Published: May 01, 2008 11:09 pm      

LACROSSE: Bandits host Wings in NLL playoffs

Home field advantage in the playoffs is always important. When it comes to the Buffalo Bandits, however, the edge gets amplified.

“You can’t compare Buffalo to anywhere, there’s no fair comparison,” forward Mike Accursi said. “They are by far the craziest and best in the league. There’s such an enthusiasm you can’t find anywhere.”

The Bandits will host their opening playoff game at 7:30 p.m. against the fourth-seed Philadelphia Wings, in divisional semifinal play of the National Lacrosse League Champions Cup playoffs.

Buffalo, Minnesota, New York, and Philadelphia all went 10-6 on the season and reached league highs in wins, but the rare occurrence has the Bandits winning the division on tiebreakers, going 4-2 against those teams. They will have home field advantage throughout the entire playoffs, and they are looking for the fans to make a difference.

“We’re a good team at home, like most teams,” forward John Tavares added. “Especially in one-game playoffs, you want to have momentum.”

A crowd of 18,325 fans packed the arena last weekend, propelling the Bandits to a division clinching 14-10 win over the Portland Lumberjax. A win this week against the Wings will put them in round two, facing the winner of the Minnesota Swarm and New York Titans in the other divisional semifinal.

The second-seeded Swarm will play the third-seed Titans tomorrow at the Xcel Energy Center in Minnesota.

Out in the West, San Jose won its division on tiebreakers, going 9-7, edging out the Colorado Mammoth, who finished with the same record. San Jose will host the fourth-seeded Portland Lumberjax at the HP Pavilion on Sunday.

The other divisional semifinal in the West pits the second-seed Colorado Mammoth against the third-seed Calgary Roughnecks. They play on Saturday as well at Denver’s Pepsi Center.

As 2008’s regular season came to a close last Saturday, it will go down in history was one of many firsts and records:

• The reigning champion Rochester Knighthawks failed to reach the playoffs for the first time in their 14-year history.

• Another familiar playoff face, the Toronto Rock, also missed the playoffs for the first time in their 10-year history.

• This year is the first time in which the defending champion failed to reach the playoffs since the Wings did so in 1991.

• The New York Titans reached playoff contention for the first time in franchise history, a remarkable turnaround after going 4-12 in their inaugural season last year.

• No team reached the 11-win mark since the league went to a 16 game format in 2002.

• Philadelphia’s Athan Iannucci broke the record of goals in a season with 71, 10 more than Gary Gait’s previous amount of 61.

• Another member of the Wings, Geoff Snider, broke the single-season loose ball record with 244. That was previously held by former Bandit Jim Veltman with 226.

Individual tickets are still available for the game tonight, and can be purchased at the HSBC Arena Box Office, online at bandits.com, and at all tickets.com outlets.

Bandits fans who can’t make the game however will be able to listen to it on the radio on WGR 550, as they will be broadcasting live from the arena. A 30-minute pre-game show will also be aired a half-hour prior to face-off.

“This is a great city with great fans,” forward Mark Steenhuis said. “It’s about time they deserve a (championship). We’ve been there twice recently and came up short. We’re looking to redeem ourselves.”



GAME NIGHT

• WHO: Philadelphia Wings at Buffalo Bandits

• WHEN: 7:30 p.m.

• WHERE: HSBC Arena

• NOTES: Both teams finished 10-6 on the season. ... The teams split the season series 1-1. ... Buffalo won the last matchup 21-12 at HSBC. ... The winner moves on to play the winner of the NY/Minnesota semifinal.