INDOOR LACROSSE
Buffalo hosts Portland for first time since title
Tonight’s game between the Buffalo Bandits and the Portland LumberJax in HSBC Arena (7:30 p. m., Radio 1520 AM, nll.com) should be worth watching.
After all, the teams put on a great show the last time they got together.
The Bandits (7-3) and LumberJax (5-3) will meet tonight for the first time since they played in the National Lacrosse League championship game last May. Buffalo won, 14-13, to capture the title.
Even the losing coach says in hindsight that it was a classic contest that went down to the final moments.
“I thought it was a great lacrosse game,” Portland coach Derek Keenan said. “It could have gone either way.”
To review, the Bandits jumped out to a 6-3 lead at the end of the first quarter. However, the LumberJax kept creeping back into the contest. The Bandits never trailed, but they never led by more than three goals.
Portland had enough for one last surge in the fourth quarter, closing the margin to 14-13 with 48 seconds left on a goal by Derek Malawsky with its goaltender pulled. The LumberJax got the ball back in the final seconds, and only a save by goalie Michael Thompson on Peter Jacobs stopped the contest from going into overtime.
“It was a really, really well played game by both teams,” Keenan said. “There were a couple of little things that Buffalo did better than us. They caught us on a couple of things early in the game. After that it was a see-saw game. . . . We had that opportunity at the end.
“There was a tremendous atmosphere in Buffalo that night. That’s my big memory of it.”
If the losing coach is that enthusiastic about the game, imagine how the winning coach feels.
“What I took from that game was how hard Portland played for 60 minutes,” Buffalo coach Darris Kilgour said. “It’s pretty tough to play here. Most arenas aren’t as loud as this one is. It was a really loud atmosphere. We got up by three, and we could never get that backbreaker of a goal.”
Portland came oh-so-close to becoming the first team in league history to win a championship with a losing record in the regular season. The LumberJax apparently learned some lessons from that experience, although it took a little time to put them into practice. After losing three of its first four games to open this season, Portland has won its last four games to move into second place in the Western Division.
“We really are preparing for a 60-minute game,” Kilgour said. “They have a lot of talent. They play together very well as a team. Those are the teams that are dangerous — the ones that play for each other. Minnesota and Rochester [the last two teams to beat the Bandits] are two teams like that. Hopefully we don’t have to learn that lesson again.”
Portland is led by Cory Conway, who has 35 points, and Ryan Powell, who has 32. Meanwhile, transition player Brodie Merrill and goalie Matt Disher were both named to the West starting lineup of the recent NLL All-Star game.
Perhaps Portland’s biggest enemy lately has been the schedule. The LumberJax haven’t played a game since Feb. 28, and this will be only their second game in six weeks. Portland did beat Philadelphia three weeks ago, but the layoff is a matter of concern for Keenan.
“You can’t duplicate game situations when you are off for three weeks,” said Keenan, an original member of the Bandits. “It’s hard to duplicate the anerobic activity and that intensity of a game. We started out strong [against Philadelphia] and then hung around for three quarters. We managed to win. We’ve tried to do some different things to maintain their fitness level, and hopefully we’ve done that. We’re healthy and rested, there’s no question about that.”
As for the Bandits, they’ve lost two in a row after starting 5-0 and 7-1. Kilgour wants to see some improvement from his defense.
“It’s been a complete collapse from top to bottom,” he said. “Once in a while, the [defensive] help wasn’t there. . . . We really have to concentrate on doing your job first. The guys have been getting caught up doing too much.
“We have to go back to basics and start all over again.
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