Buffalo Bandits

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Buffalo Bandits

Division	Eastern
Founded	1991
Home arena	HSBC Arena
Based in	Buffalo, New York
Colors	Orange, Black, Purple
Head coach	Darris Kilgour
General manager	Darris Kilgour
Local media	WWKB, WGR
Championships	1992, 1993, 1996, 2008
Division Championships	1992, 1993, 1994, 2004, 2006, 2008
Website	www.bandits.com
PLPA representative	John Tavares

The Buffalo Bandits are a team in the National Lacrosse League (NLL). They play at the HSBC Arena in Buffalo, New York. The Bandits played in the Major Indoor Lacrosse League from 1992 to 1997, until the turned into the NLL in 1998.

The Bandits are owned by Hockey Western New York LLC, the consortium led by Tom Golisano and Larry Quinn that also owns the Buffalo Sabres.

The Bandits became the first franchise in MILL/NLL history^[1]^[2] to win a championship in its first season. The Bandits repeated as champions in their second season, 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.

The Bandits' cheerleaders are known as the Buffalo Bandettes.

1 Awards & honors
2 Roster
3 All time Record
- 3.1 All-time Team-by-team Records
4 Playoff Results
- 4.1 All-time Team-by-team Playoff Records
5 Draft History
6 Footnotes and references
7 See also

[edit] Awards & honors

Mark Steenhuis won two awards during the 2008 season

Year	Player	Award
1992	Derek Keenan	Rookie of the Year
1992	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
2003	Steve Govett	GM of the Year
2005	Steve Dietrich	Goaltender of the Year^[3]
2006	Steve Dietrich	Goaltender of the Year^[4]
2006	Steve Dietrich	NLL Most Valuable Player^[5]
2007	Dave Zygaj	Executive of the Year^[6]
2008	Mark Steenhuis	Transition Player of the Year^[7]
2008	Mark Steenhuis	Championship Game MVP

[edit] Roster

Goaltenders
#	Player	Shoots	Acquired	Place of Birth
29	Ken Montour	R	2007	Six Nations, Ontario
66	Michael Thompson	R	2006	Akwesasne, Ontario
86	Daniel Sams	R	2006	Peterborough, Ontario

Defensemen
#	Player	Shoots	Acquired	Place of Birth
2	Ian Llord	L	2007	St. Catharines, Ontario
3	Billy Dee Smith	L	2005	St. Catharines, Ontario
5	Clay Hill	L	2004	Six Nations, Ontario
6	Chris White	R	2004	Peterborough, Ontario
14	Joe Smith	R	2008	Buffalo, New York
17	Kyle Laverty	L	2003	Peterborough, Ontario
18	Phil Sanderson	L	2007	Orangeville, Ontario
24	Kyle Schmelzle	R	2005	Niagara Falls, New York

Transition
#	Player	Shoots	Acquired	Place of Birth
9	Mark Steenhuis	R	2002	St. Catharines, Ontario
10	Pat McCready (A)	R	2001	St. Catharines, Ontario
16	Rich Kilgour (C)	L	1991	Niagara Falls, New York

Forwards
#	Player	Shoots	Acquired	Place of Birth
4	Andrew Lazore	R	2008	Akwesasne, Ontario
11	John Tavares (A)	L	1991	Toronto, Ontario
12	Brandon Swamp	R	2008	Hogansburg, New York
19	Sean Greenhalgh	L	2007	St. Catharines, Ontario
20	Rusty Kruger	L	2008	Shelburne, Ontario
26	Brett Bucktooth	R	2006	Nedrow, New York
44	Mike Accursi	R	2008	Pelham, Ontario
51	Kevin Dostie	L	2006	Comber, Ontario
72	Cory Bomberry	R	2005	Six Nations, Ontario
81	Roger Vyse	L	2005	Six Nations, Ontario
99	Delby Powless	R	2004	Six Nations, Ontario

[edit] All time Record

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	Missed playoffs
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	Missed playoffs
2002	Central	8-8	4th	4-4	4-4	210	215	Ted Sawicki	Missed playoffs
2003	Central	12-4	2nd	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	1st	7-2	3-4	176	155	Darris Kilgour	Won Championship
Total	17 seasons	122-76		64-35	58-41	2,943	2,625
Playoff Totals		15-10		9-6	6-4	361	329		4 Championships Won

[edit] 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
Arizona Sting		2	2	0	1.000	1	1	0	1.000	3	3	0	1.000
	as Columbus Landsharks	3	3	0	1.000	3	3	0	1.000	6	6	0	1.000
Calgary Roughnecks		1	1	0	1.000	4	3	1	.750	5	4	1	.800
Chicago Shamrox		2	2	0	1.000	2	2	0	1.000	4	4	0	1.000
Colorado Mammoth		3	3	0	1.000	2	0	2	.000	5	3	2	.600
	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		0	0	0	—	0	0	0	—	0	0	0	—
Minnesota Swarm		6	5	1	.833	4	4	0	1.000	10	9	1	.900
New York Titans		2	2	0	1.000	2	1	1	.500	4	3	1	.750
Philadelphia Wings		20	12	8	.600	17	7	10	.412	37	19	18	.514
Portland Lumberjax		2	2	0	1.000	1	0	1	.000	3	2	1	.667
Rochester Knighthawks		15	7	8	.467	18	5	13	.278	33	12	21	.364
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
Toronto Rock		13	2	11	.154	9	4	5	.444	22	6	16	.273
	as Ontario Raiders	1	1	0	1.000	1	0	1	.000	2	1	1	.500
Total		85	53	32	.624	77	40	34	.519	162	93	69	.574

[edit] 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
1993	Championship	Philadelphia Wings 12	Buffalo Bandits 13
1994	Division Final	Detroit Turbos 10	Buffalo Bandits 16
1994	Championship	Philadelphia Wings 26	Buffalo Bandits 15
1995	Semifinals	Philadelphia Wings 19	Buffalo Bandits 16
1996	Semifinals	Rochester Knighthawks 10	Buffalo Bandits 18
1996	Championship	Philadelphia Wings 10	Buffalo Bandits 15
1997	Semifinals	New York Saints 10	Buffalo Bandits 19
1997	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
2003	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
2007	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

[edit] All-time Team-by-team Playoff Records

(active NLL franchises only)

	Home				Road				Overall
Team	GP	W	L	PCT	GP	W	L	PCT	GP	W	L	PCT
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
Minnesota Swarm	2	2	0	1.000	0	0	0	—	2	2	0	1.000
New York Titans	1	1	0	1.000	0	0	0	—	1	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	5	2	3	.400	3	1	2	.333	8	3	5	.375
Toronto Rock	0	0	0	—	1	1	0	1.000	1	1	0	1.000
Total	16	10	6	.625	7	3	4	.429	23	13	10	.565

[edit] Draft History

[edit] NLL Entry Draft

First Round Selections

1991: Darris Kilgour (1st overall)
1992: Tom Marechek (6th overall)
1993: Gil Nieuwendyk (6th overall)
1994: Rodd Squire (5th overall)
1995: Jason Luke (3rd overall)
1996: Mike Murray (6th overall)
1997: Casey Zaph (7th overall) & Marty O'Brien (8th overall)
1998: Matt Disher (7th overall)
1999: None

2000: Ryan Powell (2nd overall)
2001: None
2002: Billy Dee Smith (3rd overall)
2003: A.J. Shannon (6th overall)
2004: Delby Powless (1st overall)
2005: Jeff Shattler (10th overall)
2006: Brett Bucktooth (3rd overall)
2007: None

[edit] 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)

[edit] 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)

[edit] 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 on 2007-05-08.
^ Steve Dietrich Named RBK Goaltender of the Year. NLL website (May 3, 2006). Retrieved on 2008-05-08.
^ Dietrich Wins 2006 Jet Blue MVP Award. NLL website (May 11, 2006). Retrieved on 2008-05-08.
^ Dave Zygaj Named NLL Executive of the Year. NLL.com (May 7, 2007). Retrieved on 2008-05-08.
^ Steenhuis Named Top Transition Player. NLL.com (May 12, 2008). Retrieved on 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

[edit] See also

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 current

v • d • e

National Lacrosse League

East Division: Buffalo Bandits · Chicago Shamrox · Minnesota Swarm · New York Titans · Philadelphia Wings · Rochester Knighthawks · Toronto Rock

West Division: Calgary Roughnecks · Colorado Mammoth · Edmonton Rush · Portland LumberJax · San Jose Stealth

Returning in 2009: Arizona Sting · Boston Blazers

NLL Awards: Champion's Cup · MVP · Rookie of the Year · Defensive Player of the Year · Transition Player of the Year · Goaltender of the Year · Sportsmanship Award · Les Bartley Award · GM of the Year · Executive of the Year · Tom Borrelli Award · Weekly Awards · Monthly Awards

NLL Articles: All-Star Game · PLPA · Family relations · Hall of Fame · Seasons · Team Capsules · Former teams · All-time Records

Related Articles: Box lacrosse · Lacrosse · Major League Lacrosse

v • d • e Sports teams based in Upstate New York

Baseball	IL: Buffalo Bisons · Rochester Red Wings · Syracuse Chiefs — EL: Binghamton Mets — NYPL: Auburn Doubledays · Batavia Muckdogs · Hudson Valley Renegades · Jamestown Jammers · Oneonta Tigers · Tri-City ValleyCats

Basketball	ABA: Buffalo Sharks — CBA: Albany Patroons PBL: Buffalo Dragons · Rochester Razorsharks — NPBL: Elmira Bulldogs

Football	NFL: Buffalo Bills — af2: Albany Conquest — CIFL: Rochester Raiders — WPFL: Empire State Roar — EFL: Watertown Red & Black · Amsterdam Zephyrs — NFA: Buffalo Gladiators · Syracuse Shock

Hockey	NHL: Buffalo Sabres — AHL: Albany River Rats · Binghamton Senators · Rochester Americans · Syracuse Crunch — ECHL: Elmira Jackals — UJHL: Jamestown Jets OPJHL: Buffalo Jr. Sabres

Soccer	USL-1: Rochester Rhinos — NPSL: Queen City FC — W-League: Rochester Rhinos Women

Lacrosse	MLL: Rochester Rattlers — NLL: Buffalo Bandits · Rochester Knighthawks

College athletics (NCAA Division I)	University at Albany · Binghamton University · University at Buffalo · Canisius College · Colgate University · Cornell University · Marist College · Niagara University · Siena College · St. Bonaventure University · Syracuse University