Bandits have the urge to cook Wings
Philly’s a familiar foe for Buffalo in the playoffs
By Tom Borrelli
- News Sports Reporter
Updated: 05/02/08 9:40 AM
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- Bandits veteran John Tavares had 29 goals and 58 assists this season.
You could almost see this one coming.
It only makes sense that the most hotly contested playoff chase in National Lacrosse League history yielded a postseason matchup between the Buffalo Bandits and Philadelphia Wings.
All four East Division playoff participants finished the regular season 10-6, including the two teams that will face off at 7:30 tonight (Radio 550 AM) at HSBC Arena in the first round.
Never before have more than three teams tied for first place in the 22-year history of professional indoor lacrosse. In fact, the only time that occurred was 19 years ago when teams played only eight games.
“The league is so tight that anybody can win on any given night,” said 39-year-old forward John Tavares, who scored three consecutive goals Saturday night to lead the Bandits to a 14-10 victory over Portland that sewed up home advantage through the postseason thanks to tiebreakers over the second-seeded Minnesota Swarm, third-seeded New York Titans and fourth-seeded Wings.
But you can throw records and seeds out the window any time the league’s oldest rivalry renews.
Philadelphia, the only remaining franchise from the inaugural season of 1987, has won 18 of the 35 regular-season meetings against Buffalo, which came on board in ’92.
The all-time playoff series is knotted at 3-3. The Bandits won all three of their titles at Philadelphia’s expense — in 1992, ’93 and ’96. The Wings own six championship banners, one of them won at Memorial Auditorium in ’94.
“We have to get through them all to get what we want anyway,” said Bandits transition man Mark Steenhuis, who led the team with 34 goals. “It [having the home advantage] is massive. This building is the best one in this league to play in. Any time you can use [the fans] to your benefit, it really gets the adrenaline going.”
Though the Wings (14.1 goals per game) and Bandits (12.7) are the two highest-scoring teams in the league, they took different paths to the same destination.
Philadelphia started this season 6-0 and 8-1, dropped five of its last seven, went 3-5 on the road, but still qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 2002.
The Bandits are making their sixth straight playoff trip since coach Darris Kilgour took over in 2003.
They were 3-4 after an 11-8 loss to the Toronto Rock on Feb. 15 but won seven of their last nine and are 7-2 at home — 6-0 against playoff participants.
“We’re so much stronger at home,” said Tavares, last week’s NLL Offensive Player of the Week and the league’s career scoring leader. He had 29 goals, 58 assists and 87 points to finish seventh in the scoring race. “Even though it’s a cliche, the fans really are a sixth player on the floor. They motivate you and make you play for 60 minutes. When you’re away, it’s easier to give up. Not that we ever give up but playing before these fans means a lot to us.”
Buffalo claimed a 21-12 home win over a then undefeated Philadelphia team March 1. Part of the Wings’ season-opening winning streak was a 15-14 overtime decision against the Bandits at the Wachovia Center on Jan. 26.
The Wings scored the first five goals, in just 6 1/2 minutes, in their last trip to HSBC Arena before Buffalo buried them under a 21-7 avalanche the rest of the way.
“It’s a great opportunity to get to the championship because we have the greatest fans in the world,” said goalie Mike Thompson, whose Bandits attracted an average home crowd of 15,013 to rank second in the league behind Colorado’s 17,464. “I love them and they really back us up no matter what happens out there.”
Philadelphia poses a couple of specific problems for Buffalo.
The Bandits will need to limit second-year forward Athan Iannucci, who shattered the league record for goals in a season with 71 and was the NLL’s leading scorer with 100 points.
“He doesn’t need a lot of area to get his shot off,” Kilgour said. “He gets his hands free and can shoot from the outside. When you go outside on him he has the ability to get around you and when he gets inside he’s a great finisher, too. The combination of the inside-outside and how they use him in transition is very hard for teams to match up against.”
Iannucci had eight goals and five assists against Buffalo.
“He’s tall with a long reach,” said Bandits defenseman Clay Hill. “He’s very smart and you have to give him respect. You have to play your position and hope you have backup. I’m just starting to know him and learn his tendencies. I have to keep an eye on him for sure this weekend.”
And the faceoff dot has been a mismatch the last two years. Philadelphia, behind Geoff Snider, led the league by winning 71.7 percent this season while Buffalo finished dead last for the fourth time in five years at 37.3 percent.
The Wings won 59 of 71 (83 percent) against the Bandits led by Snider, who captured 57 of 62 (91.9 percent).
“He’s got quick hands and he’s strong,” said Bandits forward Cory Bomberry, who won 94 of 207 (45.4 percent) this season. “He’s got a great clamp and then he’s gone. He’s the toughest guy I’ve ever faced.”
Since Snider’s rookie season of 2007, the Wings have won 107 of 123 (86.9 percent) against the Bandits with Snider taking 96 of 107 (89.7 percent).
“I don’t think it’s a disadvantage if you prepare for it,” said Kilgour, whose team often concedes faceoffs against the Wings in order to set up defensively and prevent a quick transition opportunity.
“I think it can turn around on them very quickly. If we can play good defense, we’ll be all right. We have to eliminate the transition situations and keep it a four-on-four or five-on-five game.”
