Blaze Riorden
Born | February 13, 1994 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Nationality | American | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 6 ft 0 in (1.83 m) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Weight | 215 pounds (98 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Shoots | Left | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Position | Chaos | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Career highlights | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
NCAA:
PLL:
International:
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Medal record
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Blaze Riorden (born February 13, 1994)
Early life and career
Riorden was raised in Fairport, New York, the son of Mike and Jeannie Riorden. He has one brother, Connor.[9][10] Riorden's family had season tickets to see the Rochester Knighthawks, and he began playing lacrosse at the age of four as an attackman, however he switched to goalie part time as a child when he injured his team's goalie with a shot, and would play both positions throughout high school. While at Fairport High School, he would earn three varsity letters each in lacrosse and football, and won two Section V state championships and committed to play lacrosse at University at Albany where he would have the opportunity to play in goal and on man-up offense.[11][9]
Collegiate career
Riorden started 18 games in goal as a freshman at Albany, where he posted the second-most wins in program history with 13. He would be named to the America East All-Rookie Team as well as second-team all-league.
As a sophomore, Riorden finished third in the nation in saves per game and twelfth in save percentage, leading the America East in both categories, and being named first-team all-conference at the end of the season. He would backstop Albany to their first NCAA Tournament win in seven years by making 13 saves and allowing just six goals in the first round against Loyola. He would also get some opportunities to play attack on man up, scoring his first career goal against Bryant.
In his junior season, Riorden would lead the America East in save percentage, saves per game, and goals against average, once again making first-team all-league. He would make 214 saves on the season, good for eighth in Albany history, and contributed to the program's first-ever shutout in a game against UMass Lowell. He also made national headlines for his coast-to-coast goal against Cornell in the NCAA Tournament, being nominated for the ESPY Award for Best Play.
In his senior season, Riorden would set Albany's career record for saves and was named a finalist for the Tewaaraton Award, as well as a third-team All-American, first-team all-conference, and America East Defensive Player of the Year.[9]
Season | GP | GS | Minutes | Saves | Sv% | GA | GAA |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
2013 | 18 | 18 | 1036:27 | 199 | 0.491 | 206 | 11.93 |
2014 | 18 | 18 | 1040:01 | 237 | 0.549 | 195 | 11.25 |
2015 | 19 | 19 | 1015:31 | 214 | 0.560 | 168 | 9.93 |
2016 | 16 | 16 | 948:21 | 199 | 0.565 | 153 | 9.68 |
Total | 71 | 71 | 4040:20 | 849 | 0.540 | 722 | 10.72 |
Box career
Following his freshman season at Albany, Riorden was invited by teammate Ty Thompson to spend the summer on the
Riorden was named captain of the Wings ahead of the 2023-24 season.[3]
Riorden has also represented the United States in the
NLL statistics
Blaze Riorden | Regular Season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||||||
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Season | Team | GP | G | A | Pts | LB | PIM | Pts/GP | LB/GP | PIM/GP | GP | G | A | Pts | LB | PIM | Pts/GP | LB/GP | PIM/GP |
2017 | Buffalo Bandits | 9 | 6 | 13 | 19 | 20 | 0 | 2.11 | 2.22 | 0.00 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
2019 | Philadelphia Wings |
17 | 23 | 31 | 54 | 51 | 6 | 3.18 | 3.00 | 0.35 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
2020 | Philadelphia Wings | 14 | 14 | 28 | 42 | 41 | 6 | 3.00 | 2.93 | 0.43 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
2022 | Philadelphia Wings | 18 | 21 | 22 | 43 | 65 | 2 | 2.39 | 3.61 | 0.11 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 |
2023 | Philadelphia Wings | 18 | 34 | 39 | 73 | 74 | 9 | 4.06 | 4.11 | 0.50 | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – |
76 | 98 | 133 | 231 | 251 | 23 | 3.04 | 3.30 | 0.30 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.00 | 0.00 | 0.00 | ||
Career Total: | 77 | 98 | 133 | 231 | 251 | 23 | 3.00 | 3.26 | 0.30 |
GP–Games played; G–Goals; A–Assists; Pts–Points; LB–Loose balls; PIM–Penalty minutes; Pts/GP–Points per games played; LB/GP–Loose balls per games played; PIM/GP–Penalty minutes per games played.
Professional field career
MLL
Riorden was drafted 51st overall by the
PLL
Riorden was part of the original group of players to join Paul Rabil's PLL, being assigned to
Regular season | Playoffs | |||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Season | Team | GP | Saves | Sv% | SA | SAA | 2ptGA | GP | Saves | Sv% | SA | SAA | 2ptGA | |
2019 | Chaos | 10 | 153 | 55% | 126 | 12.6 | 3 | 2 | 28 | 54% | 27 | 13.5 | 3 | |
2020 | Chaos | 7 | 119 | 61% | 78 | 11.0 | 3 | N/A | ||||||
2021 | Chaos | 9 | 149 | 61% | 103 | 11.5 | 3 | 3 | 45 | 63% | 28 | 14.0 | 1 | |
2022 | Chaos | 10 | 137 | 54% | 126 | 12.6 | 8 | 3 | 45 | 68% | 21 | 7.0 | 0 | |
2023 | Chaos | 9 | 135 | 59% | 103 | 11.4 | 11 | 1 | 16 | 53% | 15 | 15.0 | 1 |
Playing style
Riorden has been called a "once in a generation talent" by the PLL.[18] He is known for using a Butterfly style, similar to a hockey goaltender, being one of the first field lacrosse goalies to do so. He is also known for his stick skills due to his background as an attackman and due to this, he is able to create transition opportunities for his teammates.[19]
External links
Blaze Riorden Premier Lacrosse League bio
Sources
- ^ "Blaze Riorden". NLL. Retrieved 2021-08-24.
- ^ "Chaos Roster". Premier Lacrosse League. Retrieved 2023-12-04.
- ^ a b Philadelphia Wings getting ready for another exciting season, retrieved 2023-12-04
- ^ Rice, N. (n.d.). PLL MVP Blaze Riorden Among Goalies Hoping to Suit Up for U.S. in 2023. USA Lacrosse Magazine. Retrieved September 5, 2023, from https://www.usalaxmagazine.com/usa-insider/senior-men/pll-mvp-blaze-riorden-among-goalies-hoping-to-suit-up-for-us-in-2023
- ^ USA Lacrosse. https://www.usalacrosse.com/player-profile/blaze-riorden
- ^ Powell Lacrosse, (2023). Both Sides Of The Ball. Powell Lacrosse. https://www.powelllacrosse.com/blogs/journal/both-sides-of-the-ball
- ^ Talk, Pro Lacrosse (2021-09-18). "2021 PLL Awards: Blaze Riorden Becomes Second Goaltender to Win MVP". Pro Lacrosse Talk. Retrieved 2021-10-15.
- ^ "Greg Cattrano Rooting For Blaze Riorden to Join Exclusive MVP Club: 'He's a Field General'". www.insidelacrosse.com. Retrieved 2021-10-15.
- ^ a b c "Blaze Riorden - 2016 - Men's Lacrosse". University at Albany Great Danes. Retrieved 2021-08-24.
- ^ KEKIS, JOHN (2016-05-04). "Goalie Blaze Riorden a key to Albany Great Danes' success". AP News.
- ^ a b "Team USA's Blaze Riorden: Uncaged". www.usalaxmagazine.com. Retrieved 2021-08-24.
- ^ "UAlbany alums to play in elite lacrosse event". Times Union. 2019-07-26. Retrieved 2021-10-15.
- ^ "U.S. Downs Czech Republic to Advance to World Indoor Semifinals". www.usalaxmagazine.com. Retrieved 2021-10-15.
- ^ "Blaze Riorden, Kevin Cooper: MLL Players of the Week". Lacrosse All Stars. 2018-04-25. Retrieved 2021-08-24.
- ^ "Blaze Riorden". Premier Lacrosse League. Retrieved 2021-08-24.
- ^ "PLL All Star Team Roster Determined Through Captains Draft". Lacrosse All Stars. 2021-07-12. Retrieved 2021-08-24.
- ^ Twitter https://twitter.com/premierlacrosse/status/1428456853965443075. Retrieved 2021-08-24.
{{cite web}}
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(help) - ^ "Blaze Riorden: Bringing the Butterfly to Lacrosse". Premier Lacrosse League. 2021-08-20. Retrieved 2021-10-15.
- ^ "Blaze Riorden: Bringing the Butterfly to Lacrosse". Premier Lacrosse League. 2021-08-20. Retrieved 2021-08-24.