Bandits welcome rematch
Stakes are higher vs. Blazers this time
It’s a case of the same teams playing at the same time on the same day of the week in the same building.
The Buffalo Bandits hope this game doesn’t have the same result as the last one.
The Bandits dropped a 13-12 overtime decision to the Boston Blazers in HSBC Arena two weeks ago tonight. Now the teams are back it in the first round of the National Lacrosse League playoffs (7:30
p. m., Radio 1520 AM, Webcast on nll.com). The previous matchup merely settled the postseason seedings; to-night’s winner advances to the division final while the loser is done for the year.
Bandits coach Darris Kilgour is of two minds concerning that last game, which saw his team blow a 10-5 lead in the third quarter. Part of him realizes it’s a new season.
“History starts today,” he said. “It doesn’t matter what happened two weeks ago. It will look the same in five years. We have to put everything behind us.”
On the other hand, Kilgour doesn’t want his team to forget what can happen when it takes some time off during the course of a game.
“We thought we could just show up and teams would lay down for us,” he said. “We get up on Boston by five in the third quarter, and we just go to sleep and let them back in the game and then take the game from us in front of a sold-out crowd in our own building. That doesn’t happen in a [game for first place]. To me, that’s a cardinal sin.
“We had a chance to close it out and be at home for the rest of the year until the championship game, and we blew that. If we’re lucky enough to win this weekend, we might have to go on the road. That’s a tough road to do.”
The loss to Boston left both teams with a 10-6 record for the season. The Bandits finished second to New York on a tiebreaker, while the Blazers were
third. If a team can be disappointed with a 10-6 season, the Bandits qualify. They started out 2009 with a 5-0 record, and then slumped to 5-6 the rest of the way.
“They talk about that championship hangover, say that teams have that complacency that they feel they just have to show up and win,” Buffalo forward Mike Accursi said. “We got off to such a great start at the beginning of the year, and it seemed like we fell into a ‘We just need to show up and play. Don’t worry about it. In the fourth quarter, we’ll make it happen’ attitude.
“Maybe this is a shot across the bow for us, just to get our heads straight and get back to working hard.”
Meanwhile, the Blazers are feeling good about the way they came into Buffalo last time and left with a win . . . but not too good.
“No question, the guys are not overconfident at all,” Boston coach Tom Ryan said. “If anything, they were fortunate to walk away with a win. It could have gone either way. We have to focus on . . . giving a consistent effort.”
The Blazers offer plenty of talent as they try to become the first expansion team since the 1992 Bandits to win a championship. Dan Dawson led Boston with 104 points (second in the league) and is an NLL Most Valuable Player candidate. Teammate Daryl Veltman had 34 goals. At the other end, Anthony Cosmo is one of the league’s best goalies with a 10.14 goals-against average.
The Bandits have their own stack of league leaders. Mark Steenhuis and John Tavares tied for the NLL lead in goals with 51 each, while Ken Montour led the league in GAA at 9.57.
Buffalo beat the Blazers in Boston, 15-11, on April 4. The teams know each other’s tendencies. Now it’s just a matter of going out and doing it.
“Every team is good. Every team is battle-tested,” Kilgour said. “You have to go out and execute your game plan.”
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