A Memorable Night

From the day he was invited to tryout for the Bandits, John Tavares has been a huge contributer. Already the NLL's carear leader in points and assists, John Tavares added to his legend again on Saturday night.

"Going in, i didn't set a goal of breaking the record" Tavares said "My role is to score, so i'd better be breaking the record at some point, or else i wouldnt be doing my job."

The job that he has done so well for so long was epitimized as his screen shot that beat New York goalie Matt Vinc brought 12,000 plus fans to their feet. Johnny came up the floor and took advantage of the loose defense of Jamie Hanford and placed a shot past the shoulder of Vinc. After making history, the Bandits realized that there was still a game to play. Up by two goals late in the thrid period, the game seemed destined for a photo finish; until Pat McCready and Delby Powless put any hopes of a New York comeback to rest with two goals in the span of 4 seconds.In a game plagued by Buffalo penalties, the Bandits rode the momentum created by Tavares all the way to a 17-13 victory.

Goaltender Mike Thompson recorded 33 saves on the night, while being able to stymie 9 man-up opportunities for New York. Local boy Kyle Scmelzle notched his first NLL goal and Mark Steenhuis added two goals and five assists on the night.

Buffalo will spend the next four games on the road, starting Saturday night in Philidelphia.Bandits Blogger