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Minnesota Swarm
(0-1 H 0-0 A 0-1)
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Buffalo Bandits
(2-1 H 1-1 A 1-0)
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Saturday, January 28, 2012 - 7:00 pm CST
Xcel Energy Center
Treasure Island Field at The Hive
St. Paul, Minnesota
Live Statistics
TV/Internet/Radio Coverage:
Swarm Vision Live
Tape delayed on KSTC Channel 45 on Sunday, January 29th at 4:00 pm Central
SAM 101.5 at Network1 Sports
More Coverage of this game at:
Minnesota Swarm Website
Buffalo Bandits Website
National Lacrosse League Website
IL Indoor.com
Standings:
| West |
W |
L |
GB |
+/- |
|
East |
W |
L |
GB |
+/- |
| Colorado |
3 |
0 |
- |
8 |
Philadelphia |
2 |
1 |
- |
-6 |
| Calgary |
2 |
1 |
1.0 |
5 |
Buffalo |
2 |
1 |
- |
4 |
| Edmonton |
0 |
1 |
2.0 |
-1 |
Toronto |
1 |
2 |
1.0 |
-5 |
| Minnesota |
0 |
1 |
2.0 |
-6 |
Rochester |
1 |
2 |
1.0 |
5 |
| Washington |
0 |
2 |
2.5 |
-4 |
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Series History:
The Swarm were swept by the Bandits last year. 15-12 in Buffalo and 12-9 in Minnesota. The Swarm have lost three straight dating back
to 2009 when they beat the Bandits 16-15 in Buffalo on a Dan Marohl game winner. This will be the second time the
Swarm have hosted the Bandits for a home opener at The Hive. In their first season in 2005, the Swarm lost 15-10 on January 21st. Swarm assistant
Aime Caines scored a goal for the Bandits that night. Less than 6,000 of the announced 13,198 showed up for the game due to a blizzard earlier that
Friday afternoon. Yours truly showed up as the National Anthem was sung. That was Nick Patterson's first ever start for the Swarm and he only lasted
the first 8:43 of the game giving up six goals on nine shots. The Swarm have lost all six games at home against the Bandits in their history.
Personnel:
Minnesota Swarm
Depth Chart
Staff
Buffalo Bandits
Depth Chart
| Goaltenders |
Defense (Left) |
Defense (Right) |
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| 66-Mike Thompson |
3-Bily Dee Smith |
6-Chris White |
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|
| 55-Angus Goodleaf |
2-Ian Llord |
4-Scott Self |
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| |
13-Jeff Cornwall |
23-Steve Priolo |
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|
| |
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| Transition (Left) |
Transition (Right) |
Forward (Left) |
Forward (Right) |
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| 74-Jeremy Thompson |
9-Mark Steenhuis |
11-John Tavares |
17-Tracey Kelusky |
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| 98-Jimmy Purves |
7-Jon Harasym |
20-Chad Culp |
15-Luke Wiles |
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71-Kyle Sweeney |
81-Roger Vyse |
27-Mat Giles |
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63-Thomas Montour |
33-Kevin Buchanan |
5-Frank Resetarits |
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| |
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84-Brandon Francis |
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Staff
| GM/Head Coach |
Assistant |
Assistant |
Assistant |
Assistant |
| Darris Kilgour |
Chuck Brown |
Ron Henry |
Rich Kilgour |
Dan Teat |
- Callum Crawford and Mitch Belisle will serve as assistant captains for this game.
- Ryan Benesch needs four goals for 150 in his career.
- Patterson has been in 11 games against the Bandits including playoffs going 1-6 with a 15.44 GAA and a .705 Save %.
- The question is does Head Coach Mike Lines start Patterson against a team he has historically struggled against or start one
of the two rookies (Evan Kirk or Tyler Carlson) in their first ever NLL action. Both Kirk and Carlson have faced many of the Bandits
in summer box in Ontario the last couple seasons, the coaching staff may still favor Patterson for now at this level. Lines stated
in the NLL Weekly Coaches Call that the starter is a game time decision while stating they are staying pat with Patterson.
- Jordan MacIntosh's 27 face off wins against Colorado were the most ever for a Swarm player in temm history breaking
Mark Miyashita's 22 against the New York Titans on February 18, 2007. This weekend, MacIntosh will
go up against a very physical face off specialist for the Bandits by the name of Brandon Francis, who will look to instigate a possible fight or two.
Andrew Suitor may take a few face offs against Francis if needed.
- The Swarm have signed 2011 Draft Pick David Earl per Earl's twitter account to a contract this week. Look for him to replace a
rumored injured Andrew Watt on transition. Earl decided to go the new NALL this year instead of the NLL but with the NALL's troubles, he recently contacted John Arlotta about
signing with the Swarm.
- Matt Kelly should be back in the lineup for this game. Even though not announced, specualtion is that Kelly served an one game supsension for a high
hit he delivered in a pre-season game against Toronto in December.
- The Swarm are 3-4 in home openers. They lost last year to Rochester in their home opener 11-10 in overtime.
- The Bandits lost to Philadelphia 13-10 in Buffalo on Friday night. in the
first game of their first two-game weekend of the season.
- Look for the Bandits to slow the game down even though don't be surprised if they can match the Swarm's speed. The Bandits are a very experienced team
which has in the past checked the Swarm's younger legs.
- Former Swarm player and newlywed Chad Culp had 5 goals and 3 assists for the Bandtis in the two games last year.
- The Bnadits' John Tavares is the all-time leading scorer in NLL history. He has 37 goals
(4 were game winning) and 63 assists against the Swarm in 16 games. At 43,
Tavares is the oldest player in the league and still leads the Bandits in scoring with 6 goals and 9 sssists in their two games.
- The Bandits' starting goaltender Mike Thompson leads the NLL with a 9.50 GAA and a .789 Save %.
- After missing the 2011 due to injury, Billy Dee Smith returns to the Bandits defense. Look for Smith to dish out punishment on
Benesch and Crawford with his size and speed. The defense is what really carries the Bandits.
Prediction: Minnesota Swarm 11 Bufffalo Bandits 18
Next Games After This Match Up
- Minnesota at Rochester - Saturday, February 4th, 2012 6:30 pm Central
- Buffalo vs Washington - Saturday, February 4th, 2012 6:30 pm Central
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