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Boston Blazers Travel West for Weekend Road Matchups

February 19, 2009 - National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Boston Blazers News Release


BOSTON (February 19, 2009) - The Boston Blazers, an 8-4 winner last Friday night over the Philadelphia Wings to sweep the season series, look to extend their perfect February record when the team travels west for a grueling two-game-in-three-night road trip. The Blazers take-on the Minnesota Swarm on Friday night at the Xcel Energy Center and the Calgary Roughnecks on Sunday afternoon at the Pengrowth Saddledome.

After dropping its first two games to begin the season, the Blazers have surged to playoff contention winning four of the last five games thanks to a balanced offense attack that features five Blazers with 20 or more points and four players with double-digits in goals. Leading the Blazers is forward and 2009 NLL All-Star and East Division starter Dan Dawson with 41 points (13 goals and 28 assists). Other key contributors include rookie forwards Daryl Veltman (12 goals, 18 assists), Matt Lyons (nine goals, 13 assists) and Gary Bining (11 goals, 10 assists) and third year forward Brendan Thenhaus (10 goals, 15 assists).

The Blazers offensive balance is coupled with a stifling defense led by goalie Anthony Cosmo that has kept opponents in check. After giving up 32 goals in its first two games, the Blazers have allowed a mere 39 scores (7.8 goals against average) in the last five contests while holding opponents to less than 10 points each of the last four games. In Friday's win over Philadelphia, the Blazers' improved defense held the Wings to a single score over the first 50 minutes and just our goals for the game. The four goals allowed were the season low in the NLL and just a single goal short of the regular-season record of three goals allowed.

With its two February wins, Boston is firmly entrenched in third place in the NLL East Division standings with a 4-3 record, leading fourth place Toronto by one and half games and fifth place Philadelphia by two games. The Blazers trails second place New York (5-3) by a mere half game and are two games behind first place Buffalo (6-1).

League Honors for Cosmo and Bloom

Blazers goalie Anthony Cosmo and transition player Jason Bloom earned league honors for their standout play in Boston's 8-4 victory against Philadelphia last Friday night. Cosmo was named NLL Defensive Player of the Week and Bloom Transition Player of the Week for the week of Feb 16. Cosmo and the Blazers defense held Philadelphia to just four goals and Cosmo finished with 33 saves in the win. Bloom contributed to half of Boston's eight scores, recording three goals and one assist on transition, becoming the sixth different Blazer to score a hat trick in a game this season.

Upcoming Opponents

The Blazers travel to the Land of 10,000 Lakes this Friday, February 20, when the team takes-on the Minnesota Swarm at the Xcel Energy Center 8 PM EST. The Swarm (2-3) is in fourth place in the NLL West Division and is led by forward Ryan Ward (10 goals and eight assists) and Kevin Ross (seven goals and 11 assists). In its last contest, the Swarm dropped a 13-8 decision to the Colorado Mammoth on February 7.

The Blazers weekend trip concludes with a difficult test against the high-flying Calgary Roughnecks at the Saddledome on Sunday afternoon at 5 PM EST. Calgary leads the NLL West Division with a 5-1 record after losing its first contest of the season last Saturday when they were defeated, 13-12, by Colorado in Denver. The Roughnecks have a balanced and potent offensive attack with five players in double figures in goals and six players with 20 or more points. The offense is led by Josh Sanderson (11 goals and 24 assists), Tracey Kelusky (10 goals and 24 assists), Kaleb Toth (13 goals and 16 assists) and Dane Dobbie (13 goals and 16 assists).

Blazers Next Four Games

Boston at Minnesota on February 20 at 8:00 PM

Boston at Calgary on February 22 at 5:00 PM

Boston vs. San Jose on February 28 at 7:30 PM

Boston vs. Toronto Rock on March 14 at 7:30 PM

Broadcast Information

Fans can watch all Blazers games live online and free of charge via the NLL Network at NLL.com.

Ticket Information

Tickets for the Boston Blazers next home game against the San Jose Stealth on Saturday, February 28 at 7:30 PM at the TD Banknorth Garden are available now by logging onto www.BlazersLacrosse.com or calling 1-888-BLAZERS. Tickets are also available via Ticketmaster and at the TD Banknorth Garden box office.

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