January 23, 2010
Blazers top Titans for first victory
by Phil Shore/
It was a case of home, sweet home for the Boston Blazers.
Back at the TD Garden to face the Orlando Titans after two games on the road, the Blazers exploded for a season high in goals Saturday night en route to winning their first game of the season, 13-9.
“It’s been a tough couple of weeks starting 0-3,” said coach Tom Ryan. “The guys did not hang their heads, though. It’s easy to get negative and point fingers but we stayed positive.”
Boston scored more goals in the first half (nine) than it scored in the entire game in each of its three losses. It was also the first game in which the Blazers led entering the second half.
“I don’t know what our problem was the first few games but with Dan [Dawson] as our offensive leader I was confident we’d get going,” said Ryan. “He took it upon himself.”
The team also played intelligently and committed only four penalties.
“Penalties were one of our killers in the first few games so I was very happy today,” Ryan said. “Orlando’s power play was 80 percent in their first game. We had to stay smart and stay out of the box.”
After Boston jumped out to a 5-4 lead in the first quarter, Orlando scored back-to-back goals to take a 6-5 lead in the second.
Instead of crumbling, the Blazers struck back, putting in three goals within one minute. Brett Queener then scored with three seconds left in the half, the no-goal ruling overturned by a challenge, giving Boston a 9-6 lead.
“We had to come out with a hot start. It gets us fired up on the bench,” said forward Nick Cotter, who scored a game-high four goals. “Any run is huge.”
Maintaining confidence was essential in the second half, as the Blazers were held scoreless in the third quarter. The defense played well enough, though, to keep the Blazers in the lead, 9-8.
“We got away from the game plan,” captain Dawson said. “They scored a couple of goals and it messed with our psyche and focus.”
Dawson helped break the tension three minutes into the fourth quarter with his fourth goal of the season. Orlando responded, with Casey Powell netting his second of the game, but the Blazers scored three unanswered goals — by Queener, Cotter, and Brenden Thenhaus — to finish off the Titans.
“I only had one [goal], but hopefully it was an important one,” Dawson said.
Dawson added five assists as he tied teammate Daryl Veltman (goal, five assists) for the game high in points. Thenhaus added a hat trick and two assists, Queener scored twice, and Gary Bining and Kyle Ross also scored for Boston.
Dawson believes the victory will give his team momentum.
“We have guys that are trying to do too much and step outside of their roles. If you’re a loose ball guy, go out and get loose balls,” the 2009 NLL MVP said. “It’s cliché but it was a total team effort. We’re a really good team when we’re all clicking. I felt the chemistry was back from last year.”
The Blazers will try to avenge their Jan. 16 loss at Philadelphia when they host the Wings Saturday at 1 p.m.
