New Bandit will play his first Aud game tonight as Buffalo meets Baltimore in home opener
By TOM BORRELLI
Brian Nikula has heard the wrath of sellout crowds before.
“I’ve played before a sold-out crowd at the Philadelphia Spectrum a half-dozen or so times,” said Nikula, who is starting his fifth Major Indoor Lacrosse League season and his first with the Buffalo Bandits.
“They’re real good about letting you know what a bum you are when you play for an opposing team. But no, I’ve never played before a sellout crowd at home before in the MILL. I’m really looking to forward to it.”
Nikula should get that chance tonight when the Bandits, 1-0 and riding a 19-game winning streak that covers parts of three seasons, open their home season at 7:30 against the Baltimore Thunder. As of late Saturday, single seats and standing room tickets remained.
Before tonight s game, members of last season’s title-winning will receive their championship rings and a second banner will be hoisted to the Memorial Auditorium rafters.
Nikula is the most experienced MILL player ever to wear a Bandits jersey He spent the 1990 and 1991 seasons with the Pittsburgh Bulls. 1992 with the Detroit Turbos and last season back with the Bulls. When the Pittsburgh franchise folded, Nikula became a Bandit for what is technically the second time.
When Buffalo was awarded its franchise for the 1992 season, Nikula became property of the Bandits because he was living in St. Catharines, Ont., at the time. But he was traded to the Turbos for the rights to John Tavares before training camp started.
Nikula, who now lives in Olean while pursuing a masters degree in education at St. Bonaventure University, has come full circle.
“They got a pretty darn good player for me,” Nikula said with a grin, referring to last year’s leading scorer in the MILL.
Nikula has been no slouch himself. He was second on the Bulls in scoring last season with 17 goals and 10 assists and came into this season with 105 points in 34 career MILL games. He had one goal in Friday night’s 17-16 season-opening win at Detroit.
But scoring goals and individual honors aren’t what drives the 28-year-old forward these days.
“What’s important for me is winning,” said the 6-foot 200 pounder.
Nikula has appeared in only one career playoff game — a 1992 semifinal loss to the Bandits while a member of the Turbos. His Bulls struggled to a league-worst 1-7 record last season before disbanding.
“I’ve done pretty much everything else in the game,” he said. “All the other stuff like being an All-Pro. scoring goals and traveling is great, and playing in this league has afforded me the opportunity to do all of that, but all that stuff just isn’t important anymore. Maybe someday it will be for me. Right now. I’m here to help this team win.”
As a member of the MILL’S highest-scoring team, Nikula probably won’t be looked to as a primary scorer.
“Brian has been a scorer wherever he’s been and he’s played a lot on all the teams he’s been with,’’ Bandits general manager John Mouradian said.
“He likes to go to the goal and he likes to make things happen. I coached him in field lacrosse at Brock University and he scored seven goals in the championship game one year to help us a win a title.
“But he’s also a very clever player. When a guy comes onto this team, he has to find out where he fits in. I think he’ll have to play a major defensive role for us this year.”
If so, that’s fine with Nikula, who found himself double-teamed and physically abused last season with, the Bulls.
“I know that on this team, my role is going to be “different,” Nikula said. “I’m here as an addition to a “very successful team, that’s the way I’m approaching it right now”.
“Heck, you go into the locker room with these guys and it’s like going into a jewelry store with, all the championship rings they’ve won — not just from this league, but the Mann Cups and the Minto Cups from Canada (junior and senior competition) as well.”
“I’m going to come out prepared to play hard every night, just like I always have. But it probably won’t be like it was with Pittsburgh last season. On this team, I’ll probably be able to go skiing on Sundays instead of spending all day in bed taking Advil.”
