Minnesota Swarm
5-3 (Home 2-1 Road 3-2)
vs
Buffalo Bandits
5-4 (Home 3-1 Road 2-3)
The Fourth Commandment
Remember the Swarmath day, to keep it Swarmy
Edition of Minnesota Swarm Lacrosse
March 4th, 2007 1:00 pm CST
The Hive
St. Paul, Minnesota
TV/Internet/Radio Coverage:
Radio: Sirius Satellite - Channel 140
Webcast: B2 Networks: https://www.b2livetv.com/bp/nll.htm $6.00 per game
Minnesota Swarm website: http://www.mnswarm.com
Minnesota Swarm message board: http://boards.mnswarm.com/forums/
Buffalo Bandits website: http://www.bandits.com
National Lacrosse League website: http://www.nll.com
NLL message board: http://www.wingszone.com/nllmb/
Series
Overall: Buffalo 7-1
Home Regular Season: Buffalo 3-0
Road Regular Season: Buffalo 3-1
Road Playoffs: Buffalo 1-0
Road This Season: Buffalo 1-0
The Bandits crushed the Swarm 22-13 in Buffalo on January 20. The Bandits jumped out early and never
let up. This is the second and last game between both teams this year. If the Swarm lose, the
Bandits will have the tiebreaker. That could be the difference between hosting a first round playoff game or not.
Riley Kemp playing in every Minnesota Swarm game count (including playoffs): 41
East Division W-L (Division Record) [vs. Swarm] (Goal Differential)
- Rochester Knighthawks 7-2 (4-1) [0-1] (+23)
- MINNESOTA SWARM 5-3 (4-2) (+5)
- BUFFALO BANDITS 5-4 (5-2) [1-0] (+6)
- Philadelphia Wings 4-4 (2-2) (+2)
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- Toronto Rock 4-4 (3-3) (0)
- Chicago Shamrox 3-5 (2-5) [1-1] (-12)
- New York Titans 1-8 (1-6) [0-2] (-18)
West Division W-L (Division Record) [vs. Swarm] (Goal Differential)
- Colorado Mammoth 9-1 (7-1) (+37)
- Arizona Sting 5-3 (4-1) (+6)
- Calgary Roughnecks 5-4 (3-2) [1-0] (+4)
- Edmonton Rush 3-4 (2-4) (-14)
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- San Jose Stealth 2-5 (1-2) (-10)
- Portland LumberJax 2-8 (0-6) [0-1] (-29)
The Swarm enter Sunday’s game on a team record four game winning streak, with three of those
wins on the road. Last Saturday night, the Swarm scored a team record nineteen goals in a 19-11
victory over the Chicago Shamrox in Chicago. Ryan Ward (14g 34a) led the team in scoring with
three goals and six assists.
The Bandits are also hot entering this game as they have won three in a row. Last Saturday
night at home, they beat the Philadelphia Wings for a second straight weekend, 13-12. That win
clinched a very important head-to-head tiebreaker for the Bandits against the Wings for future
playoff positioning.
As I mentioned earlier, the Swarm are on a four game winning streak; however, the four teams
they beat, including New York twice, currently have a combined record of 7–29. The Bandits will be
a very good barometer to see how well the Swarm have progressed from the beginning of the season.
In general, Portland and Chicago struggle offensively while New York struggles defensively. In comparison,
Buffalo is very good offensively, defensively and are strong in net also.
The Swarm offense will have a very tough challenge with the most physical defense in the league.
Chris White (45 PIM) and Kyle Laverty (43 PIM) are second and third in the league in penalty minutes.
They and the rest of their defense will try to drag the Swarm through the mud but the Swarm will have
to show restraint against them to win. The temptation is to shut them up with a right cross to the
face but considering that the Bandits scored nine goals on nine power plays against the Swarm in
January, that is probably not the wisest choice. Also, in the last game, the Bandits played back
up Mike Thompson (2-2 12.74 GAA .754 Save %) in goal and he did fine but on Sunday will face the
defending league MVP, Steve Dietrich (3-2 10.97 GAA .787 Save %) who missed that game due to injury.
The Swarm seem to have settled on the seven forwards who will play game in and game out. All
seven have scored at least twenty points this year and the lowest shooting percentage among them
is 18.4 % that belongs to Spencer Martin (7g 14a). Sean Pollock (13g 20a) has definitely been hot
in February but it appears that Kasey Beirnes (12g 8a) is finally hitting stride. Beirnes scored 53
points last year but only had 8 after 5 games this year. Now with the offense wide open and running
on all cylinders, Beirnes has gotten better opportunities in his comfort zone near the net.
The Swarm defense put in a solid effort behind goaltender Nick Patterson (4-3 11.66 GAA .775 Save %)
against the Shamrox but Chicago doesn’t have John Tavares (25g 35a), the league’s all-time leading
scorer and second in the league this year. Tavares scored three goals and ten assists in January
against the Swarm by picking apart the defense with fantastic passing. Mark Steenhuis (14g 12a)
is dangerous one on one and there will always be a Bandit open with Tavares being constantly double
teamed. With extra attention on Tavares, it could limit the Swarm transition game led by
Brock Boyle (7g 1a); however, if Boyle gets loose, expect the ball in the behind Dietrich in the net.
This is a very pivotal game at the mid point of the regular season. Next weekend is the
All-Star Game, so both will want to enter the break continuing their winning streaks. With Buffalo
having a 1-0 advantage so far, the Swarm are in more need of victory in order to not lose the
head-to-head tie breaker. A large crowd is expected this Sunday, the Swarm are running well
and its about time the Swarm beat the Bandits at Xcel. This weekend we find out if the Swarm’s
four-game winning streak is a trend or mirage? I predict is more trend than mirage and the Swarm
extend their streak to five with a 14-12 victory.
The Swarm will have the following promotions on Sunday, March 4th:
- First 5,000 fans receive a 2007 Swarm team poster
Next weekend is the All-Star Game in Portland on Saturday, March 10th at 9:00 pm CST. Versus
will show the game on tape delay on Sunday, March 11th at 1:30 pm CST. The Swarm next play the
Philadelphia Wings in a home and home series. The first game is Saturday, March 17th at 6:30 pm
CST in Philadelphia. Both teams will then come to St. Paul on Sunday, March 18th at 5:00 pm CST
at the Xcel Energy Center. Buffalo resumes their season on Saturday, March 17th at 11:30 am CST
in New York against the Titans.
Minnesota Swarm
Head Coach: Duane Jacobs (former Bandit)
General Manager & Assistant Head Coach: Marty O'Neill (former Bandit)
Assistant Head Coach: Derek Moffat
22-F-R-Kasey Beirnes
18-D-R-Andrew Biers
10-D-L-Brock Boyle
50-D-R-Ryan Cousins {C}- All-Star
19-F-L-Chad Culp
1-G-L-Matt Disher (former Bandit)
73-F-L-Dean Hill
47-D-R-Travis Hill (FO)
90-F-L-Mike Hominuck (former Bandit)
77-D-L-Riley Kemp
55-D-R-Michael Kilby (A)
15-F-L-Spencer Martin
6-D-L-Ashton McLean
39-D-R-Mark Miyashita (FO)
12-D-R-Eric Pacey
93-G-R-Nick Patterson
17-F-R-Sean Pollock
26-D-L-Ryan Sharp
48-F-R-Scott Stewart
23-D-R-Jon Sullivan
16-D-L-Noah Talbot
40-F-L-Jamie Taylor (former Bandit)
44-F-R-Ryan Ward (A) - All-Star
Buffalo Bandits
Head Coach and General Manager: Darris Kilgour
Assistant Head Coach: Troy Cordingley
Assistant Head Coach: Ron Henry
72-F-R-Cory Bomberry (FO)
2-D-R-Troy Bonterre
26-F-R-Brett Bucktooth
27-D-R-Kyle Couling (A)
54-F-L-Jason Crosbie
30-G-R-Steve Dietrich
51-F-L-Kevin Dostie
7-F-L-Tony Henderson (former Swarm)
5-D-L-Clay Hill
16-D-R-Rich Kilgour {C}
17-D-L-Kyle Laverty
10-D-R-Pat McCready - All-Star
99-F-R-Delby Powless
21-D-L-Darryl Seymour
3-D-L-Billy Dee Smith
22-D-L-Tony Sorci
9-F-R-Mark Steenhuis – All-Star
11-F-L-John Tavares (A) - All-Star
15-F-R-Dan Teat
18-F-R-Brenden Thenhaus
66-G-R-Mike Thompson
81-F-L-Roger Vyse
6-D-R-Chris White
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