Valiant Effort Foiled by Last-Minute Goal; Bandits Lose 3-2, News, Midget MD Black, 2012-2013, BB (London Bandits)

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This Team is part of the 2012-2013 season, which is not set as the current season.
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Mar 03, 2013 | KWhite | 1000 views
Valiant Effort Foiled by Last-Minute Goal; Bandits Lose 3-2
The question is: How do you stop a train?
The answer is: Before it starts moving?

The Bandits had every incentive to win last Monday's game against Oakridge. First... it was Oakridge. Second, it would have restored the Bandits to first place in the division, albeit having played several more games than the others. And third, it would have stopped a two-game skid. To be fair, the Bandits WOULD have won that game, having outplayed Oakridge much of the time... but for three mistakes.

The first two mistakes echoed something the team has been doing all season... taking a second penalty after a first one is called. In fact, Oakridge scored its only two goals of the first 44 minutes of the game on 5 on 3 power-plays that never should have been, both in the second period, leaving the Bandits in a 2-0 hole entering the third period.

But that's when the Bandits found their soul and started taking it to Oakridge, with Justis scoring both goals, the first unassisted; and the second on nice feeds from Patrick to Josh to Justis to the back of the net.  That second goal, scored with just 1:36 left, gave the boys what seemed a tie, on a night when a tie would have seemed like victory.

But that's when the third mistake occurred, within the last 40 seconds of the game, when the Bandits failed to stop a moving train. The secret, of course, would have been to stop Oakridge's fastest skater in his own end... even taking a penalty would have been fine. But the train rolled on, and the Bandits tasted a bitter third straight defeat.

Three Stars:
1. Justis - with both goals in the third period on beautiful shots
2. Josh for setting Justis up for the goal that should have earned us a tie
3. Patrick for setting up Josh, starting with good hustle to get to the puck; and for solid defensive play and a +2 rating.

Lessons learned. The mighty North Nationals are now proving to be mortal, having lost 3 of 6 games in the playoffs, including two losses to the Orange Bandits. It's time for the Black Bandits train to roll over them again too.