Inside Lacrosse Laxies Presented by Lax World: Brett Queener Is IL’s Personality of the Year Winner

Brett Queener's year included an appearance on IL's August issue coverLike Miss America, Brett Queener rolled around North America reppin’ his 2008 Personality of the Year crown to the masses.

The winner of the first-ever Laxie for Personality of the Year, Queener did it just as big in 2009, if not bigger. The Penn Yan, N.Y. native got after it in every way for lacrosse fans, hitting the NLL carpet as a transition player for the Boston Blazers, hitting the camps circuit around the country, winning the MLL All-Star Game Freestyle Competition, winning a second MLL title with the Toronto Nationals, hitting up IL’s cover in some sick Evel Knievel getup.

Long story short, it was tough to get away from the guy.

Fans, judging by the comments on our blogs, either loved or hated the guy. Most loved…others felt his game was more sizzle than steak, but when the votes were tallied, the landslide was clear: Queener took 57% of the vote, with Max Seibald coming in second at 16% and Paul Rabil (13%), Geoff Snider (7%) and Ryan Hoff (6%) finishing even further behind.

To celebrate his victory, we asked Brett to run down his year’s reign for our readers (and for good measure, we also included some helpful links to past stories and the ever-popular Queener Cam on ILTV). Enjoy and remember - try to have fun out there. Brett sure is.

Queener’s Year with the Crown

Hawaii was Sick
This was the first booking on my tour with the crown, so it was important for me to let everyone know what I was all about. From mudslides to shuffleboard, to flips off balconies, to throwing sticks over people’s heads/swapping sticks/back-breakers, it’s a trip I’ll never forget. (And it ended with a championship.)

Boston Blazers

Geoff Snider introduces himself to our Personality of the YearIndoor was something that had been on my mind my entire life. It was a position I’d never played, but a game I’d always thought was the pinnacle of lacrosse, so to actually make it was one of the best accomplishments of my life.

My first game on the road was in Philly, and I turned up the boards and made eye contact with a whole family of Wings fans and they all flipped me the bird. I knew I’d made it in the indoor world.

If you put my Facebook picture in there, also let it be known that I did knock Snider down the next game.

All-Star Freestyle Competition

I didn’t plan on doing the trick competition. The MLL called my house and left a message, and my dad called and told me I had to do it. I agreed before I had any idea what I was going to do. I figured it out the week before, and a few hours beforehand changed the plan when Alex Smith gave me the Gator idea — that got more of an “OOOOO” than clapping. The Michael Jackson dance was from Nick Weimer, a camper at Pfeiffer University, N.C., who taught me the basics to the Moon Walk. Two days later I did it in Denver and it was really bad because it’s tough to do on grass.

MLL Championship
The one thing I don’t like about my image is I get laughed off as a sideshow act. I love to play lacrosse, and that’s why I play. I play the way I want to, and if I couldn’t play that way, I wouldn’t.

It crushed me that I broke my hand [in the semifinal] because obviously I wanted to play. When the doctors told me there was a chance I could give it a go, I didn’t care whether I’d have arthritis down the road because there was nothing in the world I wanted more than playing that lacrosse game.

That game meant so much to me. I think it’s the ‘in’ thing to hate on pro lacrosse. Hate all you want — I know the guys around the league are proud people. As the crowned leader in the community of lacrosse, I need to spread the word that guys take their job seriously.

http://blogs.insidelacrosse.com/2009/11/17/inside-lacrosse-laxies-presented-by-lax-world-brett-queener-is-ils-personality-of-the-year-winner/

BRETT QUEENER: A MLL STAR

Rochester goalkeeper Brett Queener gave a whole new meaning to the concept of using stingy defense to fuel an offense in yesterday’s Major League Lacrosse championship game at Harvard Stadium.

The fearless rookie stopped 10-of-11 shots and recorded an assist after entering a 6-5 game at halftime, sparking an outburst that earned the Rattlers their first MLL title with a 16-6 win over Denver.

“That was amazing to watch,” Rochester attackman John Grant said. “(Queener) didn’t let a goal in until the very last minute, and he was even (plus-minus). You can’t ask for anything better than that. He had some exciting plays out of the goal.”

Queener made his first save early in the third quarter and took off up field for the first of several forays into the offensive zone. His first trip over midfield was met with a bone-crushing blow by Outlaw Jeff Sonke, but the University of Albany product was not discouraged.

“It actually woke me up and made me want to get out there again so that I didn’t get knocked down,” Queener said of the hit. “After that, all the facets of our team started clicking, and I just had to make a couple of saves, and everything rolled from there.”

The Rattlers outscored Denver, 6-0, in the third quarter to put the game out of reach. Championship Weekend MVP Joe Walters (6 goals, 5 assists in the postseason) opened the floodgates 3:28 into the third.

Queener’s zig-zagging jaunts over midfield continued to steal the spotlight, however, even after Jeff Zywicki (6 goals) and two-time reigning MLL MVP Grant (4 goals, assist) tallied to extend the lead to 11-5.

With 1:14 remaining in the third, Queener made his fifth save and sprinted from the safety of his crease. After a quick give-and-go with Jordan Hall at the top of the arch, Queener earned an assist with a pass to set up Zywicki’s fifth tally on the left goal line.

As much as Queener plays like a daredevil that could give a coach a heart attack, Rochester coach B.J. O’Hara wouldn’t change a thing about his young sparkplug, who began the season as a reserve.

“When we gave him some chances to get out there, he just seemed to light up the team and light up the crowd,” O’Hara said. “We started to feed him more and more (playing time) - and the more he got, the better he did. It just kind of grew like a snowball.”

It was the second championship game loss for the Outlaws in the last three seasons, and their six-goal output was a new low for an MLL title tilt.

“We just couldn’t put a couple plays together,” said Denver coach Brian Reese, whose team was held scoreless for the first 27:45 of the second half.

“We’d make a great play on offense, and they’d make a great save. We just couldn’t get it all together. I thought we had some momentum coming into halftime, but they took it away pretty quickly.”

By Joe Vieira
The Boston Herald

UAlbany Alum Queener Shines In Win At Major League Lacrosse Championship Game

Brett Queener with 2 beautiful rushes downfield collecting an assist. He added some very nice stops in goal as well. Rochester wins 16-6 and is the Major League Lacrosse Champion. More to come...

Player AND Hot Shot of the Day - Brett Queener, Rochester

You have to add it all together. It was his break dance to Rhianna during warmups. It was his full field clears, including a stylish juke move in the fourth quarter, capped off with a shrug of the shoulders. It was his sweet assist to teammate Jeff Zywicki with a minute and a half left in the third for the team’s 12 goal of the day.

Queener had spark. He had style. He did it all for Rochester in the second half, including locking down on defense with 10 saves. The older guys on defense fed off the effort, sparking the Rattlers to their second half dominance. On a veteran team, it was the rookie who helped them get over the hump.

“I just came out there and tried to get that first stop. I took my first run and actually got knocked on my butt. That kind of woke me up a bit. After that all facets of our team started clicking, I just had to make a couple saves and everything went from there,” Queener said post-game.

Courtesy: Inside Lacrosse

UAlbany Alum Brett Queener Helps Rochester Advance To The MLL Finals

RATTLERS DEFEAT BARRAGE IN OT, 16-15

The Rattlers won a playoff game for the first time in team history.
CAMBRIDGE, Mass. - There's a first time for everything and Saturday's semi-final between the Philadelphia Barrage and the Rochester Rattlers was a prime example of that.

Rochester Rattlers attackman Casey Powell scored the game-winning goal just 45 seconds into overtime to give the Rattlers their first-ever play-off victory, a 16-15 win over the two-time defending MLL champion Philadelphia Barrage.

It also marked the first-ever postseason loss for the Barrage, who had won six straight playoff games prior to this year.

Attackman Joe Walters led the Rattlers with four goals and three assists while midfielder Colin Doyle added two goals and two assists. Goalkeeper Brett Queener made four saves in the second half.

Midfielder Roy Colsey led Philadelphia in a losing effort, scoring three goals with three assists. Attackman Ryan Boyle added two goals and three assists while goalkeeper Brian Dougherty made 16 saves.

Rochester outshot the Barrage by a 45-31 margin and held a commanding 38-16 advantage in ground balls.

The Rattlers will advance to the NB Zip Championship Game on Sunday afternoon at 1 p.m. and will face either Denver or Los Angeles.

Courtesy: MLL