Queener, Rattlers rule MLL

The jersey the Rochester Rattlers had issued Brett Queener was somewhere in the stands. His shorts were soaked and some kid was walking away with his chest protector.

"Yeah, I gave away all my stuff," he said.

He looked less like a goalie than a drummer after an encore, but this was his rock star moment.

Until yesterday he was unheralded, a 23-year-old kid out of Albany University who had wanted to play professional lacrosse since he found out such a thing existed.

Now, after Rochester had iced a 16-6 win over the Denver Outlaws yesterday at Harvard Stadium, he was the face of the team's first Major League Lacrosse title, with help from Jeff Zywicki, who matched Denver's output with six goals, four in a 10-1 second-half blowout.

Zywicki was the MVP but Queener was the star.

Queener had moments when he left his net wide open so he could sprint downfield and cause trouble.

His philosophy: "I've got to get one run in before I really get a rush."

When Denver's Jeff Sonke got fed up with the extra activity and put a big hit on Queener, the goalie took the hit like it was a shot of adrenaline, happy because he still had the ball when it was over.

"I've got a fishnet on my stick," Queener said. "You're not taking it away from me. You've gotta knock me over."

The hitch is, Queener's not even the starter.

That's a role five-year veteran Mike Levin has held for a while, but since midseason, coach B.J. O'Hara has had Queener play the second half, supplying the same spark he did in yesterday's championship game.

"He's got a very good ability to stay focused coming off the bench," O'Hara said.

Since midseason, Queener's been the X-factor in the Rattlers' run to the title, even though he only plays half the game.

"Queenie just adds a different dimension to the game," said Jon Grant Jr., who scored four goals and notched an assist for Rochester.

His assist total was even with Queener's, who came out of the net, sprinted inside Denver's 2-point line, cocked back as if he was going to try to shoot, then found Zywicki to his left for a bouncer that made it 12-4.

"He's funny when he's on your team," said Outlaws coach Brian Reese, "and he can be annoying when he's not on your team. He's entertaining. He gets the job done."

Rochester's second-half offense made it easy for him.

Rochester scored six unanswered goals in the third quarter, three by Zywicki, and 10 straight in the second half before Denver got one late. Queener stopped 10 of the 11 shots.

Reese said everything kind of snowballed after the Rattlers struck quickly in the second half.

"I think we had some momentum," Reese said. "But they took it away from us pretty quick."

That offense, Queener said, is what allows him to be so reckless.

"We have the luxury of having the best players in the game," he said after the Rattlers celebrated their championship. "So, I have the luxury of doing things other goalies don't get to do."

As a thank you to the 8,481 fans at the championship game and more than 16,000 that came to Harvard for championship weekend, the Rattlers signed autographs after their Super Bowl. Queener wrote his name so many times you would have thought the principal made him do it.

It was about 4 o'clock before he and the pack finally cleared. The game had been over at least a half-hour, and he was still signing. If nobody knew his name before, he gave them plenty of reminders.

"Other people think I'm crazy," he said. "But we won a championship and that's all that matters."

Julian Benbow can be reached at jbenbow@globe.com.