By SAL MAIORANA - STAFF WRITER - DEMOCRAT AND CHRONICLE - 1/17/1997
Knighthawks forward Pat McCready won’t cherish nor soon forget last Feb. 24.
Playing for the expansion Charlotte Cobras, McCready suffered through the most one-sided Major Indoor Lacrosse League loss, 28-6, to the Buffalo Bandits.
The pummeling was bad, but it stung more coming from the Buffalo franchise.
“We never gave up, but Buffalo sure wasn’t easing up on us at all,” McCready said. “You try to keep going, try to play it one shift at a time, but when they’re scoring on almost every shot…”
McCready grew up in St. Catharines, Ontario, less than an hour’s drive from Buffalo. He had always wanted to play for the Bandits.
His father, Buff, was the Bandits’ first coach when they joined the MILL in 1992, and Pat — then in high school — used to accompany him to every practice and game.
“I always went and hung out, helped him out,” McCready said. “I looked up to a lot of the guys there, and they’re still playing, guys like (John) Tavares.”
When Buffalo lost its first three games that inaugural season, Buff McCready was fired and replaced by Les Bartley. Still, when Pat was old enough to play in the MILL, he wanted to play in Buffalo.
But Bartley cut him last season because he didn’t think his defensive skills were up to par.
McCready moved to Charlotte for the winter to join the Cobras and endured an 0-10 nightmare in which his team was outscored by a whopping 186-85. The low point was the blowout by the Bandits.
The Charlotte franchise folded after one season, so McCready moved back to St. Catharines. Rather than try out for Buffalo again, he came to Rochester’s training camp on the advice of his former junior coach, Knighthawks assistant coach Paul Day.
You couldn’t wipe the smile off his face a couple of weeks ago after the Knighthawks beat the Bandits 19-17 in the season opener.
McCready was held scoreless and didn’t play particularly well, but winning was all he wanted.
“That was some nice payback for Buffalo, that’s for sure,” he said.
Last week against New York, McCready played better, scoring one goal and one assist in the 14-12 loss.
McCready was Charlotte’s leading scorer last year with 14 goals and 11 assists for 25 points (including 5-2-7 in two games against the Knighthawks). His paltry numbers in two games with Rochester would seem disappointing, but he was never comfortable as the go-to guy for the Cobras. He prefers his role with the Knighthawks.
“In Charlotte it was just score, score, score. Here I can lay a big hit or make a good pass.”
Rochester coach Barry Powless appreciates the acquisition of McCready. “He definitely has the knack to put the ball in the net, he’s unselfish, he can run the floor and play defense. He’s one of those all-around players that will improve us.
“The first game was a little bit of nerves playing against a lot of guys he played with or against in Canada, but after that he settled down the last game.”
McCready admits he is still trying to find his way offensively.
He plays on the first line with high-scoring Paul Gait and Chris Driscoll and has spent much of his time getting the ball in their sticks. Gait and Driscoll have attempted a combined 51 shots (42 on goal) in two games, McCready has 7 (6 on goal).
“I know I’ve been getting a lot of good shots … ,” said Gait. “We’ve been working a lot during the practices, and now all we have to do is get Pat a few more quality shots and getting him scoring when he gets the opportunities.”
McCready has concentrated on loose balls, and to “move it down the floor and get them the ball because they’re the money players. I think because it’s early in the season, I’m still looking to get them open, and then as the season progresses, they’ll be getting doubled and maybe that will open me up more so I can get more shots.”
Powless has been known to change his lines week after week, but intends to leave his first unit together for the third week in a row when the Knighthawks meet the Saints tomorrow night on Long Island.
“It’s just a matter of him working with Gaiter and finding their niche together as far as who’s going to roll to the net or who’s going to shoot,” said Powless. “With his speed and his savvy about the box game, he’s going to find opportunities for himself and for the rest of the line.”
