Bandits Silence the Thunder and Cage the Cats
by Mike Newell - Nov 7 & 8, 2008
The Bandits’ plan to holdup the Thunder at Sandy Hill Arena on Friday night worked to perfection. The guys played a solid game and held the perennial powerhouse to one goal. The last time that happened was on 2 April, 2007 in the playoffs against Embrun. It was a tightly fought battle and both teams had their chances but the Bandits cashed in at the right times. It was somewhat fitting that there were no even strength goals in the game. The first period was a see-saw test of each others’ metal with East Ottawa taking the extra two more penalties. With 52 seconds left in the period, and a Bandit in the penalty box, Andrew Newell pressed the Thunder defenseman and stripped the puck from him behind their net and slid it out to the slot. Adam Newell put a quick wrist shot into the top right corner for a shorthanded goal. Hands up Thunder fans, this is a holdup!
In the second period, things were fairly even in the play and penalties. The Bandits got a two-goal lead at 12:11 when Chris Lawlor made a nice pass up to Kevin Joyce, putting him in alone and he snapped a shot off the crossbar, top left, for a power play goal. You could sense that there was a certain air of confidence slowly building in the Bandits’ play. The Defense was solid and Kalen Sinha was sharp in net. However there was no quit in the Thunder and they came back with a power play goal at 7:36 to make it a nail bitter going into the third. The Bandits took six penalties in the last period but they killed them all. The last penalty came with 2:05 left in the game and the guys came up big keeping the puck in the Thunder end of the ice so they could not get their goalie out for an extra attacker until about 30 seconds left in the game. Then there was a flurry of activity in the Bandits’ end but few shots got through to Sinha. Nice kill … nice win!
The Embrun Panthers were at Ray Friel on Saturday night and the Bandits wanted to erase the memory of an overtime loss in their previous matchup at Embrun. The house was packed and the players were ready for another barn burner when the puck was dropped. Embrun struck first and fast at 18:18 but the Bandits answered quickly at 15:55 when Kyle Johnston made a pinpoint pass up the middle putting Adam Newell in alone. The Bandits’ sniper put it high over the goalie’s glove to tie the game. With 2:21 left in the period, Embrun took the lead again and once again the Bandits responded quickly. At 1:35 Kevin Joyce and Ryan Renaud made a nice three way passing play with Chris Lawlor finishing it off with a wrist shot to the top right corner.
In the second period the Bandits slowly took control of the game. Chris Leggeri was solid in net and at 5:53, Chris Lawlor scored his second of the night on a nice give-and-go. Kyle Johnston and James Cherry assisted. Andrew Newell scored the fourth Bandit goal on a nice backhand as he was decked from behind. Kyle Johnston made a cross-ice pass from our blue line off the boards to Adam Newell and he took it down low and fed Andrew as he came across the goal. With the Bandits taking control of the game, things got a little feisty at the end of the period and everyone but the goalies got into a scrum. The main event featured Kyle Johnston and Andrew St Jean and they put on a good show for the packed house at Ray Friel. The third period was back and forth until 4:36 when Chris Boileau spotted Matt Magee open down low. Matt got in close for a shot and Kevin Joyce was perfectly positioned for the rebound to tap it into the open net to seal the 5-2 win for the Bandits.
In contrast to the Friday night game, all goals in this game were even strength. The Bandits closed the gap with the Thunder to four points with one game in hand. The Bandits play an exciting style of hockey and it is nice to see the local fans coming out to see them play. Their next game is at Ray Friel on Saturday night when they host the Rockland Nats so let’s pack the house and cheer them on!
Gooooooo Bandits!
