The Buffalo Bandits are a lacrosse team based in Buffalo, New York playing in the National Lacrosse League (NLL). The 2008 season was the franchise's 17th season.
| 2008 Buffalo Bandits | |
|---|---|
| Champion's Cup Champions | |
| East Division Champions | |
| League | NLL |
| Division | 1st East |
| 2008 record | 10-6 |
| Home record | 7-2 |
| Road record | 3-4 |
| Goals for | 203 |
| Goals against | 174 |
| General Manager | Darris Kilgour |
| Coach | Darris Kilgour |
| Captain | Rich Kilgour |
| Alternate captains | Pat McCready John Tavares |
| Arena | HSBC Arena |
| Average attendance | 12,665 |
| Team leaders | |
| Goals | Mark Steenhuis (34) |
| Assists | John Tavares (58) |
| Points | John Tavares (87) |
| Penalties in minutes | Kyle Laverty (70) |
| Loose Balls | Pat McCready (121) |
| Wins | Mike Thompson (5) |
| Goals against average | Ken Montour (10.23) |
The Bandits tied with Minnesota, New York, and Philadelphia with a 10-6 record but thanks to tiebreakers, clinched first place overall and home floor advantage throughout the playoffs. They beat the Philadelphia Wings 14-12 in the opening round of the playoffs, then made quick work of the New York Titans 19-12, before they beat the Portland LumberJax 14-13 to win their first championship since 1996.[1][2]
Regular season
editConference standings
editReference: [3]
| P | Team | GP | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | GF | GA | Diff | GF/GP | GA/GP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Buffalo Bandits – xyz | 16 | 10 | 6 | .625 | 0.0 | 7–2 | 3–4 | 203 | 174 | +29 | 12.69 | 10.88 |
| 2 | Minnesota Swarm – x | 16 | 10 | 6 | .625 | 0.0 | 6–2 | 4–4 | 199 | 196 | +3 | 12.44 | 12.25 |
| 3 | New York Titans – x | 16 | 10 | 6 | .625 | 0.0 | 5–1 | 5–5 | 197 | 186 | +11 | 12.31 | 11.62 |
| 4 | Philadelphia Wings – x | 16 | 10 | 6 | .625 | 0.0 | 7–1 | 3–5 | 225 | 220 | +5 | 14.06 | 13.75 |
| 5 | Rochester Knighthawks | 16 | 8 | 8 | .500 | 2.0 | 4–4 | 4–4 | 197 | 171 | +26 | 12.31 | 10.69 |
| 6 | Toronto Rock | 16 | 7 | 9 | .438 | 3.0 | 4–5 | 3–4 | 172 | 174 | −2 | 10.75 | 10.88 |
| 7 | Chicago Shamrox | 16 | 6 | 10 | .375 | 4.0 | 3–5 | 3–5 | 176 | 212 | −36 | 11.00 | 13.25 |
| P | Team | GP | W | L | PCT | GB | Home | Road | GF | GA | Diff | GF/GP | GA/GP |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | San Jose Stealth – xy | 16 | 9 | 7 | .562 | 0.0 | 4–4 | 5–3 | 185 | 172 | +13 | 11.56 | 10.75 |
| 2 | Colorado Mammoth – x | 16 | 9 | 7 | .562 | 0.0 | 6–2 | 3–5 | 184 | 167 | +17 | 11.50 | 10.44 |
| 3 | Calgary Roughnecks – x | 16 | 7 | 9 | .438 | 2.0 | 5–3 | 2–6 | 183 | 178 | +5 | 11.44 | 11.12 |
| 4 | Portland LumberJax – x | 16 | 6 | 10 | .375 | 3.0 | 3–5 | 3–5 | 179 | 194 | −15 | 11.19 | 12.12 |
| 5 | Edmonton Rush | 16 | 4 | 12 | .250 | 5.0 | 3–5 | 1–7 | 141 | 197 | −56 | 8.81 | 12.31 |
x: Clinched playoff berth; c: Clinched playoff berth by crossing over to another division; y: Clinched division; z: Clinched best regular season record; GP: Games Played
W: Wins; L: Losses; GB: Games back; PCT: Win percentage; Home: Record at Home; Road: Record on the Road; GF: Goals scored; GA: Goals allowed
Differential: Difference between goals scored and allowed; GF/GP: Average number of goals scored per game; GA/GP: Average number of goals allowed per game
Game log
editReference:[4]
| Game | Date | Opponent | Location | Score | OT | Attendance | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | January 11, 2008 | Rochester Knighthawks | HSBC Arena | L 9–12 | 18,670 | 0–1 | |
| 2 | January 12, 2008 | @ Rochester Knighthawks | Blue Cross Arena | W 14–9 | 10,939 | 1–1 | |
| 3 | January 19, 2008 | New York Titans | HSBC Arena | W 17–13 | 11,878 | 2–1 | |
| 4 | January 26, 2008 | @ Philadelphia Wings (1987–2014) | Wachovia Center | L 14–15 | OT | 10,542 | 2–2 |
| 5 | February 8, 2008 | @ Calgary Roughnecks | Pengrowth Saddledome | W 17–9 | 10,922 | 3–2 | |
| 6 | February 10, 2008 | @ New York Titans | Madison Square Garden | L 9–10 | OT | 6,742 | 3–3 |
| 7 | February 15, 2008 | @ Toronto Rock | Air Canada Centre | L 8–11 | 14,611 | 3–4 | |
| 8 | February 16, 2008 | Minnesota Swarm | HSBC Arena | W 16–14 | 14,446 | 4–4 | |
| 9 | February 24, 2008 | @ Chicago Shamrox | Sears Centre | W 13–8 | 3,250 | 5–4 | |
| 10 | March 1, 2008 | Philadelphia Wings (1987–2014) | HSBC Arena | W 21–12 | 13,720 | 6–4 | |
| 11 | March 8, 2008 | Minnesota Swarm | HSBC Arena | W 11–7 | 12,313 | 7–4 | |
| 12 | March 22, 2008 | Toronto Rock | HSBC Arena | L 9–13 | 15,230 | 7–5 | |
| 13 | April 5, 2008 | Colorado Mammoth | HSBC Arena | W 12–11 | 16,905 | 8–5 | |
| 14 | April 12, 2008 | @ Rochester Knighthawks | Blue Cross Arena | L 6–11 | 10,517 | 8–6 | |
| 15 | April 19, 2008 | Chicago Shamrox | HSBC Arena | W 13–9 | 13,633 | 9–6 | |
| 16 | April 26, 2008 | Portland LumberJax | HSBC Arena | W 14–10 | 18,325 | 10–6 |
Playoffs
editGame log
editReference:[5]
| Game | Date | Opponent | Location | Score | OT | Attendance | Record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Division Semifinal | May 2, 2008 | Philadelphia Wings (1987–2014) | HSBC Arena | W 14–12 | 9,344 | 1–0 | |
| Division Final | May 10, 2008 | New York Titans | HSBC Arena | W 19–12 | 11,012 | 2–0 | |
| Championship Game | May 17, 2008 | Portland LumberJax | HSBC Arena | W 14–13 | 18,690 | 3–0 |
Player stats
editReference:[6]
Runners (Top 10)
editNote: GP = Games played; G = Goals; A = Assists; Pts = Points; LB = Loose Balls; PIM = Penalty Minutes
| Player | GP | G | A | Pts | LB | PIM |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Tavares | 16 | 29 | 58 | 87 | 91 | 23 |
| Mark Steenhuis | 15 | 34 | 41 | 75 | 121 | 27 |
| Delby Powless | 16 | 18 | 37 | 55 | 29 | 10 |
| Cory Bomberry | 16 | 17 | 38 | 55 | 59 | 29 |
| Roger Vyse | 14 | 21 | 27 | 48 | 48 | 4 |
| Kevin Dostie | 10 | 22 | 14 | 36 | 34 | 11 |
| Dan Teat | 12 | 11 | 23 | 34 | 38 | 2 |
| Pat McCready | 15 | 8 | 15 | 23 | 121 | 44 |
| Ian Llord | 15 | 5 | 12 | 17 | 71 | 26 |
| Totals | 316 | 519 | 478 | 1047 | 48 |
Goaltenders
editNote: GP = Games played; MIN = Minutes; W = Wins; L = Losses; GA = Goals against; Sv% = Save percentage; GAA = Goals against average
| Player | GP | MIN | W | L | GA | Sv% | GAA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mike Thompson | 14 | 421:36 | 5 | 1 | 83 | .762 | 11.81 |
| Ken Montour | 14 | 480:45 | 4 | 5 | 82 | .808 | 10.23 |
| Daniel Sams | 3 | 60:00 | 1 | 0 | 8 | .882 | 8.00 |
| Totals | 10 | 6 | 174 | .794 | 10.88 |
Awards
edit| Player | Award |
|---|---|
| Mark Steenhuis | Transition Player of the Year |
| John Tavares | First Team All-Pro |
| Mark Steenhuis | |
| Mark Steenhuis | Championship Game MVP |
| John Tavares | All-Stars |
| Mark Steenhuis | |
| Chris White |
Transactions
editTrades
edit| February 5, 2008[7] |
To Buffalo Bandits Andrew Lazore Rusty Kruger |
To Chicago Shamrox two second round picks, 2008 entry draft |
| March 25, 2008[8] |
To Buffalo Bandits Mike Accursi |
To Edmonton Rush Dan Teat second round pick, 2008 entry draft first round pick, 2009 entry draft |
Roster
editReference:[9]
|
|
See also
editReferences
edit- ^ "Bandits Win Edge 2008 NLL Championship Game". NLL.com. May 17, 2008. Archived from the original on 17 May 2008. Retrieved 2008-05-19.
- ^ The Bandits had won three MILL championships, but none since the MILL was reformed into the NLL in 1998.
- ^ "National Lacrosse League - 2008 Regular Season - Standings". NLL.com. Retrieved May 3, 2012.
- ^ "Buffalo Bandits – National Lacrosse League". NLL.com. Archived from the original on September 9, 2012. Retrieved May 6, 2012.
- ^ "Buffalo Bandits – National Lacrosse League". NLL.com. Archived from the original on September 9, 2012. Retrieved May 6, 2012.
- ^ "Buffalo Bandits - National Lacrosse League - team stats | Pointstreak Sports Technologies".
- ^ "Chicago Deals Lazore To Buffalo". NLL.com. February 5, 2008. Archived from the original on 8 April 2008. Retrieved 2008-05-01.
- ^ "Buffalo Deals Teat & Picks for Accursi". NLL.com. March 25, 2008. Archived from the original on 28 March 2008. Retrieved 2008-05-03.
- ^ "Buffalo Bandits - National Lacrosse League - team roster | Pointstreak Sports Technologies".