Blaze begin third year with a fresh outlook

Following a tumultuous first two seasons that included several injuries, the firing of inaugural coach John Tucker, the death of his successor, Dave Huntley, and former owner Peter Trematerra suing Major League Lacrosse, the Atlanta Blaze is confident all the right pieces are in place moving forward.

The team will begin Year 3 today with its season opener against the Florida Launch at 2 p.m. at Kennesaw State’s Fifth Third Bank Stadium.

“It’s a dream come true to represent Atlanta and do what I love to do,” said first-year coach Liam Banks, who returned to the team after serving as an executive in the past.

Banks is one of the new faces in administrative roles for the Blaze, along with defensive coordinator Jamie Hanford, president Jim Pfeifer and owner Andre Gudger. Spencer Ford remains the team’s general manager and assistant coach.

“I feel blessed to be coaching lacrosse at the highest level,” said Banks, a former college and professional player. “We plan on doing the best we can, and we’re excited about everything moving forward.

“We’re pretty relaxed. We just introduced our new owner, and the time I’ve spent with him has given me a lot of confidence and direction on where the team is going. He’s a guy that believes in us and what we want to do.”

Part of moving forward was the Blaze selecting the 25-man roster that will begin play against the Launch today.

Attackmen Dylan Donahue and Kevin Rice, midfielders Deemer Class, Justin Pennington and Matt Mackrides, defenseman Jason Noble, goalkeeper Adam Ghitelman and long-stick midfielder and former Walton High School standout Scott Ratliff are among the returners. Rice, Ratliff and Ghitelman will once again serve as captains.

Defenseman Liam Byrnes, acquired in a trade from Florida, and midfielder Stephen Ianzito were among the additions. Both spent the spring as coaches in the metro-Atlanta area, with Byrnes at Centennial and Ianzito at Roswell.

“The trade for Liam was big,” Banks said. “He’s an all-world defenseman, and we’re excited to introduce him.”

New attackman Matt Gibson was New York’s second-leading goal-scorer last year with 26.

“Matt’s a human highlight reel,” Banks said. “He has amazing hands. Fans will want to keep their eyes open when he has the ball.”

The Blaze’s roster includes seven attackmen, seven midfielders, five defensemen, three goalies and two long-stick midfielders. Brent Hiken will handle faceoff duties, while returnees Jeremy Noble, Graeme Hossack and Jake Withers are currently with their indoor teams.

“This will be the first time we’ve dressed this many guys on the team from the Atlanta area, and we’re proud of that,” Banks said. “Everybody who made the team showed up and played well during training camp and made the roster. I’m excited about that. Our fans are going to see some good guys (today).

“It was a tough decision putting the roster together — like putting together a puzzle. Some guys made it easy because of their schedules, and some guys had injuries, but there were so many good players to choose from. There were some difficult decisions made.”

What Banks wanted was a team that matched his coaching style.

“My background is fast lacrosse, scoring quickly and in transition and getting out on the fast break,” he said. “Defensively, we want to be fast and physical and play together. That’s what we’ve put together. I think it will be an exciting brand of lacrosse.”

The Blaze are hoping to make a good first impression today. Last year’s team finished 6-8 and was in the thick of the playoff hunt with three games remaining.

Florida went 8-6 and made its first postseason appearance last year before losing to eventual champion Ohio in the semifinals.

“Florida had a great draft last year that added some tough talent to their organization,” Banks said. “They’re still a playoff-caliber team. We’re going to have to focus on clearing well and having smart possessions.

“It’ll be great to get the first-game jitters out of us. This game could lay the foundation of what we do this season.”

Regardless of today’s outcome, Wednesday’s collegiate draft guaranteed the Blaze will have more help coming their way when the college season ends the final weekend of May. Inside Lacrosse graded the Blaze’s draft class an “A” while the Lax Sports Network gave it an “A-plus.”

“I feel like we got the best offensive player in the draft, with Connor Kelly from Maryland,” Banks said. “He’s a versatile player that can help us. I believe we addressed our needs and left (the draft) a better team.”

Banks credited Ford and the analytics department with putting together a solid roster this season.

“We have a bunch of unselfish guys with leaders on defense and in goal,” Banks said. “Our unselfishness will be our strength.”