Seven who finished in top 15 in scoring are back; rookies bring size
By TOM BORRELLI
The Buffalo Bandits will have plenty of weapons on their side in 1993, but the element of surprise won’t be among them. En route to
winning the Major Indoor Lacrosse League championship in their first season, the Bandits staggered out of the gate 0-3 before winning eight straight. Granted, the Bandits didn’t know what to expect from the rest of the MILL at first, but many opponents weren’t ready for Buffalo’s up-tempo style and distinct Canadian box lacrosse flavor.
Nobody’s expecting to see any raised eyebrows this time around.
“Everybody will be making their game plans, gearing them to knock us off,” Bandits General Manager John Mouradian said. “And in this league, anybody can be a challenge to anybody on any given night. I think our guys understand where we are.”
The Bandits will begin defense of their title Saturday (8 p.m., Empire cable) against the Pittsburgh Bulls at Civic Arena. That’s the same place the Bandits started their run last season with a 23-13 win — the team’s first victory ever — and they haven’t lost since. Buffalo did it with offense last season, leading the league in goals (161), assists (169), total.
Buffalo did it with offense last season, leading the league in goals (161), assists (169), total points (330), on-goal shooting percentage (77.4) and on-goal scoring percentage (32.5). Seven Bandits finished among the league’s top 15 individual scorers and all are back this season.
“We were just lost at the beginning of the season last year,” said Derek Keenan, who tallied 26 goals and 23 assists last season. “After we adjusted, we were fine. That’s something we won’t need to do this year. There’s no question we’re stronger this year, it’s not even close. We’ve got 10 or 15 guys who will always step up and rise to the occasion.”
Keenan finished tied for second in the MILL with his 49 points last season. John Tavares, who scored the winning goal in overtime in last season’s championship game at Philadelphia, scored 43 points, fourth in the league. Darris Kilgour (23-16-39) was fifth, Jim Veltman (8-23-31) was I Oth, Kevin Alexander (22-4-26) was tied for 11th, Bob Hamley (13-15-28) was 13th and Brian Hall (8-17-25) was 15th.
Alexander, who flies in from Victoria, British Columbia, for the games, probably won’t make the trip Saturday to face the Bulls, but he’s a big part of coach Les Bartley’s plans. Mouradian calls Alexander “the best faceoff man in the world.” Alexander, who also missed the first game of last season. won 80 of 143 faceoffs.
The return of Rich Kilgour, who missed half of last season with a knee injury, should also help. Kilgour, who had three goals and 1 I assists in five games, should be a key man on the Bandits’ power play.
Even with all the returning firepower, the Bandits have made several key additions. Draft choices Troy Cordingley, Canisius College graduate Randy Mearns and Miles General didn’t wait long to make their presence felt. In a 17-14 exhibition win over the New York Saints, that trio combined for six goals and four assists. Glen Lay (6-foot-3, 232 pounds). Carl Jutzin (6-1, 220) and Peter Syke (6-0, 242) add needed size; 35-year-old rookie Stu Aird bongs plenty of Canadian box lacrosse experience.
Top draft choice Tom Marechek, an All-American who scored 182 goals in four seasons at Syracuse University, won’t be playing for the Bandits this season. Marechek is still attending classes at Syracuse and chose to sit out this season because of the rigors of traveling for practices and games.
“Absolutely, we expect a lot from our rookies this season,” Bartley said. “All of these guys have been high scorers somewhere, they’ve played on the power play. We’ve got quality depth through our third line this year. We just didn’t have that kind of depth last year.”
“We’ve added more speed, which is actually kind of scary,” said Hamley, who along with Keenan will serve as assistant captains, with Veltman assuming the captain’s role again. Goaltenders Bill Gerrie and Ross Cowie both return. Both played in six games last season and appeared in the playoffs. Cowie made 170 saves and Gerrie 159.
“1 think we proved we have the talent,” Darris Kilgour said. “We may not have been focused early in the year. Maybe some of us weren’t used to so many people looking at us from the stands.”
That’s something all the Bandits had better be used to this season. Season ticket sales — which are around 8,000, compared to 1.100 last season — will continue right up until the home opener on Jan. 23 against Baltimore. The Bandits were second in average attendance (13,821) last season and sold out Memorial Auditorium twice in four home games.
