Sports, Ink

   7:15 p.m. - Hello from HSBC Arena, as the Buffalo Bandits are about to start the second half of their season. The first half didn't go so well, as you know -- 2-6. That's as many losses as the team had all of last season. The Bandits didn't pick a good opponent for a revival; the Orlando Titans lead the East.

   One tip for you, oh appreciated on-line reader: There is no space in tomorrow's paper for a Bandits notebook -- it's a busy time of the year -- so it will be an on-line only production. It should be going up sometime in the near future.

   This one could get a little ugly. The Bandits still aren't too happy about the way Ken Montour was knocked over during last May's playoff game in New Jersey (the Titans moved to Orlando in the offseason).The Bandits can't afford to lose any focus, as they need any win they can get. But if Buffalo is well behind in the fourth quarter, well, look out.

   Toward that end, it will be interesting to see the Buffalo lineup. There was a story making the rounds before the game that Brandon Francis would be activated for the contest. Francis was out on the floor for warm-ups, but he's not on the lineup sheet handed out a few minutes ago. So we'll see how that plays out when everyone is introduced in about 10 minutes.

   7:32 p.m. -- No sign of Francis in the opening lineup. We are ready to go.

   7:36 p.m. -- It only took 2:25 for a bit of a scrum. John Tavares and Mark Steenhuis have been sent to the penalty box for Buffalo, while Greg Peyser is in the box for Orlando. I thought Buffalo might be a little physical today, but didn't think Tavares would lead the charge.

   7:44 p.m. -- Mark Steenhuis has the Bandits on the board. At the other end, Ken Montour has made a few good stops already. Buffalo has missed him since the netminder was lost for a few weeks with a concussion.

   7:52 p.m. -- It's been an odd first quarter so far. Steenhuis has both goals in a 2-0 Buffalo lead. Orlando hasn't done a whole lot offensively so far. It's always a pleasure to watch Casey Powell, one of the league's best players. He had a big game against the Bandits in the playoffs last year.

   7:58 p.m. -- Who are these guys in black and orange? Steenhuis and Jon Harasym have made it 4-0 late in the first quarter. By the way, the Bandits -- according to the scoreboard -- have a 16-6 edge for the game. Which explains a lot.

   8:07 p.m. -- Poor John Gurtler, the Bandits' radio announcer. Chet Koneczny and Kyle Schmelzle just had a fight. Imagine describing the punches there. Orlando has scored two goals in 14 seconds left, so the lead is down to 4-2.

   8:14 p.m. -- Orlando's Pat Merrill got hit with a high-sticking major, and the Bandits capitalized with a pair of power-play goals. Steenhuis is at four goals and counting.

   8:18 p.m. -- Billy Dee Smith has picked up a major for elbowing Casey Powell. It's Orlando's chance to get back in the game.

   8:29 p.m. -- Nope. Steenhuis scores his fifth of the night shortly after the Buffalo penalty expired, so we are 7-2 with 10:38 gone in the period.

   8:38 p.m. -- The best half of the season for the Bandits is over; they take an 8-3 lead into the locker room. Montour made a couple of dazzling stops in the final 80 seconds to keep it that way.

    8:56 p.m. -- Steenhuis, by the way, has already tied the Bandits' season high for goals in a game with five.

    9:03 p.m. -- Not much happening in the third quarter, outside of a Casey Powell goal for the Titans. I wouldn't call this game wrapped up by any means, altough the Bandits seem to be under control. Chris Corbeil, Kyle Schmelzle and Steve Priolo are all out with injuries and won't return.

   9:10 p.m. -- Titans have a 10-2 edge in shots so far. They have closed to within 8-5 with 5:29 left. What's more they have just missed connecting on a couple of great scoring opportunities.

   9:17 p.m. -- The Titans continue to creep closer (8-6), and the Bandits are showing very little spark at the moment. Did they expend all their energy in the first half? Certainly having three players out with injuries hurt; the Bandits bench has plenty of empty space on it.

   9:24 p.m. -- The Bandits finish three quarters with a 9-6 lead, thanks to Steenhuis' sixth goal of the night. They also have a power play for the next 1:38, which is a great chance to pad that margin.

   9:34 p.m. -- Ever seen a goal scored with the net over by the backboards? Orlando got one. With the net driven away, play continued and Pat Maddalena threw the ball over the goal line. Under league rules, it's a goal if the ball crosses the goal line. But John Tavares just answered, so it's 10-7 Buffalo with 9:45 left.

   9:42 p.m. -- After Powell cut it to 10-8, Kevin Dostie took a nice pass in space from Clancy and beat Vinc to bring the lead back to three goals.

   9:49 p.m. -- Four minutes left here, and the Bandits have a 12-9 left after a goal from Mike Accursi. Buffalo has been responding well with key goals down the stretch.

   9:57 p.m. -- A minute left, and the Bandits are up 12-10.

   9:59 p.m. -- And that's the way it winds up. Off to the locker room.

   11:35 p.m. -- Once the Bandits got done in the medical room, they obviously were a relieved bunch. None were more relieved than Darris Kilgour.

   "We yelled, we patted them on the back … I don't know what clicked this time," said Kilgour, who tied Les Bartley's National Lacrosse League for career coaching victories with 93. "It's been the same stuff we've been
telling them all season. They chose to fight this time."

   Will they fight next week in Toronto and Boston? Stay tuned.

--- Budd Bailey