Buffalo Bandits
|
Team logo | |
| Division | Eastern |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1991 |
| Home arena | First Niagara Center |
| Based in | Buffalo, New York |
| Colors | Orange, Black, Purple |
| Head coach | Troy Cordingley |
| General manager | Steve Dietrich |
| Owner(s) | Terrence Pegula |
| Local media | WWKB, WGR, WGWE |
| Championships | 1992, 1993, 1996, 2008 |
| Division Championships | 1993, 1994, 1996, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2011, 2016 |
| PLPA representative |
 John Tavares |
| Website | www.bandits.com |
The Buffalo Bandits are a professional Box lacrosse team in the National Lacrosse League (NLL)'s Eastern Division. They play at the First Niagara Center in Buffalo, New York. The Bandits played in the Major Indoor Lacrosse League from 1992 to 1997, until the MILL turned into the NLL in 1998.
The Bandits are owned by Hockey Western New York LLC, the consortium led by Terry Pegula that also owns the Buffalo Sabres and the Buffalo Bills.
The Bandits played their first season in 1992. They played home games at Buffalo Memorial Auditorium sharing with the Buffalo Sabres until its closure in 1996.
The Bandits became the first expansion franchise in MILL/NLL history[1][2] to win a championship in its first season. The Bandits repeated as champions in their second season (compiling the league's only perfect season to date that year), lost the Championship game their third season and captured their third Championship in 1996, their fifth season. It was not until 1999, their eighth season, that the Bandits did not make the playoffs.
Since their 1996 Championship-winning season, the Bandits returned to the NLL Championship game on three separate occasions (1997, 2004, 2006) only to lose each time (including twice at home). It wouldn't be until 2008 that the Bandits would win their elusive fourth Championship, a 14-13 triumph over Portland.
As of 2016, Buffalo is the longest tenured team in the NLL, in terms of continuous years in their home city, at 25 seasons. (They are not the longest tenured franchise; the New England Black Wolves operate on the franchise of the Philadelphia Wings and the Colorado Mammoth were originally the Baltimore Thunder with previous stops as the Pittsburgh Crossefire in 2000 and Washington Power in 2001 & 2002.)
Awards and honors
During the 2009 season, Mark Steenhuis set two league records for most assists (13) and points (17) in a single game. He was also selected to his fifth all-star game, second consecutive as a starter.
| Year | Player | Award |
| 1992 | Derek Keenan | Rookie of the Year |
| John Tavares | Championship Game MVP | |
| 1993 | John Tavares | Championship Game MVP |
| 1994 | John Tavares | NLL Most Valuable Player |
| 1996 | Pat O'Toole | Championship Game MVP |
| 2000 | John Tavares | NLL Most Valuable Player |
| 2001 | John Tavares | NLL Most Valuable Player |
| 2003 | Darris Kilgour | Les Bartley Award |
| 2005 | Steve Dietrich | Goaltender of the Year[3] |
| 2006 | Steve Dietrich | Goaltender of the Year[4] |
| Steve Dietrich | NLL Most Valuable Player[5] | |
| 2007 | Dave Zygaj | Executive of the Year[6] |
| 2008 | Mark Steenhuis | Transition Player of the Year[7] |
| Mark Steenhuis | Champion's Cup MVP | |
| 2009 | ||
| Billy Dee Smith | Defenesive Player of the Year | |
| Ken Montour | Goaltender of the Year |
NLL Hall of Fame members
- Les Bartley (class of 2006)
- Darris Kilgour, Tom Borrelli (class of 2007)
- Johnny Mouradian (class of 2008)
- Jim Veltman (class of 2009)
- Rich Kilgour (class of 2010)
- Steve Dietrich (class of 2012)
- Pat O'Toole (class of 2013)
NLL records
Single-game record holders
- Most assists in a single game - Mark Steenhuis (13 assists, February 14, 2009)
- Most points in a single game - Mark Steenhuis (17 points, February 14, 2009)
Season record holders
- Most points in a single season - Dhane Smith (137 points, 2016)
All-time record holders
- Most goals in a career - John Tavares (724 goals, 1991–present)
- Most assists in a career - John Tavares (823 assists, 1991–present)
- Most points in a career - John Tavares (1,547 points, 1991–present)
NLL All-Star Game
- 2005: Kyle Couling, Mark Steenhuis, John Tavares*, Dan Teat
- 2006: Steve Dietrich, Mark Steenhuis, John Tavares*
- 2007: Pat McCready, Mark Steenhuis, John Tavares*
- 2008: Mark Steenhuis*, John Tavares*, Chris White
- 2009: Ken Montour*, Mark Steenhuis*, John Tavares, Roger Vyse, Chris White*
- 2011: Chris White, Mark Steenhuis, John Tavares, Brett Bucktooth
- 2012: Billy Dee Smith, Scott Self, Chris White, John Tavares, Mike Thompson
* - voted as starter
Current roster
| Buffalo Bandits roster | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Active (20-man) roster | Inactive roster | Coaches | |||||||
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Equipment Manager
Roster updated 2016-05-01 | ||||||
All-time record
The 2008 NLL Championship Game at First Niagara Center on May 17, 2008
| League Champions | Division Champions | League Leader |
- All stats present and accounted for as of June 10, 2013
| Season | Division | W-L | Finish | Home | Road | GF | GA | Coach | Playoffs |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | National | 5-3 | 2nd | 2-2 | 3-1 | 161 | 125 | Bob "Buff" McCready[8] Les Bartley | Won Championship |
| 1993 | National | 8-0 | 1st | 4-0 | 4-0 | 143 | 108 | Les Bartley | Won Championship |
| 1994 | National | 6-2 | 1st | 3-1 | 3-1 | 121 | 99 | Les Bartley | Lost Championship |
| 1995 | 3-5 | 4th | 2-2 | 1-3 | 109 | 108 | Les Bartley | Lost in semifinals | |
| 1996 | 8-2 | T-1st | 3-2 | 5-0 | 172 | 127 | Les Bartley | Won Championship | |
| 1997 | 6-4 | 3rd | 3-2 | 3-2 | 158 | 153 | Les Bartley | Lost Championship | |
| 1998 | 6-6 | 4th | 4-2 | 2-4 | 166 | 171 | Les Wakeling | Lost in semifinals | |
| 1999 | 4-8 | 6th | 1-5 | 3-3 | 158 | 177 | Les Wakeling | Did not qualify | |
| 2000 | 8-4 | 2nd | 5-1 | 3-3 | 202 | 194 | Ted Sawicki | Lost in semifinals | |
| 2001 | 8-6 | 5th | 4-3 | 4-3 | 248 | 218 | Ted Sawicki | Did not qualify | |
| 2002 | Central | 8-8 | 4th | 4-4 | 4-4 | 210 | 215 | Ted Sawicki Frank Neilson | Did not qualify |
| 2003 | Central | 12-4 | T-1st | 8-0 | 4-4 | 231 | 188 | Darris Kilgour | Lost in semifinals |
| 2004 | Eastern | 8-8 | 3rd | 4-4 | 4-4 | 205 | 198 | Darris Kilgour | Lost Championship |
| 2005 | Eastern | 11-5 | 2nd | 5-3 | 6-2 | 217 | 183 | Darris Kilgour | Lost in division semifinals |
| 2006 | Eastern | 11-5 | 1st | 6-2 | 5-3 | 193 | 167 | Darris Kilgour | Lost Championship |
| 2007 | Eastern | 10-6 | 2nd | 6-2 | 4-4 | 249 | 194 | Darris Kilgour | Lost in division finals |
| 2008 | Eastern | 10-6 | T-1st | 7-2 | 3-4 | 203 | 174 | Darris Kilgour | Won Championship |
| 2009 | Eastern | 10-6 | T-1st | 5-3 | 5-3 | 223 | 170 | Darris Kilgour | Lost in division finals |
| 2010 | Eastern | 8-8 | T-3rd | 4-4 | 4-4 | 169 | 170 | Darris Kilgour | Lost in division semifinals |
| 2011 | Eastern | 10-6 | 1st | 4-4 | 6-2 | 169 | 159 | Darris Kilgour | Lost in division finals |
| 2012 | Eastern | 7-9 | T-2nd | 4-4 | 3-5 | 198 | 204 | Darris Kilgour | Lost in division semifinals |
| 2013 | Eastern | 6-10 | 4th | 2-6 | 4-4 | 171 | 211 | Darris Kilgour | Did not qualify |
| 2014 | Eastern | 8-10 | 3rd | 6-3 | 2-7 | 190 | 200 | Troy Cordingley | Lost in division finals |
| 2015 | Eastern | 11-7 | 3rd | 7-2 | 4-5 | 236 | 208 | Troy Cordingley | Lost in division semifinals |
| 2016 | Eastern | 13-5 | 1st | 8-1 | 5-4 | 251 | 214 | Troy Cordingley | TBD |
| Total | 25 seasons | 206-142 | 112-63 | 94-75 | 4,711 | 4,330 | |||
| Playoff Totals | 22-16 | .578 | 15-6 | 6-9 | 475 | 439 | 4 Championships Won |
All-time team-by-team records
(active NLL franchises only)
| Home | Road | Overall | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | GP | W | L | PCT | GP | W | L | PCT | GP | W | L | PCT | ||||
| Calgary Roughnecks | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1.000 | 7 | 3 | 4 | .429 | 9 | 5 | 4 | .556 | ||||
| Colorado Mammoth | 7 | 3 | 4 | .429 | 3 | 0 | 3 | .000 | 10 | 3 | 7 | .300 | ||||
| as Washington Power | 2 | 1 | 1 | .500 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1.000 | 4 | 3 | 1 | .750 | ||||
| as Pittsburgh CrosseFire | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 | ||||
| as Baltimore Thunder | 8 | 6 | 2 | .750 | 5 | 4 | 1 | .800 | 13 | 10 | 3 | .769 | ||||
| Edmonton Rush | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 3 | 1 | 2 | .333 | 4 | 1 | 3 | .250 | ||||
| Minnesota Swarm | 13 | 11 | 2 | .846 | 8 | 6 | 2 | .750 | 21 | 17 | 4 | .810 | ||||
| Philadelphia Wings | 30 | 18 | 12 | .600 | 25 | 11 | 14 | .440 | 55 | 29 | 26 | .527 | ||||
| Rochester Knighthawks | 27 | 13 | 14 | .481 | 30 | 11 | 19 | .367 | 57 | 24 | 33 | .421 | ||||
| Toronto Rock | 21 | 6 | 15 | .286 | 20 | 11 | 9 | .550 | 41 | 17 | 24 | .415 | ||||
| as Ontario Raiders | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 2 | 1 | 1 | .500 | ||||
| Washington Stealth | 2 | 0 | 2 | .000 | 3 | 2 | 1 | .667 | 5 | 2 | 3 | .400 | ||||
| as San Jose Stealth | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1.000 | ||||
| as Albany Attack | 4 | 3 | 1 | .750 | 4 | 3 | 1 | .750 | 8 | 6 | 2 | .750 | ||||
| Total (active franchises) | 119 | 65 | 54 | .546 | 113 | 55 | 58 | .487 | 232 | 120 | 112 | .517 | ||||
| Total (defunct franchises) | 96 | 74 | 22 | .771 | ||||||||||||
Playoff results
| Season | Game | Visiting | Home |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Division Semifinal | Boston Blazers 16 | Buffalo Bandits 22 |
| Division Final | Buffalo Bandits 19 | Detroit Turbos 16 | |
| Championship | Buffalo Bandits 11 | Philadelphia Wings 10 (OT) | |
| 1993 | Division Final | Boston Blazers 10 | Buffalo Bandits 12 |
| Championship | Philadelphia Wings 12 | Buffalo Bandits 13 | |
| 1994 | Division Final | Detroit Turbos 10 | Buffalo Bandits 16 |
| Championship | Philadelphia Wings 26 | Buffalo Bandits 15 | |
| 1995 | Semifinals | Philadelphia Wings 19 | Buffalo Bandits 16 |
| 1996 | Semifinals | Rochester Knighthawks 10 | Buffalo Bandits 18 |
| Championship | Philadelphia Wings 10 | Buffalo Bandits 15 | |
| 1997 | Semifinals | New York Saints 10 | Buffalo Bandits 19 |
| Championship | Rochester Knighthawks 15 | Buffalo Bandits 12 | |
| 1998 | Semifinals | Buffalo Bandits 12 | Philadelphia Wings 17 |
| 2000 | Semifinals | Rochester Knighthawks 15 | Buffalo Bandits 11 |
| 2003 | Quarterfinals | Calgary Roughnecks 9 | Buffalo Bandits 16 |
| Semifinals | Buffalo Bandits 13 | Rochester Knighthawks 16 | |
| 2004 | Division Semifinal | Buffalo Bandits 13 | Rochester Knighthawks 9 |
| Division Final | Buffalo Bandits 19 | Toronto Rock 10 | |
| Championship | Buffalo Bandits 11 | Calgary Roughnecks 14 | |
| 2005 | Division Semifinal | Rochester Knighthawks 17 | Buffalo Bandits 16 |
| 2006 | Division Semifinal | Buffalo Bandits 11 | Minnesota Swarm 10 |
| Division Final | Buffalo Bandits 15 | Rochester Knighthawks 10 | |
| Championship | Colorado Mammoth 16 | Buffalo Bandits 9 | |
| 2007 | Division Semifinal | Minnesota Swarm 8 | Buffalo Bandits 14 |
| Division Final | Buffalo Bandits 13 | Rochester Knighthawks 14 (OT) | |
| 2008 | Division Semifinal | Philadelphia Wings 12 | Buffalo Bandits 14 |
| Division Final | New York Titans 12 | Buffalo Bandits 19 | |
| Championship | Portland LumberJax 13 | Buffalo Bandits 14 | |
| 2009 | Division Semifinal | Boston Blazers 8 | Buffalo Bandits 11 |
| Division Final | Buffalo Bandits 3 | New York Titans 9 | |
| 2010 | Division Semifinal | Buffalo Bandits 11 | Toronto Rock 13 |
| 2011 | Division Semifinal | Boston Blazers 10 | Buffalo Bandits 11 |
| Division Final | Buffalo Bandits 11 | Toronto Rock 12 | |
| 2012 | Division Semifinal | Buffalo Bandits 6 | Toronto Rock 7 |
| 2014 | Division Semifinal | Buffalo Bandits 15 | Toronto Rock 13 |
| Division Final 1 | Rochester Knighthawks 8 | Buffalo Bandits 12 | |
| Division Final 2 | Buffalo Bandits 8 | Rochester Knighthawks 13 | |
| Division Final 3 | Buffalo Bandits 1 | Rochester Knighthawks 2 | |
| 2015 | Division Semifinal | Buffalo Bandits 11 | Rochester Knighthawks 14 |
| 2016 | Division Final 1 | Buffalo Bandits | Georgia/New England |
| Division Final 2 | Georgia/New England | Buffalo Bandits |
All-time team-by-team playoff records
defunct franchises in italics
| Home | Road | Overall | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | GP | W | L | PCT | GP | W | L | PCT | GP | W | L | PCT | ||||
| Boston Blazers | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1.000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1.000 | ||||
| Calgary Roughnecks | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 2 | 1 | 1 | .500 | ||||
| Colorado Mammoth | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 | ||||
| Detroit Turbos | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1.000 | ||||
| Minnesota Swarm | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1.000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1.000 | ||||
| New York Saints | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | ||||
| New York Titans | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | ||||
| as Orlando Titans | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 | ||||
| Philadelphia Wings | 5 | 3 | 2 | .600 | 2 | 1 | 1 | .500 | 7 | 4 | 3 | .571 | ||||
| Portland LumberJax | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1.000 | ||||
| Rochester Knighthawks | 6 | 3 | 3 | .500 | 6 | 1 | 5 | .200 | 12 | 4 | 8 | .333 | ||||
| Toronto Rock | 0 | 0 | 0 | — | 4 | 2 | 3 | .400 | 5 | 2 | 3 | .400 | ||||
| Total | 21 | 15 | 6 | .714 | 15 | 5 | 10 | .333 | 36 | 20 | 16 | .556 | ||||
Head coaching history
| # | Name | Term | Regular Season | Playoffs | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GC | W | L | W% | GC | W | L | W% | |||
| 1 | Bob McCready | 1992 | 3 | 0 | 3 | .000 | — | — | — | — |
| 2 | Les Bartley | 1992—1997 | 49 | 36 | 13 | .735 | 12 | 9 | 3 | .750 |
| 3 | Les Wakeling | 1998—1999 | 24 | 10 | 14 | .417 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 |
| 4 | Ted Sawicki | 2000—2002 | 35 | 21 | 14 | .600 | 1 | 0 | 1 | .000 |
| 5 | Frank Neilson | 2002 | 7 | 3 | 4 | .429 | — | — | — | — |
| 6 | Darris Kilgour | 2003—2013 | 176 | 103 | 73 | .585 | 20 | 11 | 9 | .550 |
| 7 | Troy Cordingley | 2014- | 54 | 32 | 22 | .593 | 4 | 2 | 3 | .400 |
Draft history
NLL Entry Draft
First Round Selections
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NLL Dispersal Draft
- 2002 from Montreal Express: Aime Caines (6th overall); Kelly Sullivan (18th overall)
- 2003 from Ottawa Rebel: Jason Clark (9th overall); Marc Landriault (20th overall); Mike Hamilton (31st overall)
- 2004 from Vancouver Ravens: Curt Malawsky (9th overall); Declined to pick (18th overall)
- 2005 from Anaheim Storm: Traded to Arizona (9th overall)
- 2007 from Arizona Sting & Boston Blazers: Craig Conn, Arizona (10th overall); Brian Croswell, Boston (15th overall); Joe Smith, Arizona (34th overall)
- 2008 from Arizona Sting: Greg Hinman (13th overall)
- 2008 from Chicago Shamrox: Cody Jacobs (12th overall); Cory Stringer (21st overall)
NLL Expansion Draft
- 1999 to Albany Attack: Troy Cordingley (3rd overall)
- 2001 to Calgary Roughnecks, New Jersey Storm, Vancouver Ravens & Columbus Landsharks:[9] Rich Catton, Vancouver (3rd overall); Phil Wetherup, Columbus (4th overall); Andy Duden, Columbus (10th overall); Peter Talmo, New Jersey (21st overall)
- 2004 to Minnesota Swarm: Jason Clark (N/A overall)
- 2005 to Portland Lumberjax & Edmonton Rush: Mike Hominuck, Portland (1st overall); Thomas Montour, Portland (13th overall)
- 2006 to Chicago Shamrox & New York Titans: Bryan Kazarian, Chicago (13th overall); Jon Harasym, Portland (15th overall)
- 2007 to Boston Blazers: Brendan Thenhaus (7th overall)
- 2008 to Boston Blazers: Kyle Laverty (4th overall)
Retired numbers
The Bandits have four retired numbers, two of which are represented at the Arena in the rafters with the Championship banners.[10] [11]
34 Thomas Gardner, western New York youth lacrosse organizer, number retired March 20, 1999
43 Darris Kilgour, F, 1992–1999, number retired March 25, 2001
16 Rich Kilgour, D, number retired April 16, 2011[11]
11 John Tavares, F, number retired March 11, 2016
Equipment Manager- John Craig, February 2, 2012 (retired by the Bandits and given a ceremony)
Game broadcasts
Buffalo Bandits games can be heard on WWKB-AM 1520 out of Buffalo, with a simulcast on WGWE-FM 105.9, the Seneca nation's radio station in Little Valley. John Gurtler, former play-by-play man for the Buffalo Sabres, handles announcing duties, while former Bandit Randy Mearns handles color commentary. Home games are streamed live on NLL.com.
Footnotes and references
- ↑ The Baltimore Thunder won the Eagle Pro Box Lacrosse League championship in the first year of their existence as well (1987), but that was the first year the league existed.
- ↑ The Toronto Rock won a championship in its first season in Toronto (1999), but the franchise had already played one year in Hamilton as the Ontario Raiders.
- ↑ "Dietrich Named Aquis Goaltender of the Year". NLL.com. May 4, 2005. Retrieved 2007-05-08.
- ↑ "Steve Dietrich Named RBK Goaltender of the Year". NLL website. May 3, 2006. Retrieved 2008-05-08.
- ↑ "Dietrich Wins 2006 Jet Blue MVP Award". NLL website. May 11, 2006. Retrieved 2008-05-08.
- ↑ "Dave Zygaj Named NLL Executive of the Year". NLL.com. May 7, 2007. Retrieved 2008-05-08.
- ↑ "Steenhuis Named Top Transition Player". NLL.com. May 12, 2008. Retrieved 2008-05-12.
- ↑ Buff McCready only coached the Bandits for the first three games.
- ↑ Acquired the first overall pick and selected Chris Langdale from Toronto
- ↑ "http://www.lacrosse-network.com/outsidersguide/news010322.htm". Outsider's Guide. March 22, 2001. Retrieved 2008-06-10. External link in
|title=(help) - 1 2 "http://www.bandits.com/newsX.asp?type=Features&aID=242". Bandits.com. April 13, 2011. Retrieved 2011-04-17. External link in
|title=(help)
See also
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Buffalo Bandits. |
- Buffalo Bandits seasons
- Buffalo Bandits all-time roster
| Preceded by Detroit Turbos |
Major Indoor Lacrosse League Champions 1992, 1993 |
Succeeded by Philadelphia Wings |
| Preceded by Philadelphia Wings |
Major Indoor Lacrosse League Champions 1996 |
Succeeded by Rochester Knighthawks |
| Preceded by Rochester Knighthawks |
National Lacrosse League Champions 2008 |
Succeeded by Calgary Roughnecks |
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