College   Prep   H.S.   Pro Lax NE   Cannons   Blazers   ::   Recruiting   Equipment   Conditioning   ::   Camps   Tournaments  

• Contact Us
• Advertise
• Subscribe
• Member Center
• News Archives

May 2, 2009 E-MAIL PRINT

Forward progress

by Justin Rice/

When Boston Blazers coach and general manager Tom Ryan set out trying to find players to fill the roster for his expansion team last year, he had an idea of what type of player he coveted — and it had little to do with ability.

“We wanted to find guys we felt had something to prove,” Ryan said. “I felt if guys didn’t come in and have a chip on their shoulder, like they needed to prove themselves, this wouldn’t be the right team for them.”

Enter Matt Lyons, Gary Bining and Brenden Thenhaus. Forwards who were yearning for a chance to prove their worth, the three Canadians have capitalized on the opportunity in Boston, combining to score 149 points in the regular season and helping the Blazers achieve the impressive feat of reaching the playoffs in their first year of existence.

For Lyons and Bining, both experienced epiphanies this season that laid the groundwork for them to fill their niche on the Blazers, proving to themselves and everyone else that they could compete in the National Lacrosse League.

“For me it was after the very first game in New York, we lost,” Bining said of a 19-14 defeat on Jan 10. “I had a hat trick, and I still feel that when I watch film of that game I couldn’t have played any better. It dawned on me that I’m going to have to have a significant season.

“There had to be four or five guys up front scoring for us to go far, and I saw myself as one of those guys. It wasn’t like the past when I was looking over my shoulder and thinking, ‘Am I going to be here in a week or get any playing time?’ It was like, ‘Here’s my playing time to make the most of it.’ ”

Lyons, on the other hand, needed a few games to settle in this season before he scored seven goals in back-to-back wins over Philadelphia on Jan. 23 and 24.

“I definitely saw what I was capable of,” Lyons said, specifically referring to his five-goal game in the second game against Philly. “I’d say that gave me a lot of confidence. That helped me sink into my role a bit easier and know I do deserve a spot on this team.”

Thenhaus well-traveled

Thenhaus appeared to be floundering in professional lacrosse before catching on with the Blazers.

“[This team] has really been a good chance for all of us and I’m glad we’re taking advantage of it,” said Thenhaus, who played for the Buffalo Bandits in 2006 and the Philadelphia Wings and Edmonton Rush in 2007. “It has given us a chance to prove ourselves. Obviously, we’ve all been thrown around a bit, people not wanting us or not keeping us for whatever reason. It’s good to have something to go out and prove.

“Between the three of us, we all came into the league on three very good teams, me Buffalo, Matt Rochester and Gary Colorado,” Thenhaus added. “These are three stacked lineups that make it hard to crack the lineups. But we were learning from some of the best in the league.”

Thenhaus, a 6-foot-1, 210-pounder, finished the regular season as the Blazers’ third-leading scorer (27 goals, 26 assists), behind veteran NLL standout Dan Dawson and rookie star Daryl Veltman.

“He’s been in the league since he was 18 or 19,” Ryan said of the 22-year-old Thenhaus. “He was on Buffalo, an organization that saw something in him. He got plucked off the team by Philly. They had him playing reverse transition where he would go out the offensive backdoor and play D.

“Not being one of the top three guys, he had a hard time breaking in and proving himself. As much as anything, he needed to have a team that believed in him and let him play.”

Lyons hearted

Last year, Lyons played for the Rochester Knighthawks and commuted nearly four hours from his native Ontario for games. Acquired with the 11th overall pick in the 2007 NLL Draft, Lyons played behind a slew of stars and was told he was not to shoot the ball. This year, the 22-year-old recorded 21 goals and 31 assists in the regular season, and his 10 power-play goals led the team.

“Basically, [the Rochester] coach sat down with me at the start of the year and drew a pie graph,” Lyons recalled. “He said 50 percent of the balls are John Grant Jr.’s, 30 is Scotty Evans’, 10 are Shawn Williams’ and probably 5 percent is Shawn Evans’ and the five other guys on the floor. That’s the way they played and they had a lot of success the year before I came in. As a first-year guy trying to get into the rotation off the bat, it’s hard.

“This year I play on the power play. I’m one of the looked-upon guys this year to put the ball in the net.”

Ryan understood the situation in upstate New York, and he was confident Lyons would find success if given the opportunity.

“Matt was a depth guy in Rochester,” Ryan said. “He got in eight games behind a pretty impressive lineup. Matt is someone we’ve been interested in for a couple of years. The feedback we got in Rochester was that he was well-liked. They believe he’d be a good player in the league in the future. We were very excited when he was left unprotected by Rochester.”

The Blazers designed their game plan with Lyons in mind, as opposed to the 6-foot-1, 190-pounder trying to fit into what the team was doing.

“When we put the team together we were looking at him as one of our top three righties,” Ryan said. “We wanted him to come in here and take shots, work shots, get them and take them. He has one of the best shots on the team. He has a completely different role [here than in Rochester]. We worked him in our overall game plan. It was more a situation that we believed in Matt. We want him to play and get shots. It’s a matter of him getting a chance to play and prove the talent he’s got to play.”

Bining for a home

In 2006, Bining joined Colorado after the team won the league championship and a year after he broke his leg and missed his entire senior season at Ohio State.

“To be honest, I was happy I even made the team training camp,” said Bining, who was released shortly after the team signed another left-handed forward. “Obviously, when I’m not running fast I’m not as effective. I was not at the top of my game. As much as it was unfortunate that I was released I truly believe I was lucky I made the team at all and lasted as long as I did. I learned a lot.”

Ryan was impressed with Bining’s toughness and dedication, which makes up for his diminutive stature (5-foot-8, 155 pounds).

“Despite his size, he’s one of the hardest workers on the team,” Ryan said. “He’s not afraid to cut in the middle and get knocked down and jump right back up. He hadn’t been given a chance to prove himself in the league. Matt and Brenden were on other teams last year, perhaps in limited roles, [but] Gary didn’t get the opportunity to make it.

“He’s somebody whose size was a detriment. People didn’t think he could cut it in this league. He’s more athletic and there’s definitely a premium placed on size. Gary, because of that, worked harder refining his game and plays a lot bigger than he is. He’s not afraid to cut in the middle. He’s one of hardest working offensive players.”

Bining caught on with Arizona last year, but the team folded just before the season started and he rejoined his outdoor team in the Canadian Lacrosse League for the summer. Ryan went out to recruit Bining and asked him to relocate to Boston for training camp. Bining asked Ryan to be upfront with him about his chances of making the team.

“He said the playing time was there if I was willing to come and work,” said Bining, who was fifth on the Blazers in scoring with 20 goals and 24 assists. “I started training in August and haven’t looked back. I had been close twice, and I wasn’t going to let anything discourage me from at least performing the best I could.”

Ryan understood and appreciated Bining’s questions about the opportunity with the Blazers.

“That comes with experience,” Ryan said of the 26-year-old. “He’s a guy who probably had been trying to break into the NLL for three years. He’s been to training camp and understood that you can sign but not make the team. Part of that is him understanding the process. The second part is he was really fishing for where he fit in.”

New team, new opportunity

All three players also credit their success this season to the fact that more than half of the 24-man roster relocated to Boston’s North End before the season, living within walking distance of the TD Banknorth Garden, where the Blazers play their home games. Most NLL players commute to the city they play in on weekends or join the team in other cities for road games.

All three players also agreed that another reason they were able to carve out significant roles for themselves is because the Blazers are an expansion team, so there weren’t established roles coming into the season.

Lyons and Thenhaus have benefited from the job security of signing two-year contracts that has allowed them the freedom to play without the burden of always looking over their shoulder to see who could take their spot. But with job security comes another kind of pressure, Bining said.

“There is so much that can happen in a year — they could sell your contract or trade you — but to know right off the bat they have the faith in you to sign a two-year deal takes off a little pressure,” Bining said. “But you still have to perform.”

Ryan doesn’t seem to think that will be a problem. Not after what these players have been through — and where they are now.

Said Ryan: “It just goes to show you how feeling good about a team and having the support of your teammates and coaches goes a long way in having these guys with potential realizing their dream.”