Not only does he recieve a hero’s welcome, but he practices, does a sportscast and gets a key to the city.
I love me some T.O.
Archive for May, 2009
18
May
09
It’s 6 p.m sports with T.O.
After defeating the Boston Blazers 11-8 on Saturday night, the Buffalo Bandits are moving onto the National Lacrosse League’s Eastern Division Finals. The Bandits will be taking on the New York Titans on Saturday, May 9th at 7:30pm. The Titans have shuffled venues quite a bit this season. After defeating Rochester on Friday night in Madison Square Garden, the top seeded Titans will host their second round game with Buffalo in New Jersey.The game itself will be played at the Prudential Center, the home of the NHL’s New Jersey Devils.
The Bandits started off hot, taking an early 4-1 lead. Two goals from Mark Steenhuis, and one each from Cory Bomberry and Kyle Schmelzle got the Bandits going. The game was intense from the start. It’s expected being the playoffs, but the Bandits really came out playing smash mouth lacrosse. Off of every faceoff they pressured the Blazers to get the ball over half and finished checks accordingly. In the 2nd quarter Johnny Tavares took a breakaway pass shorthanded and buried it, making it 6-4 Buffalo. The Bandits then took a 7-6 lead into the half.
In the 3rd quarter the Bandits certainly cooled down on offense as they were held to no goals. Their defense didn’t exactly slack though, as Boston only managed one goal. Ken Montour was hot in goal for the Bandits and one of the main reason the defense held it together despite the lack of scoring.
Once the 4th quarter hit, the Bandits knew it was crunch time. A team loaded with veterans, the Bandits outscored the Blazers 4-1 in in the final quarter. Two more goals from Steenhuis, a Tavares goal, and a Tommy Montour empty netter sealed the deal for Buffalo. In goal, Ken Montour finished with 47 saves on 55 shots, and was CO-MVP along with Tavares (2 G 4 A) and Steenhuis (4 G).
Next up, the Bandits face a Titans team who beat Buffalo both times this season. Can the Titans sweep the Bandits this season? I don’t think so. The Bandits are loaded with guys who’ve been there, and the playoffs are another level of lacrosse. The crowd won’t be a factor, if anything, there will likely be more Bandits fans than Titans fans making the trip. If the Bandits can score early, and get into goalie Matt Vinc’s head, they can be successful. That’s the key in beating one of the leagues top goalies. Staying out of the penalty box would help too, a theme the Bandits are slowly going back to. It should be a great game, and for those not making the trip, the game can be seen live, per usual, on the leagues website.
After defeating the Boston Blazers 11-8 on Saturday night, the Buffalo Bandits are moving onto the National Lacrosse League’s Eastern Division Finals. The Bandits will be taking on the New York Titans on Saturday, May 9th at 7:30pm. The Titans have shuffled venues quite a bit this season. After defeating Rochester on Friday night in Madison Square Garden, the top seeded Titans will host their second round game with Buffalo in New Jersey. The game itself will be played at the Prudential Center, the home of the NHL’s New Jersey Devils.
The Bandits started off hot, taking an early 4-1 lead. Two goals from Mark Steenhuis, and one each from Cory Bomberry and Kyle Schmelzle got the Bandits going. The game was intense from the start. It’s expected being the playoffs, but the Bandits really came out playing smashmouth lacrosse. Off of every faceoff they pressured the Blazers to get the ball over half and finished checks accordingly. In the 2nd quarter Johnny Tavares took a breakaway pass shorthanded and buried it, making it 6-4 Buffalo. The Bandits then took a 7-6 lead into the half.
In the 3rd quarter the Bandits certainly cooled down on offense as they were held to no goals. Their defense didn’t exactly slack though, as Boston only managed one goal. Ken Montour was hot in goal for the Bandits and one of the main reason the defense held it together despite the lack of scoring.
Once the 4th quarter hit, the Bandits knew it was crunch time. A team loaded with veterans, the Bandits outscored the Blazers 4-1 in in the final quarter. Two more goals from Steenhuis, a Tavares goal, and a Tommy Montour empty netter sealed the deal for Buffalo. In goal, Ken Montour finished with 47 saves on 55 shots, and was CO-MVP along with Tavres (2 G 4 A) and Steenhuis (4 G).
Next up, the Bandits face a Titans team who beat Buffalo both times this season. Can the Titans sweep the Bandits this season? I don’t think so. The Bandits are loaded with guys who’ve been there, and the playoffs are another level of lacrosse. The crowd won’t be a factor, if anything, there will likely be more Bandits fans than Titans fans making the trip. If the Bandits can score early, and get into goalie Matt Vinc’s head, they can be sucessful. That’s the key in beating one of the leagues top goalies. Staying out of the penalty box would help too, a theme the Bandits are slowly going back to.
01
May
09
Teppo got hosed
It was annonced today that Teppo Numminen is not a finalist for the Bill Masterton Trophy. According to the NHL, the Masterton allegedly is awarded to the player that “who best exemplifies the qualities of perseverance, sportsmanship, and dedication to ice hockey.” Teppo has likely never made a dirty play in his 20 some years of playing. I can’t remember any here in his Sabre career. And as for perseverence? Teppo is 40 and he had to go through open heart surgery, and 8 months of training to return to the Sabres . If that’s not dedication to ice hockey, there is no such thing.
Nice job, NHL.
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