Feb. 7, 2007
by Tom Borrelli, Special to Lacrosse Magazine Online
As newsworthy as Jim Veltman's return was to the Toronto Rock, so was the Buffalo Bandits' incredible penchant for penalties, as the teams clashed in a home-and-home series last weekend.
Previously winless Toronto won both games, 14-10 and 13-8, respectively.
Of the 27 goals the Rock scored, however, 12 came on power plays, including six in each game. Buffalo was called for 33 penalties yielding 99 minutes in the box, while Toronto was whistled for just 14 infractions for 31 minutes. The Rock was 12-of-26, and Buffalo just 4-of-10, on power plays.
Both Kilgours, Buffalo head coach Darris Kilgour and captain Rich Kilgour, were ejected at halftime of Friday's game. Three other Bandits received game misconducts during the weekend.
"The way we're playing now it's frustrating," Darris Kilgour said. "It's absolutely wearing me out. They're not doing anything I ask of them right now, and that's tough for me to handle."
While the coach pointed all the blame at his locker room following Saturday's defeat, the same could not be said the previous night.
Official Mark Trinaistich and his crew called six Buffalo penalties in the first 6:52, and the Rock jumped to a 4-0 lead as a result of three consecutive power-play goals.
"We know we have a reputation as a rougher team, but I also know we've made huge strides with our discipline," said eighth-year defenseman Kyle Couling. "It's hard for a defenseman to know what will be called anymore. Try to imagine it from a fan's standpoint -- it can't be entertaining. All you're doing is watching guys run back and forth to the penalty box."
Said forward John Tavares: "I feel sorry for the 13,000 fans that were here. Every time we touched somebody, we got a penalty. It got to be ridiculous."
The Rock had come into the weekend expecting physical play from the Bandits.
"Their team is built on aggression," Watson said. "They attack and they attack hard, and sometimes they get their sticks up a bit. When they got down late (in Saturday's game), I think they lost their cool again. But that's not our worry."
Said Rock head coach Glenn Clark: "We just worried about taking care of our own discipline and managed to do a good job with that."
The results could bode large for the Rock (2-3), who swept the season series and now hold the tie-breaker against Buffalo (2-4). But don't count out the Bandits, who dropped to sixth place in the NLL's East Division.
"I don't think the rest of the league has seen the real Bandits yet," forward Kevin Dostie said. "If we bring what we're capable of over the next 10 games, we have a great chance to finish 12-4."
Let's make a deal
The defending champion Colorado Mammoth may have gotten even tougher with the acquisition Wednesday of defenseman Jim Moss from San Jose. The Stealth received forward Andrew Burkholder and a first-round pick in this summer's entry draft.
Moss, a seven-year veteran, was named the NLL's defensive player of the year in 2003 and has 72 points in 81 career games. He began his NLL career in 2001 with the Albany Attack and helped that team reach the Champion's Cup final the next season. Moss, who is 6-foot, 210 pounds, had served as team captain in San Jose, participated in the NLL All-Star Games in 2004 and '05, and helped Team Canada win the outdoor ILF World Championship last summer.
"Jim is a great athlete and plays a versatile game with heart and character," Mammoth general manager Steve Govett said. "He's been a great player in this league for many years and is hungry to win a championship."
Burkholder, in his third season, made the all-rookie team in 2005 with Philadelphia. He has also played with Rochester. He has 21 goals and 44 points in 18 career games. He scored six goals in the playoffs last season during Colorado's run to the title.
San Jose can only hope Burkholder, a 5-9, 170-pound left-hander, has as successful a debut with the Stealth as he did with the Mammoth. He scored four goals in his Mammoth debut last year, a 15-11 victory over the Arizona Sting. He also scored four goals in his first career playoff game, helping the Mammoth to an 18-17 overtime victory over Calgary in the West Division semifinal. His first chance should come Feb. 24, when San Jose, which is 1-5 and has lost its last four games, plays at New York.
Last weekend by the numbers
* Toronto wasn't the only team to make hay on the power play. Rochester (5-2) went 6-of-10 with the man advantage in its 13-8 victory over Chicago (3-2) in a battle for first place in the East. The Knighthawks lead the NLL with 34 power play goals this season.
* Colorado (6-1), the top dog in the West, used the opposite tact in its 16-7 victory over Edmonton. The Mammoth killed off 7 of 8 power plays by the Rush. Forward Jordan Cornfield, cut by the Rush in preseason, got a bit of payback with two goals for the Mammoth.
* Arizona and Calgary both won for the fourth consecutive time and stayed on the Mammoth's heels with 4-1 records. Dan Dawson (6g, 3a), Curt Malawsky (3g, 4a) and Craig Conn (2g, 4a) combined for 22 points, as the Sting hung on for a 16-15 win over the New York Titans, who scored the final three goals. The Roughnecks' special teams accounted for seven scores in a 15-11 victory at San Jose. Calgary scored four goals on power plays and three short-handed, giving the Roughnecks a league-high 12 man-down goals this season.
* Minnesota won in Portland for the second consecutive season, posting an 11-8 triumph, as Nick Patterson made 41 saves and Mark Miyashita dominated in the faceoff circle by winning 15 of 22 draws. The LumberJax, who lost just five games last season, have dropped four in a row.
The weekend ahead
* Arizona will look to stay perfect against Edmonton, which has lost three straight, Saturday night at Rexall Place. The Sting won both meetings last season.
* The Philadelphia Wings travel to Calgary Saturday night in a battle of hot teams. Philly, since getting starting goaltender Matt Roik back from injury, has won three in a row. Roik is 11-5 in his two seasons with the Wings.
* There will be plenty of familiar faces when the Bandits play the Shamrox Sunday afternoon at the Sears Centre. Four of Chicago's top five scorers are former Bandits, as is Shamrox head coach Jamie Batley.
Staying out the penalty box should be key in this one.
