(F) Cody McMahon – Kitchener-Waterloo (MSL)
(D) Jonathan Newhouse – Albany
(F) Jerome Thompson – Albany
(G) Rance Vigneux – Burlington (OLA)
(D) Adam Will – Langley (WLA)
Team Losses:
(D) Rory Smith
(G) Eric Penney
Rookies:
(F) Brandon Goodwin
(T) Matthew Bennett
(F) Tyler Ferreira
(F) Jordan Dance
(F) Mike MeInychenko
How They Got Better:
With the additional lefty scoring firepower and youth coming from their entire 2014 NLL draft class, these new additions along with righty shooters like Ryan Benesch, John Tavares, Mark Steenhuis, Shawn Williams and Joe Resetarits will definitely add much more offensive balance to the Bandits. Hopefully, this balance will be able to have opposing defenses worry about both sides of the floor rather than focusing all their defensive talent against the Bandits righties. With 171 goals for the 2013 season and 190 goals coming from the 2014 season, there is only room for improvement with the offense.
How They Got Worse:
The only question mark I have when it comes to the Bandits for the 2015 season is the loss of defender Rory Smith. Rory is a true gritty, heart and soul type of player who will give you his absolute all. One moment I remember fondly from the 2014 season is when starting goaltender Anthony Cosmo placed himself a little out of position while trying to make a stop and the rebound came back to the opposition. With Cosmo out of the net and a free look at the net for the opposition, Smith put his body on the line and placed himself right in front of the net and blocked a direct shot right in the chest and prevented an easy goal. I’m not sure who will step up and make those types of sacrifices for the team.
What To Watch:
With the Bandits being one post away from making it to the 2014 NLL Championship game, I believe that Buffalo Bandits General Manager Steve Dietrich, Head Coach Troy Cordingley and the Bandits scouting staff have done an incredible job in the offseason to assess the problems that the organization had in terms of their roster and signed the players that they believe will be the most effective to fill those vacancies.
Be on the lookout for Corey Fowler and Dave Diruscio to give the Bandits veterans a really good run for their money as they battle for those coveted roster positions. On the defensive side of the ball, ideally Nick Weiss will be able to transition well into Cordingley’s defensive mindset and effectively take over for the loss of Rory Smith.
Hopefully, the Bandits will definitely improve this coming season but the only question marks I have regarding the Bandits is less to do with the team and more with the NLL as a whole.
How will the Buffalo Bandits’ lack of offseason transactions hold up to the rest of the other franchises more aggressive offseason signings?
