Brett Queener was acting like an outlaw, never mind his standing as the Toronto Nationals’ goaltender.
Channeling his inner midfielder, Queener repeatedly made saves and eschewed outlet passes, cradling the ball in his stick and racing into the offensive zone.
Along with giving his trailing team an extra offensive player, Queener was toying with Denver Outlaws players determined to regain possession. In the process, he drew three late fourth-quarter penalties, even though goalies are fair game out of the net.
“It is a tough one because you see him and you want to lay him out because you think a goalie shouldn’t be doing that,” Denver midfielder Brian Langtry said. “But it is a good play on his part. That’s what he should do.”
Fortunately for Denver, penalties by Langtry, Drew Westervelt and Nate Watkins only resulted in one man-up goal as the Outlaws held on for a 15-12 victory before 6,123 fans Saturday night at Invesco Field at Mile High.
It was a rematch of last season’s Major League Lacrosse championship game, which Denver lost by one goal. That day, Westervelt was held without a goal. This time, he scored five goals, including the Outlaws’ last. He fired a low bouncer off a feed from Langtry, who had faked a two-pointer and drawn two defenders.
The talented Nationals came in a surprising 0-2, lost the faceoff and groundball battle, trailed 13-7 and then made the Outlaws sweat with a pair of two-point goals.
“We just had to weather the storm,” Langtry said. “You look at the guys on that roster. They are all going to score goals.”
Denver (2-1) is on the road for the next four games, returning home to play Chesapeake on July 4.
Toronto 1 3 7 1 — 12 Denver 2 5 6 2 — 15
Toronto goals — Bucktooth 4, Grant Jr. 2, Williams 2, Snider, Huntley.
Two-point goals — Bucktooth, Huntley.
Assists — Grant 2, Snider, Merrill, Huntley.
Denver goals — Westervelt 5, Hardy 3, Mundorf 2, Brown 2, Langtry , Giannone.
Two-point goal — Langtry.
Assists — Mundorf 5, Langtry 2, Bocklet 2, Westervelt, Hardy, Seibald.
Toronto saves — Queener, 11. Denver saves — Schwartzman, 15.
