Blaze Riorden sets Premier Lacrosse League’s single-game save record

On Friday against the Denver Outlaws, Blaze Riorden exploded with a goliath effort, turning aside 25 shots, which sets a new Premier Lacrosse League single-game save record.

Riorden and Brett Dobson shared the previous record (23 saves), and Riorden holds seven of the top 15 performances between the pipes.

“When I took the job, I said, ‘We’ve got the best goalie in the world and we’ll build from there.’ Our team is built from the goalie out, and certainly you couldn’t ask for more evidence tonight that we earned a win on Blaze’s back,” head coach Roy Colsey said after the game. “He allowed us to stay in that game, and finally we won that last quarter.”

Riorden started the game with a nine-save first quarter and never looked back en route to his unbelievable performance. The Chaos defense did an excellent job of funneling the Outlaw shooters into poor spots for bad takes.

The defensive effort featured many looks similar to Riorden’s record save:

“It means absolutely nothing to break the record,” Riorden said postgame. “It means absolutely everything to do it in front of my family and people that care about you, that’s what this is about.”

Riorden’s mom moved to North Carolina three years ago and was in attendance for his outstanding performance. Coach Colsey jokingly said the Chaos and Blaze needed her out at every game.

Amid his record-breaking night, it wasn’t the saves Blaze was making that meant the most to his team, it was what he told them during the rough times early in the game. The five-time Oren Lyons Goaltender of the Year is known for having an approach to the sport of lacrosse based on the philosophy of having fun always.

In the heat of the battle when the Chaos were struggling during a timeout, Blaze gathered the group of veteran defenders and unproven young offense and reminded them to have fun and enjoy the moment.

The spirit that Riorden plays the game with engulfed the field and the players donning the hometown white in Charlotte on Friday night.