This Buffalo would beat the other Buffalo's, the schedulers hate Rochester, fixing Jeff Teat, and the best goal that wasn't a goal. NLL Week 10 Overreactions.

The 2025 Bandits would beat the 2024 and 2023 Bandits

Buffalo cannot be stopped. There were some questionable flags on Saturday night, and Buffalo racked up 20 penalty minutes without committing a major, and they still won by six goals. Which answers the question we all had. No, not even the refs can beat the Bandits. Buffalo now sits a perfect 6-0, the only unblemished record in the league. Last year through six games, they were 3-3 with a score differential of +2. The year before, through six games, the Bandits were 4-2 with a score differential of +15. This year, the Bandits are undefeated with a score differential of +39. It’s been a downright bulldozing of the league, and even by Bandits standards, this team looks like a juggernaut. A home date with Toronto, on Valentine’s Day, looms.

The schedulers hate Rochester

Week 10 is in the books, and Rochester has played ten games. They are the only NLL club to have played every week. Buffalo has played six games, and somehow has a bye AGAIN next week. Scheduling conversations will assuredly get louder come playoff time, as teams jockey for position and a spot in the postseason. For the Hawks the schedule is more than half complete and they are 4-6. The remaining schedule is no cakewalk. They still have to visit Saskatchewan and Calgary, host Toronto, and play Ottawa twice. Those are all currently playoff teams. The Hawks sit in 10th place as they pass the halfway point, they’ll need to find a way to elevate their play, and keep it consistently elevated, as they have all their byes in the second half. 

Ottawa broke Jeff Teat

I don’t know how it happened. Ottawa has lost two games in a row now. Jeff Teat failed to score a goal in both of those games. He has been held goalless over a two game stretch just one other time in his 60 game NLL career. It has never happened in his 42 game outdoor pro career. It happened once in his career at Cornell. I could not find a record of it happening in his junior career with Brampton. Jeff Teat not finding the twine in two straight games should raise alarm bells. He has 13 goals in eight games, and while his assist totals and his role as a facilitator aren’t suffering, if Ottawa is going to be a playoff team this year, Teat needs to be scoring goals. Ottawa is on a bye this week, good opportunity to hit the reset, get the offense on the same page, and get back to work. It also hopefully lets Reilly O’Connor get healthy, he’s a major factor for the offense, and Callum Jones on the other end of the floor. 

Rookie of the Year has a new challenger

Hello there, Toron Eccelston. Up until this week, the Rookie of the Year field looked pretty clear and obvious. Top pick Brennan O’Neill was likely considered the favorite. Adam Poitras played himself into consideration and has been excellent for Vegas. Brock Haley looks like a budding star for the Rush. And then this week, a new name joined the mix. Eccleston hadn’t even been a roster regular for Georgia. This was only his third game of the year. And yet he went into Vegas and put up a team leading eight points on four goals and four assists. He made savvy plays with the ball, feeling the defense giving him space and taking what was there. He made plays offball that were calm and confident. He looks like a load for teams around the crease. Did he make his impression too late to get into the race? Not if he keeps putting up snowmen on the score card. 

The best goal of the weekend wasn’t a goal

With under a minute left in the 4th quarter, the Bandits were awarded a penalty shot. Almost immediately, the chants started. FARRELL…FARRELL…FARRELL. Banditland wanted faceoff specialist and larger than life personality Connor Farrell to take the penalty shot. With the game decided at that point, there was no harm in it. The Bandits recently did the same and let Max Adler take a penalty shot at the behest of the Bandits fans. Farrell strode out to the spot, the FARRELL chants persisted. His shot was saved, but at that point, we were all winners anyway. Farrell had a smile on his face from ear to ear, fans were cheering the effort and loving every second of it, the bench all gave him pats on the back. Coach Tavares even put Farrell out on the extra man to close out the game’s final seconds, and Farrell got another shot off. Tucker Out Lymphoma is important for a lot of reasons, but one of them is trying to joyously celebrate life and have some fun with the game we all love. The moment with Farrell was perfect for it.