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Boston Blazers Announce 2009 Regular Season Roster for Inaugural NLL Campaign

December 23, 2008 - National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Boston Blazers News Release


BOSTON (December 23, 2008) -The Boston Blazers, the Hub's new professional indoor lacrosse team, today announced its 23-man regular season roster for the team's inaugural 2009 campaign in the National Lacrosse League (NLL). The Blazers will begin NLL action on the road against the New York Titans on Jan. 10, 2009 and make its historic home debut on January 17 at the TD Banknorth Garden versus the Titans.

"The 2009 Boston Blazers lineup features a blend of youth, athleticism and toughness that is backed by veteran leadership who have played at the NLL's highest level of competition," said Tom Ryan, general manager and head coach. "Dan (Dawson) and Anthony (Cosmo) are perennial league all-stars who will lead from both ends of the floor. We are excited with the potential of this group and believe that we have the talent to compete for the NLL Champion's Cup for years to come."

Two-time First Team All-Pro Dan Dawson leads the offense that also includes Bryan Bendig, Gary Bining, Jason Bloom, Matt Lyons, Sean Morris, Brendan Thenhaus and Blazers first-round selection Daryl Veltman. Dawson, who is widely regarded as one of the top players in the league, is a seven-year NLL veteran and has led his team to the NLL Champion's Cup finals in three of the past four seasons.

Jack Reid, a two-year NLL veteran and former star at UMass, and Mitch Belisle, who was the 2007 NCAA Defensive Player of the Year at Cornell, lead the squad's defense. Belisle was a first-round draft pick by New York in 2007 and played in 12 games with the Titans in 2008. They are joined on the backline by veterans Paul Dawson, Jon Durno, Dilan Graham, Jon Harnett, Carter Livingstone and Jay Thorimbert.

Three-time NLL All-Star goalie Anthony Cosmo will be part of the goaltending tandem along with Mike Poulin. Cosmo is an eight-year NLL veteran, playing in 111 regular season games with a career average of 10.67 goals against average (GAA) and .780 save percentage. He played the last four seasons for the San Jose Stealth helping to lead the team to a Western Division regular season title in 2007-2008. Cosmo was traded to the Chicago Shamrox this offseason and acquired by the Blazers in the dispersal draft. Poulin, who played for the Toronto Rock over the last two years, was the first player selected in the Blazers' expansion draft.

Rounding out the 23-man roster are five transition players: Nick Cotter, Greg Downing, Curtis Ptolmey, Brett Queener and Kyle Ross.

The 2009 Blazers feature several players with local New England ties. Morris is a native of South Boston and played collegiately at UMass with Reid. Belisle played for legendary high school coach Bill McCullough, a member of the New England Lacrosse Coaches Hall of Fame, at Bourne High School. Downing competed collegiately at Fairfield University.

2009 Boston Blazers Roster:

First Name

Last Name

Position

Home Town

College/ Club

Mitch

Belisle

D

Bourne, Mass.

Cornell University

Bryan

Bendig

F

West Hartford, Conn.

University of Hartford

Gary

Bining

F

Delta, B.C.

The Ohio State University

Jason

Bloom

F

Pensacola, Fla.

The Ohio State University

Anthony

Cosmo

G

Mississauga, Ont.

Brock University

Nick

Cotter

T

Whitby, Ont.

Dowling College

Dan

Dawson

F

Oakville, Ont.

Brampton (Jr. A)

Paul

Dawson

D

Oakville, Ont.

Brampton (Jr. A)

Greg

Downing

T

New York, N.Y.

Fairfield University

Jon

Durno

D

Scarborough, Ont.

Canisius College

Dilan

Graham

D

Toronto, Ont.

Bellarmine University

Jon

Harnett

D

Caledon, Ont.

Adrian College

Carter

Livingstone

D

Toronto, Ont.

University of Toronto

Matt

Lyons

F

Georgetown, Ont.

Orangeville (Jr. A)

Sean

Morris

F

South Boston, Mass.

University of Massachusetts

Mike

Poulin

G

Waterloo, Ont.

Orangeville (Jr. A)

Curtis

Ptolemy

T

Saskatoon, Sask.

Coquitlam (Sr. A)

Brett

Queener

T

Saratoga Springs, N.Y.

Albany University

Jack

Reid

D

West Hartford, Conn.

University of Massachusetts

Kyle

Ross

T

Port Coquitlam, B.C.

New Westminster (Sr. A)

Brendan

Thenhaus

F

Burlington, Ont.

Brampton (Jr. A)

Jay

Thorimbert

D

Whitby, Ont.

University of Guelph

Daryl

Veltman

F

Coquitlam, B.C.

Hobart College



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