Steve Dietrich was named NLL MVP in 2006, becoming the first ever goaltender to win the honors.
SEASON PREVIEW: BUFFALO BANDITS
Bandits hope to return to Champion's Cup in 2007
12/22/2006
With a well balanced offense and a solid defense, the Bandits have been one of the most consistent teams in the league the past four years, except for in their final game of the season. The Bandits have made four trips to the playoffs, three divisional final appearances and two championship game appearances in the past four years, but came up short of a championship each time.Heading into their opening night match-up against Portland on December 30th, it will be up to veteran leaders John Tavares and Rich Kilgour and Head Coach Darris Kilgour to have the Bandits ready for a championship run again in 2007.
Buffalo will once again look to the veteran leadership of the NLL's All-Time point leader John Tavares. The three-time NLL MVP enters his 16th season with Buffalo and shows no signs of slowing down, finishing sixth in the league with 85 points last season. Tavares will have plenty of colleagues on offense with the likes of Cory Bomberry, Jason Crosbie, Delby Powless, and Dan Teat firing on the opponents' goal, and when you add Mark Steenhuis and Pat McCready in the transition game, the Buffalo offense is looking strong again this season.
The Bandits added even more punch to their "O" in the off-season, drafting Syracuse product Brett Bucktooth in the first round and picking up Kevin Dostie in a summer trade with the Roughnecks.
As strong as the Bandits are offensively, the Buffalo defense is what led them to an 11-5 record and to the Eastern Division championship last season. Behind goaltender Steve Dietrich, Buffalo gave up only 167 goals in 2006, the fewest in the league. Dietrich tallied a goals-against average of 9.97 and a saves percentage of 80.8% on his way to becoming the first goaltender in league history to win NLL Most Valuable Player honors.
However, as was evident in the championship game last year, if Dietrich isn't on, the Bandits might struggle. It doesn't happen often, but last season Buffalo had veteran Ken Montour to fill in for Dietrich, and Montour was good insurance should Dietrich have an off night. Over the summer however, Montour was traded to Philadelphia. Buffalo will now look to sixth round entry draft pick Daniel Sams and free-agent pick up Mike Thompson, who has played just eight games in the league, to fill in behind Dietrich.
Defensively Buffalo has a strong group of veterans surrounding Dietrich and company in goal as Billy Dee Smith, Troy Bonterre, Kyle Couling, Clay Hill and Kyle Laverty lead the Bandits back-end.
Buffalo Bandits - 2006 Recap
Finish: Lost to Colorado 16-9 in the NLL Championship Game
Regular Season Record: 11-5
Post Season Record: 2-1
Home Record: 6-2
Road Record: 5-3
Goals For: 193
Goals Against: 167 * league best
2007 Roster (As of December 21)
2 - Troy Bonterre, Defenseman
3 - Bill Dee Smith, Defenseman
5 - Clay Hill, Defenseman
6 - Chris White, Defenseman
7- Tony Henderson, Forward
9 - Mark Steenhuis, Forward
11 - John Tavares, Forward
15 - Dan Teat, Forward
16 - Rich Kilgour, Defenseman
17 - Kyle Laverty, Defenseman
21 - Daryl Seymour, Defenseman
22 - Tony Sorci, Defenseman
23 - Pat McCready, Defenseman
26 - Brett Bucktooth, Forward
27 - Kyle Couling, Defenseman
30 - Steve Dietrich, Goalie
51 - Kevin Dostie, Forward
54 - Jason Crosbie, Forward
66 - Mike Thompson, Goalie
72 - Cory Bomberry, Forward
81 - Roger Vyse, Forward
86 - Daniel Sams, Goalie
99 - Delby Powless, Forward
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