Indian Time - A Voice from the Eastern Door

Buffalo – Clinging to a one goal lead with less than a minute remaining and facing six Portland LumberJax shooters in the 2008 NLL Champions Cup Final, the Buffalo Bandits relied on their signature defensive attitude to will themselves to a title.

The future and present of Akwesasne lacrosse met at the buzzer when Mike Thompson turned away 18 year-old rookie Peter Jacobs’ twelve foot blast with less than a second remaining. Once it was clear Jacobs’ shot did not find the net the fans at the HSBC arena could finally take a breath. The entire arena erupted in celebration and the Bandits team stormed to Thompson in celebration of the first title in twelve years for the franchise.

Thompson finished with 39 saves against 52 shots in the thrilling 14-13 victory. Twenty five of his saves came in the second half. His spectacular play down the stretch of the game kept the team in the lead. Bandits Head Coach Darris Kilgour didn’t mince words about his goaltender as he stood amid a chaotic scene on the HSBC floor after the victory.

“Michael Thompson had a stellar game in net for us,” he said. “He won us a championship.”

The most spectacular save came in the fourth quarter when Portland’s Tyler Codron came down on a breakaway with the Bandits leading by a 13-12 count. Thompson made the first save on Codron, then made another brilliant stick save on Ray Guze while sitting on the seat of his pants in the crease.

Portland’s defense played very strong against the talented Buffalo offence, holding the Bandits scoreless for a 10:36 stretch at the end of the third period and into the fourth before Game MVP Mark Steenhuis scored his fifth of the game with 5:37 remaining in the 4th period.

John Tavares, who had two goals and two assists, admits nerves crept in late. “Yeah, I did get a little nervous but our back door and Thompson deserve a lot of credit,” he said.

They might have been a wee bit better than us,” said Portland Coach Derek Keenan. “But not by a lot. We had a lot of chances, especially late when the score was 13-12. But we just couldn’t finish. We did everything right on that last possession. Jacobs got a great look from 10-15 feet away, but Thompson just made a great save.”

The Thompson Family (l-r) Danielle, Takaronhiotake, Mike, and Mike’s parents Elaine and Les Thompson

The Bandits offence clicked early on and staked a 6-3 lead after one quarter. The three goal lead proved invaluable as Portland’s defense tightened up and held the Bandits in check for a large part of the last three quarters; the teams each scored three in the second period, Portland outscored the Bandits 5-4 in the third period and 2-1 in the final quarter.

Bandits forward Mark Steenhuis led the team with 5 goals and 1 assist. Kevin Dostie (3g,1a), John Tavares (2g,2a), Mike Accursi (1g, 4a), Brett Bucktooth (1g, 2a), Roger Vyse (1g, 1a) and Billy Dee Smith (1g) also scored for the Bandits. Chipping in with assists were Clay Hill (1a), Delby Powless (1a), Cory Bomberry (1a), and Mike Thompson (1a).

Peter Jacobs contributed 3 points for Portland (2g, 1a) and saw consistent floor time throughout the game. Jacobs finishes his rookie campaign with 14 goals and 16 assists for 30 points while appearing in 14 games, including all three Portland playoff games.

Congratulations to all the Akwesasne players playing in the NLL with Buffalo and Portland; Mike Thompson, Brandon Swamp, Andrew Lazore and Brandon Francis and Peter Jacobs.