By Carly Szydlowski --
Stand-out Major League Lacrosse player, Brice Queener, will be playing in the Bowhunter Cup at The Blue Cross Arena in Rochester on Saturday October 13th. This is Queener’s debut in the International Exhibition Game, featuring the Iroquois Nationals and the United States.  

Queener is looking forward to the experience stating, “It is exciting that I get to represent the United States and play with some of the best lacrosse players in the world all at the same time. I have worked with Coach Brian Hobart before and it is an honor to have Chris Schiller as an assistant coach because I have idolized him for a long, long time. Casey Powell is a player I have looked up to and to be able to play on his team is truly amazing. A lot of things are happening to me that I never thought would happen.”

Queener will be playing alongside his brother, Brett, and they are two of four individuals involved in the Bowhunter Cup, who are representing the small town of Penn Yan, NY. Queener commented on playing with his brother and representing his community stating, “I love that I’m sharing this experience with my brother and we will remember it for the rest of our lives. We get to represent our country and hopefully one day we will be telling our kids about playing in the Bowhunter Cup. I know I will never forget this and the fact I get to play the great game of lacrosse with my brother, while representing the USA is incredible. This is basically a home game for me because Rochester is only 45 minutes away from Penn Yan, so it is important for both my brother and I to play well and represent our hometown and country at the same time.”

Queener is currently entering his fourth season with the Hamilton Nationals and his fifth season in the league. Along with playing professional lacrosse, Queener is a teacher and lacrosse coach at the Hill Academy in Vaughn, Ontario and has also coached for Binghamton University and Siena University. He is a skilled and well-known player in the MLL and is respected for his ability to be an effective and successful player and coach.

When asked about being a role model for his students by playing in the Bowhunter Cup, Queener answered, “The kids I coach at the Hill Academy are truly role models for me. They know it is a cool thing and pretty neat for me to be able to represent the United States of America. Truly though, they are such good players that by playing in this game, I am just getting on their level.” 

Knighthawks Hall of Famer Tim Soudan will be the United States team head coach and will hopefully lead Queener and his teammates to victory. The Iroquois Nationals are 4-1 all-time against the United States in indoor competition and it is always an intense match-up between the two because there is a massive amount of pride on the line. Queener will be joined by four NLL Rochester Knighthawks players on the American squad, including goalie Jake Henhawk, transition man Joel White, forward Joe Walters and Powell.  

He has high expectations for the game, yet Queener knows it will be tough to beat the Iroquois Nationals, “I want to go out there, compete, and play to win. This may be the only time I get to play for team USA and I have to go out there and leave it all on the floor. I want to get the win, play well, and make the most of this experience. The Iroquois Nationals team has a stacked roster, but my plan is for the USA to walk away with the Bowhunter Cup.”

It is believed that the United States has the strongest team this year than ever before and they are hoping to come away with the Bowhunter Cup in their possession. Tickets are currently on sale for the Bowhunter Cup and can be purchased at all Tickemaster outlets, The Blue Cross Arena Box Office or by calling 1-800-745-3000. This is sure to be an intense, exciting game and an opportunity to see star players, like Queener, in action.