2018 Game Notes. Media Contact: Kellen Flatt (404)

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1 2018 Game Notes Media Contact: Kellen Flatt (404) Kingston Court, Suite A Marietta, GA SCHEDULE AND RESULTS SETTING THE SCENE: ATLANTA BLAZE AT BOSTON CANNONS 2-1 Overall 1-1 Home 1-0 Away APRIL 22 vs. Florida 2pm 28 vs. Boston 7:30pm MAY New York 5pm Boston 6pm Dallas 8pm JUNE 2 vs. New York 7pm 9 vs. Charlotte 7pm Chesapeake 7pm 23 vs. Dallas 7pm Charlotte 7:30pm JULY Ohio 6pm 26 vs. Chesapeake 7:30pm 7pm AUGUST 4 vs. Denver 7pm GAME INFORMATION DATE: Sunday, May 12, 2018 LOCATION: Boston, MA STADIUM: Harvard Stadium FACEOFF: 6 p.m. (EST) BROADCAST: Lax Sports Network All-Time Series: Series: 1-0 THE MATCHUP For the second time in three weeks, the Atlanta Blaze (2-1) will attempt to silence the Boston Cannons (1-3). In Week Two, the Blaze overcame an early 0-2 deficit by scoring nine of the next 11 goals on the way to the victory. Saturday at Harvard Stadium in Cambridge Mass., Liam Banks' squad will attempt to extend its winning streak to three games, which would be a franchise first, as well as earning its fourth win in a row versus Boston. the first meeting, April 28 at Kennesaw, the Blaze were paced by a balanced offensive attack with six players scoring two or more goals, including three by the blazing-hot Deemer Class. Class, who earned the MLL's Warrior Offensive Player of the Week for his 6-goal (including 3 two-point goals) outburst on Long Island, has 11 goals and 16 points in three games this season. Playmaker Kevin Rice had two goals and five assists in the first and Matt Gibson had four markers April 28. Veteran middie Matt Mackrides enters the contest off his second career six-point game (2 goals, 4 assists). Defensively, the Blaze will attempt to limit opportunities for Boston's Sergio Perkovic and James Pannell. Blaze goalie Chris Madalon, who has two wins in his first two starts this season, boasts the league's second-best save percentage (.609) turning aside 39-of-64 shots. Since the first meeting, both team's lineups have undergone some tweaking. For the Cannons, faceoff specialist Joe Nardella and goalie Tyler Fiorito (among others) have returned to the lineup. For the Blaze, attackman, John Uppgren, will appear on the roster along with college draftees Austin Sims and Erik Evans. BROADCAST INFORMATION: LOOKING AHEAD: Stream: Lax Sports Network Atlanta Blaze at Dallas Rattlers PxP: Mike Corey When: Saturday, May 19 th Analyst: - Time: 8p.m. (EST) 1

2 Coaching Staff Head coach Liam Banks moved to the Atlanta area about 10 years ago from Pennsylvania. He was a two-time lacrosse All-American for Syracuse and appeared in the Final Four each year during his college career. In 2000 as a sophomore, Banks and his teammates won the national title and he was named most outstanding player after scoring six goals in the final game against Princeton. Banks was a two-time honorable mention All-American in 2000 and 2001 and went on to play five MLL seasons for the New Jersey Pride, San Francisco Dragons and Chicago Machine from He scored a career-high 21 goals in 2007 for the Dragons. He was raised in the Setaukets on Long Island and played high school lacrosse at Stony Brook Academy and Ward Melville H.S. Spencer Ford, assistant coach, and general manager was a standout player at Towson University. He had 53 assists in 13 games during the 1999 season for the Tigers, including 10 in one game against Gannon. Ford also had a 13-point game that season against Vermont, tallying five times while assisting on eight others. Ford still holds the MLL record for assists in a single season with 47. He established the record in just 12 games while playing for the Los Angeles Riptide in He was named the MLL s most improved player that season. Ford played two more MLL seasons before becoming G.M. for the Chesapeake Bayhawks in The Bayhawks won the Steinfeld Cup that season. Jamie Hanford is an assistant coach specializing in defense for the Blaze. A three-time All-American defender at Loyola, Hanford was two-time National Lacrosse League (NLL) champion and MLL champion with the Bayhawks in He played 139 games in the NLL for five different teams, and 74 MLL games for four different teams. He also is the current head coach at Green Farms Academy in Westport, Conn. MILESTONES Deemer Class had a MLL record-tying three 2-point goals against the New York Lizards. He also scored 3 single goals for a total of 9 goals. Deemer is leading the Blaze in points with 16, with Kevin Rice in second with 14. Chris Madalon is still undefeated in the cage after two games and has a.609 save percentage, the second highest in the league Liam Banks of Syracuse, MLL, and Atlanta lacrosse fame was hired as head coach for the Atlanta Blaze. He had his first MLL win against the Boston Cannons. Andre Gudger, founder and CEO of technology company Eccalon assumed ownership of the Atlanta Blaze on 4/18 2

3 2017 GAME BY GAME RESULTS GAME DATE OPP. STRK. RESULT TOTAL PTS HIGH (G) HIGH (A) ATTEND Apr FLA , Apr BOS , May at NY , May at BOS May at DAL Jun NY Jun CLT Jun at CHE Jun DAL Jun at CLT Jul at OH Jul CHE Jul at FLA Aug DEN

4 POINT LEADERS 4

5 ATLANTA BLAZE PLAYERS Alphabetical Roster: ACTIVE ROSTER NO. NAME POS HT WT BIRTHDATE COLLEGE YEARS PRO 63 Begley, Michael M 5 11" 185 5/22/1993 Marist 2 88 Bruckner, Jack A /12/1995 Duke 1 55 Byrnes, Liam D /19/1993 Marquette 2 5 Class, Deemer M /24/1993 Duke 2 3 Eipp, Daniel A /18/1992 Harvard 1 43 Evans, Erik D Ohio State 0 80 Fahey, James LSM /24/1991 UMass 2 8 Ghitelman, Adam G /25/1989 UVA 7 66 Gibson, Matt A /19/1990 Yale 6 41 Glazener, Eddy D /1/1993 Notre Dame 1 31 Hiken, Brent FO /5/1992 Stevenson 4 24 Ianzito, Stephen Tran M /8/1990 Syracuse 5 15 Llinares, Sam A /13/1993 Hofstra 1 39 Mackrides, Matt M /24/1990 Penn State 7 11 Madalon, Chris G /12/1998 UNC 2 45 Noble, Jason D /5/1991 Cornell 4 35 Noble, Jason M /5/1991 Denver 4 84 Palasek, Tom A /23/1990 Syracuse 6 14 Pennington, Justin Tran M /13/1988 Rutgers 8 2 Ratliff, Scott LSM /26/1991 Loyola 5 21 Reynolds, Jeff Tran M /10/1986 Maryland 9 22 Rice, Kevin A /26/1992 Syracuse 3 10 Robinson, Callum D /1/1991 Stevenson 3 42 Sims, Austin M /29/1996 Princeton 0 13 Uppgren, John A /23/1994 Tufts 2 PRACTICE SQUAD NO. NAME POS HT WT BIRTHDATE COLLEGE YEARS PRO 19 Garziano, Matt M /18/1993 UAlbany 0 6 George, Jeff A /15/1994 Rutgers 1 34 Kelly, Frankie FO /31/1991 UNC 0 28 Kemp, TJ M /17/1991 UNC 3 99 Massa, Colin D /1/1984 Mercer 1 1 Young, Tyler M /25/1995 Towson 0 NLL Inactive 18 Hossack, Graeme D /22/1992 Lindenwood 2 81 Withers, Jake FO /12/1994 Ohio State 1 5

6 Numerical Roster 2 Scott Ratliff 3 Daniel Eipp 5 Deemer Class 8 Adam Ghitelman 10 Callum Robinson 11 Chris Madalon 13 John Uppgren 14 Justin Pennington 15 Sam Llinares 21 Jeff Reynolds 22 Kevin Rice 24 Stephen Ianzito 31 Brent Hiken 35 Jeremy Noble 39 Matt Mackrides 41 Eddy Glazener 42 Austin Sims 43 Erik Evans 45 Jason Noble 55 Liam Byrnes 63 Mike Begley 66 Matt Gibson 80 James Fahey 84 Tom Palasek 88 Jack Bruckner Adam Ghitelman, from Boston 2016 Justin Pennington, from Denver 2016 Daniel Eipp Jason Weber Jeremy Noble, from Denver 2016 Player Movement: Supplemental Draft: Matt Gibson, from New York 2018 Callum Robinson, 1 st round, 2 nd overall, 2017 Tom Palasek, from New York 2018 Michael Begley, from Boston 2018 Jeff Reynolds, from Florida 2017 Trade: Jason Noble, from Chesapeake 2018 Liam Byrnes, from Boston 2018 Jack Bruckner, from Boston 2018 James Fahey, from Boston 2017 Chris Madalon, from New York, 2018 John Uppgren, from Boston 2017 Stephen Ianzito, from Charlotte, 2018 Eddy Glazener, from Denver 2018 Sam Llinares, from Denver, 2018 Brent Hiken, from Denver College Draft: Austin Sims, 3rd round, from Princeton Erik Evans, 6th round, from Ohio State Tyler Young, from Chesapeake

7 Atlanta Blaze Welcomes New Owner Major League Lacrosse (MLL) and the Atlanta Blaze announced today an agreement to sell ownership of the Blaze franchise to Andre Gudger, Founder and CEO of the technology investment company, Eccalon. We are thrilled to have an entrepreneur as accomplished as Andre as a new owner in MLL, said Alexander Brown, MLL Commissioner. He combines an extremely successful technology background with a passion for our sport and a genuine commitment to the Atlanta community that will only help to advance our league and the game of lacrosse. Prior to founding Eccalon, Gudger served under President Barack Obama from 2011 to 2017 as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Defense for Manufacturing and Industrial Base Policy and the Director of the Office of Small Business Programs. Gudger was also Founder and CEO of Solvern Innovations, a cybersecurity firm that provided communication and technology services to the Department of Defense. He also previously worked with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation, Union Bank of Switzerland and AT&T. Gudger credited his eldest daughter for providing the impetus to becoming an active participant in the world of lacrosse. My motivation is simply based on the love that my daughter showed for the game. I wanted to get more involved so that I can help bring this sport to the world, said Gudger, a graduate of the University of Maryland Baltimore County and Kenan-Flagler Business School at the University of North Carolina. Based on the conversations I have had with front office personnel and the coaching staff during the past few months, I am certain that the Blaze have all of the right guys in those key positions, Gudger said. They have put together one heck of a roster and we will continue to build on that. I have been proud of what I have witnessed at training camp and look forward to the 2018 season. The Blaze have played two seasons in MLL since Atlanta was granted an expansion team in August They have called Fifth Third Bank Stadium, on the campus of Kennesaw State University, their home stadium since the franchise s inception. Atlanta went 4-10 in its inaugural season and followed that with a 6-8 record in This represents a defining moment in the history of the Atlanta Blaze. Passionate ownership is integral for a franchise to be successful and Andre is committed to making the Blaze an elite MLL team, said Team President Jim Pfeifer. We have discussed working in concert with the entire Atlanta community to provide opportunities to grow the game across a wider demographic sphere, and I could not be more excited. 7

8 Liam Banks Tapped as New Head Coach Atlanta resident and Syracuse lacrosse legend, Liam Banks has signed on as Head Coach of the Atlanta Blaze, effective immediately. As one of Atlanta s most prominent lacrosse ambassadors, Coach Banks currently serves as a Thunder LB3 Partner and President of Lacrosse Operations. Liam was the original promoter of the first professional lacrosse game in Georgia in 2013 and was active in bringing the Major League Lacrosse Championships to Atlanta in 2014 and This is an incredible opportunity for me to challenge myself professionally at the highest level of coaching with many of the best players in the world. We hope to field a team for the Atlanta Blaze that embodies the same principles we strive to cultivate each day at Thunder LB3 with the goal of bringing home a Major League Lacrosse Championship in I love the city of Atlanta and I am humbled with the opportunity to be the Head Coach of the Atlanta Blaze, said Liam Banks. Atlanta Blaze Team President, Jim Pfeifer stated, Our top two objectives for the 2018 MLL season are to compete for the Steinfeld Trophy and to build the Blaze fan base throughout Georgia, and Liam s extensive lacrosse knowledge and experience, familiarity of the Atlanta market and boundless energy and drive make him the perfect head coach to lead the Blaze.. As a collegiate player, Banks was a two-time All-American at Syracuse and helped lead the Orange to four consecutive Final Four appearances including three Finals appearances, and a National Championship and MVP in In international competition, Banks played for the Under 19 USA World Team in 1999 and was named to the All-World Team and led Team USA to the gold medal. Banks continued his lacrosse in the Major League Lacrosse for five seasons. During his five years in the league he was a five-time Bud Light Game MVP and ranked in the Top 10 in scoring four of five years. Recently Coach Banks was inducted into the Long Island Hall of Fame for the Class of I have known Liam as a friend and a contributor to the sport for a long time, said General Manager Spencer Ford. His knowledge of the sport is unlike others in that he s working in lacrosse 24/7. He has a great love for the game, and his ability to develop players at a young age and preparing them to play at a high level is fascinating. I m excited to see how his IQ translates and how he can take that amazing knowledge and put it to use with our current Atlanta Blaze players. Liam lives and works in Atlanta, and the excitement around bringing a local person into the organization will help us grow in an amazing way. He knows everybody in lacrosse, has familiarity with the surrounding areas, and we have a great feeling that he s going to be an extremely important part of bringing in the community to watch the sport, something that is needed in MLL. 8

9 Enthusiastic First Win Builds Confidence Heading into May Road Trip Buoyed by 17 saves, compliments of goalie Chris Madalon in his first career start, the Atlanta Blaze will set sail for its month-long road trip with a 1-1 record and rising confidence after quieting the Boston Cannons at Fifth Third Bank Stadium Saturday night. A crowd of nearly 2,000 was treated to a gorgeous late spring evening and a balanced offensive attack with six players registering two or more goals in head coach Liam Banks first career Major League Lacrosse (MLL) win. Captain Kevin Rice led the way offensively with two goals and five assists, while Matt Gibson registered four goals, and Tommy Palasek and Deemer Class had three each. Scott Ratliff had a shorthanded goal and a two-point goal during a 1:20 stretch of the first quarter, and Dylan Donahue added two goals off nice feeds by Rice. Boston was paced by four goals from Sergio Perkovic, a former teammate of Blaze defender Eddy Glazener at Notre Dame. With Blaze starting goalie Adam Ghitelman tending to his coaching duties with the University of Utah, Madalon stood tall guarding the cage. I have been waiting a long time for this opportunity and I am happy that we came out on top. It was a great team win, Madalon said. Our defense fought really hard and they gave up shots that I wanted to see, and our offense produced, which took a little pressure off the defense. I am just really excited to get that first win in my first career MLL start. Madalon, a Darien, Conn., native and graduate of the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, was on the N.Y. Lizards roster for the past four years but was never called upon. Chris did an exceptional job of making saves when he needed to and he communicated well, Banks said. He's a professional and when your opportunity comes up you have to play at the highest level possible. That's what we got out of him tonight and that's what we were expecting. We are extremely happy with his performance. I have spent the past few years being a back-up in this league. It is all about opportunity and I was thrilled to get the opportunity and capitalize on it, Madalon said. After falling behind 2-0 for the second straight week, defenseman Liam Byrnes made a coast-to-coast dash to score his first goal of the season at 12:01 of the first quarter. It swung the momentum to Atlanta s side. We wanted to get off to a good start, all of a sudden we're down 2-0, and fortunately Liam Byrnes came down, made a big play and sparked us, head coach Liam Banks said. Anytime we are going into a quarter, a half or even a timeout, we talk about winning the next battle, the next five minutes. That was an emphasis for the day and I think we did a good job of setting the tone or the pace and putting up a few goals early [during the second and third quarters], and that helped us put up a good number for the game. The Blaze scored four of the next five goals after Byrnes tally, and then scored the first four goals in the second quarter and the first three of the third quarter. Class and his midfield mates did an exceptional job of beating short-stick defenders and contributed mightily to the offense. It's very exciting to see because we have a known commodity, Kevin Rice, dodging, distributing and being able to create his own shot. You have two great attackmen on his wings with Tommy Palasek and Matt Gibson. Coming from the midfield you had two guys that stepped up and played huge tonight, Dan Eipp and Mike Begley, Class said. Those guys' speed, ability to draw slides and to create from up top means that Kevin doesn't have to initiate every time from behind. We can start some of our sets from up top and some of our sets from behind. 9

10 We also had Dylan [Donahue] doing a great job working against short stick matchups from behind and playing some two-man with Kevin, Class offered. It gives us some different options and I think that's going to benefit us down the road based on different teams' defensive strengths and what we can counter them with. Class also was in session early in the second quarter during a 3:04 span when the former Duke middie scored twice, sandwiched around Palasek and Gibson goals. Class also scored late in the third quarter that gave the Blaze a lead heading into the fourth quarter. He took advantage of offensive-minded middie Kyle Denhoff guarding him before ripping a laser past Boston goalie Benny Pugh. Sometimes you just have to beat your man or try to draw a slide. No one really slid and I rolled back to my strength. I wanted to get one for the team and luckily it went in, Class said. Class said that the Blaze fed off the solid play of their game one loss to Florida. Tonight was just trying to build off the last three quarters of the game last week, we were sharing the ball well, hitting singles and easy one-more passes. The big difference between this week and last week was our ability to finish shots. I think our first six goals [tonight] were a result of transition and that was good to see to get out early on Boston. If you think about a 60-minute game, and you look at some of the scores in the MLL, teams score 15 to 20 goals, it is really hard to score 15 goals that originate in the box during six-on-six, settled possessions, Class related. Transition creates four-on-four or five-on-four situations, which we got tonight. I think we had one or two goals off of a ride. Getting goals other than those during six-on-six situations is huge for being able to put up high numbers. Putting up strong offensive numbers is what Banks would like to see as a former attackman, and cleaning up mistakes on clearing and in the transition game was evident from the first to the second game. Eliminating those helped the former Syracuse star to earn his first MLL win as a coach. I am just grateful, incredibly grateful for the opportunity. I love Atlanta and Atlanta lacrosse. To be able to represent the Blaze and get my first win feels really good tonight. It is an accomplishment that I will sit and think about, but then move on quickly, Banks said. This is the MLL and we get the New York Lizards next week and Boston again in two weeks. This was a huge team effort, Madalon said. We knew we had to have this win and we got it done. 10

11 The Teacher and Class Lead Blaze to First Road Win of 2018 For one fourth-grade teacher at Springdale Elementary School in Stamford, Conn., Teacher Appreciation Week started off with a very positive step. Goalie Chris Madalon, who waited, watched but never wavered whilst backing up Drew Adams for three seasons in a New York Lizards' uniform, schooled his old team by turning aside 19 shots while leading the Atlanta Blaze to a victory last evening in Hempstead, N.Y. Midfielder Deemer Class scored six goals, including three two-point goals, to lead the Atlanta (2-1) offense. The Blaze captured its second straight win and first road win of the season. With his father and friends looking on, Madalon, who graduated from UNC and earned a masters of education degree from Sacred Heart University in 2014, also won his second straight game for Atlanta. He made several exceptional saves during New York's dominant second quarter in which the Lizards (1-3) scored six unanswered goals. Madalon kept his team within striking distance. "Chris made a bunch of saves inside for us and got some loose balls. He kept us in the game and that is what a team must do," said head coach Liam Banks. "When one part of your game isn t effective, another part picks you up. Once you get picked up and everybody begins playing well, that s when you can have some success. I was really proud of the way we stuck together, like a family, and ultimately we got the win." Banks explained his decision to start Madalon, instead of veteran Adam Ghitelman. "Chris played excellently last week and we thought we had a competitive edge by starting him again today," Banks said. "He played for the Lizards, he knows the shooters, he was playing with a chip on his shoulder and we were right because the result was a win today. For the second week in a row, Madalon was grateful for the opportunity to start but this game was particularly special. "In my having been a New York Lizard for the past three years, to get the opportunity to start on the opposite side of Drew Adams, the guy who I have backed up. and to face all of the guys that I faced in practice, it was exciting," Madalon stated. In the second quarter, it may have been a bit too exciting with Atlanta's defense trying to survive the Lizards' onslaught. "It s always tough when you are playing that much defense. It always puts a little extra pressure on the defense when the offense isn t performing as well as it should be," Madalon said. "You have to score goals, particularly when you re up against a potent New York Lizards offense. Banks had reminded his team at halftime that they were professionals and playing too timidly for his liking. "At halftime, we just came in and talked about what I expected out of them and what we got out of them in the first half wasn t acceptable, particularly from our offense," Banks offered. With Atlanta trailing 8-3, Class sparked the Blaze's second-half comeback. Class tied a Major League Lacrosse (MLL) record with three two-point goals for the game and ignited his team's slumbering attack with four goals in the third quarter and two more in the fourth. His two-pointer with 9:23 left in the game gave the Blaze a lead they would never 11

12 relinquish. "in honor of the Kentucky Derby, Deemer Class was a thoroughbred this weekend. He was amazing today in the second half and we are excited about his performance," Banks said. Fellow middie Matt Mackrides, who opened the Atlanta scoring 4:21 into the first quarter, added his second goal of the game in the fourth quarter. Mackrides also assisted on three of Class' goals and Matt Gibson's eventual game-winning tally with 7:30 left in the game. Gibson, playing his first game against New York after spending six seasons with Lizards, scored four goals on five shots. Kevin Rice added three assists while Mike Begley had two. Dan Eipp, playing in his second game for the Blaze, scored his first career MLL goal in the first quarter. "To win any game in this league, it always has to be a full-team effort and that s what happened in the second half," Madalon said. "From defense to offense to face-offs to wings, that s what it takes to win. The offense helped spark us in the second half, Deemer especially." Atlanta made life difficult for itself in the waning moments of the game. After wresting the lead from the Lizards, the Blaze was whistled for four penalties, including two simultaneous slashing calls on Scott Ratliff and Justin Pennington with 4:50 left in the game, and one to Eddy Glazener with 3:11 left just after New York's Will Manny cut the Blaze lead to "I love it when the defense plays tough in front of me and imposes their will on the opposing offenses. Sometimes you re going to get calls against you and we caught a couple of bad breaks," Madalon said. "That s part of the game. Ultimately, in those final minutes of the game, we do need to make sure we are playing smart and not jeopardize our lead by putting ourselves a man down for a couple of minutes." Playing a man down, Madalon came up big against Lizards' star Rob Pannell, who already had four goals for the game, to preserve the lead. "He had been doing the backhand to me all night and I made the adjustments to be in a better position to make that save," Madalon said. "Fortunately, I think it caught my shorts and trickled to the edge of the goal line and I quickly stopped it. Obviously, it was a big moment to make that save. That was exciting stuff." Madalon, who instructs young goalies to play the position at Next Save Lacrosse near his hometown of Darien, said that taking some of his own advice tat he communicates to his pupils has yielded dividends. "Coaching hundreds of goalies at this point has definitely helped me grow as a goalie. We cover the full spectrum for goalies, learning the good and bad habits. I really have started practicing what I preach to these kids. Ultimately the message I communicate to these kids is to continue to work hard. Especially in this league, guys who put the work in like Deemer, eventually it pays off," Madalon said. Like any good instructor, Madalon looks for teaching moments. "The ability to win close games, that s one of the biggest takeaways from this game," Madalon said. Sidenotes: Defenseman Liam Byrnes led the Blaze with six groundballs and had an assist for the second straight game Despite a difficult evening against N.Y. FOGO, Brendan Fowler, Brent Hiken won two key faceoffs early in the fourth 12

13 quarter to help his team maintain momentum. Madalon was originally credited with 17 saves in the victory over Boston last week, but a stats review increased the total to 20. Including the final two games of last season, attackman Kevin Rice now has 14 assists in his past five games. Atlanta visits the Boston Cannons (May 12) and the Dallas Rattlers (May 19) before returning home June 2 to face the Lizards. Get tickets at AtlantaBlaze.com/Tickets 13