Wings 2008 schedule, Part 2

By Tom Hoffman

With labor strife now out of the way,the National Lacrosse League re-released their schedule for the 2008 season. The Wings still open on January 12, but now open with the Chicago Shamrox. The Wings will play seven of their first nine games at home before going on a five game road trip after the All-Star Game at Edmonton. The season will conclude with a visit to Toronto on April 26. The 2008 Wings schedule is below.

2008 Philadelphia Wings Schedule

Saturday, January 12 Chicago at Philadelphia - 7:30 PM
Friday, January 18 Rochester at Philadelphia - 8:00 PM
Saturday, January 26 Buffalo at Philadelphia - 7:30 PM
Friday, February 15 Philadelphia at Colorado - 9:00 PM
Friday, February 22 Minnesota at Philadelphia - 8:00 PM
Friday, February 29 New York at Philadelphia - 8:00 PM
Saturday, March 1 Philadelphia at Buffalo - 7:30 PM
Saturday, March 8 Toronto at Philadelphia - 1:00 PM
Friday, March 14 San Jose at Philadelphia - 8:00 PM
Sunday, March 16 NLL All-Star Game at Edmonton
Saturday, March 22 Philadelphia at New York - 7:30 PM
Saturday, March 29 Philadelphia at Rochester - 8:05 PM
Saturday, April 5 Philadelphia at Chicago - 8:00 PM
Friday, April 11 Philadelphia at Portland - 10:30 PM
Saturday, April 12 Philadelphia at Minnesota - 8:00 PM
Saturday, April 19 New York at Philadelphia - 7:30 PM
Saturday, April 26 Philadelphia at Toronto - 7:00 PM

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NLL Season salvaged, new schedule next week

By Tom Hoffman

Today the National Lacrosse League and the Professional Lacrosse Players Association agreed on a 7 year collective bargaining agreement. With this the 2008 NLL season, which had been cancelled on October 15 after the two sides failed to reach a deal, will now go on. Per NLL.com, a new schedule will be released next week.

Stay tuned to LaxPhilly.com for more details.


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Wings announce 2008 schedule

By Tom Hoffman

The Philadelphia Wings open the 2008 National Lacrosse League season at home on January 12 with a matchup against the Buffalo Bandits. The Wings home schedule is split between Friday and Saturday night games. Among the road matchups is the Wings first ever trip to Madison Square Garden on January 31, as well as a visit to Portland and former teammate Dallas Eliuk on March 8. The complete schedule is listed below.

All times are listed as Eastern.

Saturday, January 12
Buffalo at Philadelphia - 7:30 PM

Friday, January 18
Rochester at Philadelphia - 8:00 PM

Saturday, January 26
Minnesota at Philadelphia - 7:30 PM

Thursday, January 31
Philadelphia at New York - 7:30 PM

Friday, February 8
Philadelphia at Boston - 7:30 PM

Friday, February 15
Chicago at Philadelphia - 8:00 PM

Saturday, February 16
Philadelphia at Chicago - 8:00 PM

Friday, February 22
Toronto at Philadelphia - 8:00 PM

Saturday, March 1
New York at Philadelphia - 7:30 PM

Saturday, March 8
Philadelphia at Portland - 10:30 PM

Friday, March 14
Boston at Philadelphia - 8:00 PM

Sunday, March 16
2008 NLL All-Star Game at Edmonton - TBD

Saturday, March 22
Philadelphia at Toronto - 7:00 PM

Saturday, March 29
San Jose at Philadelphia - 7:30 PM

Saturday, April 5
Philadelphia at Minnesota - 8:00 PM

Saturday, April 12
Philadelphia at Rochester - 7:35 PM

Saturday, April 19
Philadelphia at Buffalo - 7:30 PM

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Huntley happy to be back with the Wings

By Tom Hoffman

Professional indoor lacrosse returned to Philadelphia in 1987 when the Eagle League of Pro-Box Lacrosse was born. When the Philadelphia Wings took to the floor that season, they were led on the field by Mike French and off the field by Dave Huntley, who was the team's first Coach and General Manager. At least he was until late in the six game regular season when he added player to his title as well due to injuries on the Wings. So it was very interesting on June 7, 2007 when the Wings, with French as one of the team's owners, announced that Huntley would take over the coaching reins from Lindsay Sanderson, who remains on board as General Manager.

"It’s good to be back," Huntley said at the Wings Red Status meet and greet held on June 25 at the Wachovia Center, just over two weeks after his return to the Wings was announced.

While Huntley may not have been on the fan's radar of potential coaches, he says he wasn't surprised when the Wings approached him about the team's vacant coaching spot.

"I think I was delighted and honored. I don’t want to say I was surprised," Huntley said. "Mike French and I go back a long way, have stayed friendly through the years. When the opportunity came up, I think I was more delighted than honored."

Huntley hopes that his return to coaching the Wings goes more successfully than his stint in 1987, when the Wings went 3-3, eventually losing in the semi-finals to the Washington Wave. That's not to say he didn't have fun during that season, even though he felt he could have done better on the coaching, playing and managing of the team.

"It was a lot of fun," Huntley said. "I think as I look back on it, I don’t think I was a very good GM, I was probably a worse coach and managed to even be a worse player so it was not a great debut looking back on. It was fun just to be part of getting something going, looking back some 20 years later I was glad I was a part of that."

One thing Huntley brings to the table in his return to Philadelphia lacrosse is a ton of experience, mostly very good. Huntley was a member of a pair of NCAA Championship teams with Johns Hopkins in the late 70's and was a three time All-American. He also was a part of Canada's two World Field Lacrosse titles, as a player in 1978 and as an assistant coach in 2006. He also assisted Gary Gait with the MLL's Baltimore Bayhawks for three seasons (2003-2005), with the Bayhawks winning the MLL title in 2005. His experience hasn't been limited to the outdoor game either. His experience in the indoor game after 1987 involved stints as an assistant coach with Baltimore beginning in 1997 through the franchise's eventual moves to Pittsburgh (as GM in 2000), Washington (2001 and 2002) and Colorado (scout in 2003). Huntley feels this experience will serve him well with the Wings.

"Probably the best thing I can say is I’ve been a part of, recently, some very successful organizations," Huntley said. "The other side of the equation is I’ve also been part of some teams that weren’t very successful both on and off the field. I think it gives you some perspective. It’s one thing to know what it’s like to win but I still remember what it’s like to lose and hopefully be able to relate to how to get out of those situations."

As Huntley prepares the Wings for the 2008 season, he must deal with a number of pressing matters. A team and fan base that has been used to success has seen that well go dry since the team's last championship victory in 2001. The Wings have missed postseason play in each of the last five seasons (last making it in 2002, losing to the Washington Power, where Huntley assisted Darris Kilgour) and fan discontent has been growing while attendance has dropped. Huntley understands the fan frustration and feels he can deliver what the players, owners and fans have been seeking, a return to the Wings glory days.

"Make no mistake about it, one of the attractions for me to this job was to be able to play in front of these fans on the right side of the bench," Huntley said. "The other thing people should know is I don’t think anyone has been more unhappy or dissatisfied with the results on the field than the ownership (Russ Cline, Chris Fritz, and Mike French). One of the things in this league is that the Wings have gotten better the last three years, make no mistake about it. This team under Lindsay Sanderson’s guidance has really improved. With the talent level on this team, I feel like I’m taking over something that’s just getting ready to emerge and burst. The tough part about that is the league has gotten a lot better too. I think the quality of players in the league right now is at a level that we’ve never seen before. I think the league is absolutely terrific. So even though we’ve been getting better, the rest of the league’s been getting better so maybe the results haven’t been there on the floor."

As far as what needs to be changed to bring success back to Wingland, Huntley has noted a couple of items he feels need to be addressed in order for the Wings to get back to their winning ways.

"There’s a couple of things we’ve identified in the early going," Huntley said. "I’ve had a chance to speak with most of the players and I’ve had the benefit of the feedback sent to management at the end of the year. We need to improve communication. It’s not gonna be so visible to the fans but it should be visible in terms of how we behave on the field. The other thing that should be very visible is we need to run on and off the floor. I had a chance to watch four games from last season; this is a team that needs to run on and off the floor. A simple thing like running on and off the floor shows they (the players) are selfless and that they do actually care about each other. We need to demonstrate that to the fans. It’s very visible when you see a guy hustle on and off the floor. Wings fans should pick up on that so that should help a lot. From a tangible perspective it’s going to give us longer shot clocks to work with on offense, it will also make for shorter shot clocks on defense, which will generate fewer quality scoring chances. Two big things, communication and hustle. I think we’ll be better."

At the meet and greet, Huntley announced that Chris Sanderson would be returning as an Assistant Coach, specializing on the defensive end. Sanderson had been the Wings Offensive Coach the last three seasons and has not been very popular with Wings fans after a rough night in goal against Columbus in 2002. Again, Huntley understands the fans feelings yet has very strong feelings of his own about this move.

"Chris and I go back a long way," Huntley said. "I was fortunate enough to coach Chris in 1998 for the Canadian National Team; he was also part of the Thunder (1999). The main thing I’ll tell you about Chris is he’s seen both sides of the coin. We go back a long way, I trust him. I’ve alluded to communication earlier, if you talk to the players who’ve played with Chris, whether it’s in the professional game or whether it was on International teams, Chris is a great communicator, one of the great communicators in the game. As a goaltender in the outdoor game, communication is huge. He has to be a coach on the field and he’s been very successful at that. We (Team Canada) had a terrific World Championships this summer and Chris was a huge part, blending together a group of defensemen who never really played together at all before and in a short period of time and being our field general. One of the things in my hiring process was before I was hired I asked Lindsay about having Chris as an assistant and the ownership endorsed it. I’m delighted that they did, it was an important part to me. What I found out later, the players were also very enthusiastic about Chris returning to the team. I respect the viewpoints of the fans, obviously they’re the ones who pay our salaries. I think you’ll be very proud to have Chris as our assistant."

Another issue that Huntley is ready to deal with is what kind of style of play he wants to see from the Wings. The team has long been a predominantly American team, field players with a mix of Canadian players with both field and box experience. The recent NLL Entry Draft continued that trend with their selections. The Wings seem to be a team that has always played the perimeter passing style associated with the field game while not really cutting to the middle and challenging defenses for quality shots like in the box game. Huntley feels he knows where to go with this come training camp.

"I think what you’re referring to is a style of play issue," Huntley said. "First and foremost, the style of play that we play is going to be determined by the players. I’m really looking to seek the active involvement in our players of how they want us to play. They need to have ownership of that and we’ve already begun those discussions. What I’m excited about is their vision for this team is very similar to mine, a team that runs. When I think back to the Wings teams that I coached against, I think of those teams as teams that ran, that literally challenged you on the floor. That’s what this group of guys wants to be. They very much want to be that, that’s they style I’d prefer to play from a coaching perspective. I believe we have the talent and athleticism to do that, we have the will to do that. You should expect to see a team that’s going to run. Changing lines has been a problem with the Wings for a long time. Guys not running on and off the floor, Philly’s always been a slow changing team. This will not be a slow changing team; this is a team that’s going to get on and off the floor quickly. Again, I think that’s a sign of selflessness. To extend the question about a team like Toronto and how they cut the middle, which is an important thing to do, again that’s a selfless act. I think we do have selfless guys. I think left to their own devices, I think they’ll reach that conclusion. Hopefully we’ll hit the mark on both of those aspects."

Lastly, Huntley goes back to what excited him about coming back to the Wings and what he hopes to accomplish this time around.

"I’m honored and excited to be back, it’s a great opportunity for me," Huntley said. "For someone in my position who’s looking to coach in this league, there’s probably a handful of franchises that I’d want to be involved with. This is at the foremost of it. It’s the greatest fans in the league, always have been the greatest fans in the league, the greatest ownership in the league. These are the guys who started this league. Even Mike French, he’s one of the owners now. He was one of the guys who started this league, he bled on the floor with the rest of us in 1987. I know that it’s been frustrating for folks the last few years. There’s a lot of history here, I know the players are frustrated, the ownership’s frustrated. I think we have the makings here of something special. I’m hoping I’m in the right place at the right time and a year from now I can say I was pretty lucky to have this job."

And Wings fans are hoping that Huntley can bring the team back to its winning ways, a berth in the postseason, and just maybe, another championship to celebrate.

Comeback win in OT puts Barrage in finals

By Tom Hoffman

They needed a fourth quarter comeback and 51 seconds of extra time but the Philadelphia Barrage are headed to their second consecutive MLL title game and third in four seasons. Roy Colsey's overtime marker gave the Barrage a 13-12 win over the Denver Outlaws today, sending the Barrage to the Championship Game to face the Los Angeles Riptide, who were 15-14 winners over the hometown Rochester Rattlers. The game will be telecast live on ESPN2 at 1 PM Sunday afternoon and will feature the leagues top two goaltenders in Philadelphia's Brian Dougherty and LA's Mickey Jarboe. The Barrage and Riptide have met just once, an 18-6 Philly win last season in LA's first MLL game. They will see a much different Riptide squad in tomorrow's final.

After leading 4-2 after the first quarter, the Barrage were outscored 6-1 in the second and trailed 12-9 after three. Then the comeback, led by former Rattlers Seth Goldberg and Kevin Cassese, along with Ryan Boyle. Cassese tied the game with 59 seconds remaining in regulation to set up Colsey's game winner though the Barrage needed a big save on Denver's Geoff Snider at the start of overtime in order to get Colsey to his heroics.

Colsey earned Game MVP with six points (4 goals, 1 two point goal, and an assist), his second one against the Outlaws.

Barrage Notes: Five members of the Barrage were named to the All-MLL team for 2007. Earning spots on the team were Ryan Boyle, Brian Dougherty, Brian Spallina, Kyle Sweeney and Matt Striebel.

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Brian Dougherty Honored as 2007 Warrior Goalkeeper of the Year

BOSTON, Mass. – Major League Lacrosse, the premier professional lacrosse league, announced Thursday that goalkeeper Brian Dougherty of the defending MLL champion Philadelphia Barrage has been named as the 2007 Warrior Goalkeeper of the Year, according to Commissioner David Gross. The award was based on votes submitted by the general managers and head coaches of the ten MLL teams.

It is the third time in Dougherty’s career that the former University of Maryland netminder has earned the award and the second straight year he has received the honor. He also received the award in 2003 when he was with the Long Island Lizards.

A two-time winner of the Goalkeeper of the Week award, Dougherty ranked second in the league in goals against average, allowing 11.79 goals per game. In addition, his .580 save percentage ranked second in the league behind Mickey Jarboe of the Los Angeles Riptide.

Dougherty made 20 or more saves three times during the regular season. On July 12, he posted a 20-save performance in a 12-7 victory against the New Jersey Pride. He also had 20 saves at Rochester on June 23 and a season-high 21 saves against Denver on July 21.

The 2007 NB ZIP MLL Championship Weekend will begin on Saturday, August 25 with a pair of semi-final games. The defending MLL champion Philadelphia Barrage will play against the Denver Outlaws while Rochester plays Los Angeles. The two semi-final winners will meet on Sunday, August 26 in the NB ZIP MLL Championship Game at 1:00 p.m. on ESPN2 HD.

WARRIOR SPORTS

Headquartered in Warren, Michigan, Warrior Sports is recognized as one of the sporting goods industry's premier manufacturers of innovative, high performance, cutting-edge equipment, footwear and apparel for lacrosse and hockey athletes of all ages and abilities. Founded in 1993 by former champion lacrosse player David Morrow, Warrior was acquired by privately-held New Balance Athletic Shoe, Inc. in February 2004. Warrior is dedicated to a core set of philosophies and strengths: technical superiority, grassroots marketing, original and creative youthful expression, and strong partnerships with retailers and suppliers. Warrior's Players Club is the best players in the world helping to make the best equipment in the world and is reserved for the top professionals in lacrosse and hockey today. For more information, please visit www.warriorlacrosse.com or www.warriorhockey.com.

MAJOR LEAGUE LACROSSE

Major League Lacrosse, a ten-team professional outdoor lacrosse league, was founded in 1999 by fitness entrepreneur Jake Steinfeld, CEO of Body by Jake Global L.L.C., and founding partners Dave Morrow, a former champion lacrosse player and now CEO of Warrior Lacrosse, a leading global provider of innovative and high performance lacrosse equipment; Timothy B. Robertson, former CEO of The Family Channel and the current chairman of Bay Shore Enterprises, L.L.C., an investment holding company with activities in international media and Internet technology ventures; and Jim Davis, chairman and CEO of New Balance. The MLL commenced play in June of 2001. The MLL is comprised of two conferences. The Eastern Conference contains the original six teams, Boston, Long Island, New Jersey, Philadelphia, Rochester and Washington. The Western Conference debuted in the 2006 season with MLL expansion franchises Chicago, Denver, Los Angeles and San Francisco. Additional league information can be found at www.majorleaguelacrosse.com.


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Barrage Postseason Preview (8-25-07 vs. Denver)

By Tom Hoffman

On Saturday, the Philadelphia Barrage (9-3) will start down the road to a third Major League Lacrosse title when they square off with their opponents from last season's final, the Denver Outlaws (7-5) at 2 PM at Rochester's PAETEC Park. The Barrage and Outlaws met during the regular season as well, Denver winning by a 15-13 score at Invesco Field on July 21. A win will put the Barrage into their third finals appearance in four seasons against the winner of the other semi final game pitting the Rochester Rattlers (9-3) against the Los Angeles Riptide (9-3). Sunday's championship game will be at 1 PM and shown live on ESPN2.

Barrage Postseason History

The Barrage are 4-0 in two appearances in the MLL Championship weekend. In 2004 in Boston, they needed overtime in the semi finals against Rochester, winning 18-17 on a Keith Cromwell goal with 7:05 remaining in the extra period. The Barrage would win the title with a 13-11 victory over the host Boston Cannons in front of a league postseason record crowd of 8,279 at Nickerson Field. Greg Cattrano earned game MVP with a 19 save performance and Roy Colsey added four goals and an assist to the winning effort.

In 2006 in Los Angeles, the Barrage and Cannons would meet again, this time in the semi final matchup. After losing both regular season games with Boston, Philly would dominate this meeting by jumping out to a 7-1 lead en route to a 17-12 win. Another four goal game for Colsey and a five goal night for Matt Striebel keyed the Philly victory. The title game ended up a rout as the Barrage defeated the expansion Outlaws 23-12. A 10 point day for Colsey (six goals, including a pair of two pointers, and two assists) led to MVP honors. Brian Dougherty made 19 saves in backstopping the win.

Barrage Postseason Leaders

Goals - Roy Colsey [15], Matt Striebel [11], Mike Springer & B.J. Prager [7]
Assists - Ryan Boyle [8], Striebel [6], Colsey [4]
Points - Colsey [21], Striebel [18], Boyle [13], Springer [10]
Wins - Greg Cattrano and Brian Dougherty [2]
Faceoff Wins - Paul Cantabene [42], Doug Shanahan [29]
Saves - Dougherty [34], Cattrano [33]

Barrage Regular Season Leaders

Goals - Roy Colsey [27], Mike Springer and Ryan Boyle [26], Matt Striebel [25]
Assists - Boyle [31], Springer [20], Striebel [13]
Points - Boyle [58], Springer [47], Striebel [39], Colsey [36]
Saves - Brian Dougherty [182]
Faceoff Wins - Andy Corno [167]
Ground Balls - Corno [66], Matt Zash [55]

Quotes

On Making the Playoffs and finishing with the top seed.

Roy Colsey: "The number one thing is not a huge deal. four teams make it and it should be a great tournament. Four great teams coming in and obviously you gotta win two to walk away with it (the Steinfeld Cup). It feels good, it's nice for us to win the last two and kinda go in on a roll, it feels a lot like last year. We got Denver in the semifinals. They beast us in the lst game we played them and Rochester looks real good. It should be a real interesting weekend."

Seth Goldberg: "I'm just excited to be on this team. I'm excited where we're at right now. I think we're really peaking. Whoever we play, we're gonna have to take it one game at a time. We really gotta focus on that first game and that's all that matters. Doesn't matter who the opponent is, it matters how we play. We gotta keep it up, we've been looking good these past two games."

Kevin Cassese: "It's good to be in the mix. All you gotta do is earn a spot in the playoffs and we did that. You get in and anybody can win it so we're happy to be there and we'll give it a run."

On being in Rochester for the Championship Weekend.

Goldberg (was acquired on waivers from Rochester on June 6): "It'll be nice to be back upstate."

Cassese (was acquired in a trade with the Rattlers on June 29): "I was up there (Rochester) for four years. I enjoyed playing up there, I liked the fans up there. It'll be great to get back home."

Next

Either a trip to the title game or the opener of the 2008 season. Stay tuned.

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Barrage hammer Bayhawks, earn top seed in postseason

By Tom Hoffman

After three seasons of play in Bridgeport, Philadelphia lacrosse fans had no reason to be excited about seeing the Barrage when the team was relocated in 2004. After all, this was a team that managed to win only seven games during their time in Connecticut and lost their first three games here. My, how things have changed. After last night's 22-7 demolition of the Washington Bayhawks at United Sports Training Center, the Barrage earned their second consecutive Eastern Conference title along with the top seed in the 2007 NB Zip Championship Weekend beginning August 25 in Rochester. The goal now is to become the first team in MLL history to win back to back titles and to become the league's first three time champion. Definitely a long way from the constant losing in Bridgeport.

Last night's game was in Philadelphia's control from the start. The Barrage jumped out to a 5-0 lead by the midway point of the first quarter and would lead 9-2 after the stanza. Barrage coach Tony Resch then gave starting goalie Brian Dougherty the rest of the evening off and gave backup Kevin Keenan some quality time in net. The offense continued to flow for the team in orange as the Barrage led 12-3 at half and 17-5 after three before finishing the night with a 22-7 score, making for a good night for the team and the 2,648 in attendance on a gorgeous August evening. Not to be left out was the continued stellar play of the Philly defense and a dominating night at the faceoff "X" by the Barrage's Andy Corno, who won 19 of 29 draws and scored a goal as well.

Roy Colsey earned Bud Light MVP honors with a five goal, one assist night. Mike Springer (4G, 3A) and Ryan Boyle (3G, 4A) each had seven points while Matt Striebel had a four point game (3G, 1A). Jed Prossner added a hat trick, Seth Goldberg tallied three points (2G, 1A) and Justin Smith added a goal and assist to the Barrage's largest goal total of the 2007 season. Kevin Keenan made 14 saves in his three quarters of work, his longest playing time of the season.

Now, the focus is on the playoffs and, more importantly, their semi final opponents, the Denver Outlaws as the Barrage look to become the MLL's first real dynasty team. Something that would have been unthinkable after the move from Bridgeport.

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Game Preview - Barrage vs Bayhawks 8-11-07

By Tom Hoffman

The Philadelphia Barrage (8-3) are in the playoffs but still find the final game of the season against the Washington Bayhawks (5-6) to have meaning for them. A victory in Saturday's game will give the defending MLL Champions the #1 seed in the Championship Weekend in Rochester on August 25. Saturday's game at USTC will face off at 7 PM.

Last Game

The Barrage won their third straight game against the Bayhawks with a 21-11 win at Georgetown University on Saturday. Matt Striebel earned MLL Offensive Player of the Week honors with a four goal, one assist game. Roy Colsey, Jed Prossner and Justin Smith each added hat tricks and Brian Dougherty made 16 saves before yielding to Kevin Keenan with eight and a half minutes remaining in the game.

Playoff Seeding

According to an article on majorleaguelacrosse.com's Newsletter, the Barrage have control over the #1 seed as they are currently the top team in MLL. A tie with Rochester would be settled by Conference record while common opponents would break a tie with Los Angeles. Should the Barrage lose they would need each of the other playoff teams to lose as well in order to maintain the #1 seed.

Notes

A victory on Saturday would give the Barrage an undefeated record at home for the first time in team history. The previous best at home was last season's 5-1 record.

Ryan Boyle needs eight points to set the Barrage single season point record (57 by Blake Miller in 2004). Five goals would give him the second highest goal total in one season for the Barrage behind Miller's 46 scores in the 2004 Championship season. Boyle leads the Barrage this season with 23 goals (one 2 pointer), 26 assists and 50 points.

Matt Striebel needs two more points to set a career high (previous 36 in 2005) while Mike Springer has already surpassed his career high (35 in 2006) with 40. Both need two goals to set career highs in that area (previous for both 23).

Next Game

The Barrage will play in the semi-finals on August 25 against an opponent to be determined. The other three playoff squads are Los Angeles, Denver and Rochester.

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Game Preview - Barrage at Bayhawks 8-4-07

By Tom Hoffman

The Philadelphia Barrage (7-3) will seek to clinch a berth in the 2007 Major League Lacrosse playoffs when they travel to Washington to face the Bayhawks (5-5) Saturday afternoon at 4 PM. A victory will give the Barrage a chance to defend their MLL title. The game will be televised on August 7 at 4 PM on ESPN2.

Last Week

The Barrage needed overtime to defeat the New Jersey Pride 12-11 at Yurcak Field last Thursday evening. Seth Goldberg's second goal of the night 6:44 into the extra period gave the Barrage the win. Brian Dougherty earned MLL Goalie of the Week honors with a 16 save performance. Roy Colsey added a pair of goals while Mike Springer led the way with five points (two goals, three assists).

History

The Barrage are 6-6 all time against the Bayhawks, 4-2 on the road. In 2006, the Barrage swept the series with a pair of routs. In a lightning shortened game on July 27, Philly broke open a close game at halftime with a 16-6 second half enroute to a 22-11 win. Then in the final game of the regular season, the Barrage beat up on the Bayhawks again to the tune of 20-12. Ryan Boyle had 15 points (nine goals, six assists) while Roy Colsey added seven goals, including a two pointer, and an assist in the two games. Brian Dougherty won both games in net.

Familiar Faces

The Bayhawk lineup features a number of players familiar to Philly lax fans. Former Wings Tom Marechek and Mark Frye, as well as current Wings Shawn Nadelen and Kyle Fiat are top contributors to the Washington lineup. Ex-Barrage players Ryan Moran and Mike Mollot have seen time in the lineup along with former Ridley High standout Bill McGlone. Marechek still has his goal scoring touch with 18, good for third on the Bayhawks.

Barrage leaders

Goals: Ryan Boyle and Mike Springer (21)
Assists: Boyle (24)
Points: Boyle (46)
Goals Against: Brian Dougherty (11.99)

Next Game

The Barrage will conclude the regular season with a rematch against the Bayhawks on August 11 at USTC in Downingtown.

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Wings announce blockbuster trade, protected list for expansion draft

By Tom Hoffman

The Philadelphia Wings were part of a three team trade today in the National Lacrosse League, acquiring D Taylor Wray from the Calgary Roughnecks and F Jason Crosbie from the Buffalo Bandits while sending F Sean Greenhalgh to Buffalo and D Ian Llord to Calgary. The Wings also receive future considerations from the Bandits in the deal that also saw Buffalo send G Steve Dietrich and D Kyle Couling to Calgary while getting 2 draft picks from the Roughnecks in return.

Wray, who has taken an assistant coaching job with Lehigh University, is a former NLL Rookie of the Year and was also named Co-Defender of the Year during his rookie campaign in 2004. Crosbie joins his fifth NLL team, having also played for Arizona, Montreal and Rochester before joining the Bandits. Greenhalgh led the Wings in scoring in both of his seasons in Philly while Llord was one of the Wings three first round selections in last season's Entry Draft.

In addition, the Wings also announced their list of protected players for the draft to stock the expansion Boston franchise, which will take place on July 31. In addition to their new acquisitions, the Wings also protected Goalie Matt Roik, Defensemen Thomas Hajek and Shawn Nadelen, Transition players John Christmas, Geoff Snider and Kyle Sweeney, and Forwards Keith Cromwell, Kyle Fiat, Athan Iannucci, Dan Marohl, Rob Van Beek and Kyle Wailes. Boston will get to choose one player from each of the NLL teams to set up their roster.

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Game Preview - Barrage vs. Pride 7-26-07

By Tom Hoffman

The Philadelphia Barrage (6-3) will look to regain their winning form when they play "host" to the New Jersey Pride (3-6) Thursday night. While this is a home game for the Barrage, the game is being played at the Pride's home field (Yurcak Field) in order to accomodate the ESPN2 broadcast. Faceoff is at 7:30 PM, with the telecast beginning at 9 PM.

Last Week

The Barrage were defeated by the Denver Outlaws 15-13 on Saturday night at Invesco Field in Denver. The Barrage kept the game close until Denver scored four straight goals to take a 15-11 lead midway through the final quarter. Mike Springer scored a two point goal to cut the deficit in half but Philly could get no closer. Springer scored four goals to lead the Barrage while Ian Dingman, Matt Striebel and Jed Prossner each added two scores. Brian Dougherty made 21 saves in the Barrage goal.

History

With their 12-7 win on July 12 against the Pride, the Barrage have won three straight games in the series and are 5-2 against the Pride since moving from Bridgeport. In fact, all five Barrage wins in the series have taken place since the move, as the Barrage were 0-6 against the Pride while playing in Bridgeport from 2001 through 2003.

Eastern Conference Standings

Rochester 7-2
Barrage 6-3
Washington 5-5
Long Island 4-5
Boston 4-6
New Jersey 3-6

Barrage Leaders

Goals - Ryan Boyle [20]
Assists - Boyle [24]
Points - Boyle [45]
Ground Balls - Andy Corno [36]
2 Point Goals - Four players with one each
Penalty Minutes - Joe Ceglia [9]
Saves - Brian Dougherty [147]

Next Game

The Barrage begin a home and home set with the Washington Bayhawks on August 4 at Georgetown University.


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Game Preview - Barrage at Outlaws 7-21-07

By Tom Hoffman

Seeking to extend their winning streak and stay perfect against the West, the Philadelphia Barrage (6-2) travel to Denver to meet the Outlaws (4-4) on Saturday night. This game is a rematch of last season's MLL Championship game won by the Barrage 23-12. Faceoff is at 9:30 at Invesco Field.

Last Week

The Barrage had their best defensive game of the season as they defeated New Jersey 12-7 at Yurcak Field. Brian Dougherty was named game MVP with a 20 save performance and holding the Pride offense to three goals through three quarters. The offense was led by rookie Ian Dingman with three goals. This, in his MLL debut, earned Dingman the Cascade MLL Rookie of the Week honors.

Last Meeting

Roy Colsey had 10 points (six goals, two 2-point goals, two assists) to take Championship MVP honors in leading the Barrage to their second title in three seasons over the Outlaws in Los Angeles. Matt Striebel added nine points (four goals, one 2-point goal, four assists) while Paul Cantabene dominated the faceoff spot for Philly winning 27 of 36 draws. Denver was led by Brendan Mundorf with three goals and one assist while Mike Law and Brian Langtry each chipped in two goals and two assists.

A Crowded House

One thing the Barrage can expect Saturday is to see a large crowd in the seats. Since entering the MLL last season, Denver has set many MLL attendance records. On July 4, the Outlaws drew a league record of 19,793 for their match with Chicago. The largest crowd the Barrage have played to was in the 2004 Championship when 8,279 saw them defeat the Boston Cannons at Nickerson Field in Boston.

Stats

Ryan Boyle is currently third in MLL scoring with 41 points trailing Rochester's John Grant Jr. and L.A.'s Spencer Ford. Brian Dougherty is second in Goals Against with a 12.16 average, .02 behind leader Mickey Jarboe of the Riptide. Denver leads the MLL in faceoff percentage, spearheaded by Geoff Snider. Snider has won 169 of 273 draws this season. The Outlaws are also second in penalty killing, stopping 75% of opposing powerplays.

Next Game

The Barrage return to Rutgers University's Yurcak Field to face the Pride on July 26. This will be a home game for the Barrage as the game will be televised by ESPN2.

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Game Preview - Barrage at Pride 7-12-07

By Tom Hoffman

The Philadelphia Barrage (5-2) head back on the road Thursday evening when they travel to Rutgers Yurcak Field to face the New Jersey Pride (2-5). Faceoff is at 7 PM and the game will be shown live on ESPN2.

Last Week

The Barrage defeated the San Francisco Dragons 14-9 at USTC before a sellout crowd of 2,503 last Friday. Seth Goldberg earned MLL Offensive Player of the Week honors with a five point performance (four goals, one assist) to lead Philadelphia. Ryan Boyle added three goals and three assists, Mike Springer also tallied a hat trick and Brian Dougherty made 14 saves for the Barrage. Former Widener University standout Todd Fairlie scored two goals for the Dragons, the first scores of his MLL career.

All Star Game

The Eastern Conference defeated the West 19-12 Sunday at Boston before a crowd of 9,581. The Barrage were well represented as Ryan Boyle scored two goals and added two assists, Roy Colsey added a goal and assist and Brian Dougherty held the West offense to two goals in the first half while making 11 saves. Tony Resch coached the Eastern team to the win and Kyle Sweeney and Matt Striebel also took part for the Barrage.

Barrage Leaders

Ryan Boyle is the team's offensive leader with 18 goals (1-2 point goal), 20 assists and 39 points. Brian Dougherty has a 12.90 GAA and 124 saves in the Philly net.

Notes and Stuff

Both Barrage-Pride matchups will take place at Yurcak Field. The reason the Barrage home game will be at the Pride's home field is because the game will also be televised by ESPN2.

New Jersey has yet to score a 2 point goal this season, the only squad in the MLL that has not done so.

The teams made two trades prior to the season, the Barrage sending Greg Peyser to NJ while the Pride dealt Andy Corno to Philadelphia.

Next Game

The Barrage continue on the road when they travel to Denver on July 21 for a championship rematch with the Outlaws.


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Game Preview - Barrage vs. Dragons 7-6-07

By Tom Hoffman

The Philadelphia Barrage (4-2) head into both the second half of the 2007 season and the MLL All-Star Game with a key matchup against the San Francisco Dragons (2-4). This will be the Barrage's first meeting of the season with the Western Conference. Faceoff at USTC is at 7:30 PM.

Last Game

The Barrage saw an 11-5 lead disappear in the second half against Long Island but were able to recover in time to pull out a 14-13 overtime win in front of 2,448 at USTC. Matt Striebel scored with 5:39 remaining in regulation to force the extra period and then Roy Colsey2:08 into OT to give the Barrage the victory and end a two game losing streak. Colsey lead all Barrage scores with five points (three goals, two assists) while Seth Goldberg added three goals as well. Brian Dougherty made 32 saves in getting the win.

Western Domination

In 2006, the Barrage enjoyed their run against the West. Counting the postseason, Philly faced the Western teams three times, emerging victorious in all three matches. In the regular season, the Barrage defeated Los Angeles 18-6 at Villanova and won in overtime at Chicago 13-12. They saved the best for last, however, when the destroyed the Denver Outlaws 23-12 in Los Angeles to take home the 2006 MLL Championship. These two teams will meet again this season on July 21 in Denver.

Midseason in Philly

Here are the Barrage's midseason records since moving to Philadelphia for the 2004 season.

2004: 2-4 (final record 7-5, MLL Champions)
2005: 2-4 (final record 4-8, out of playoffs)
2006: 5-1 (final record 10-2, MLL Champions)
2007: 4-2

Local Dragon

The Dragons lineup will have a local flavor to it on Friday night. Widener University grad Todd Fairlie is expected to suit up for San Francisco. Fairlie had an illustrious career at Widener, scoring 271 points in his four seasons of play. He was named as an Honorable Mention All-America as a senior and was a three time All-Middle Atlantic Conference team member. He was selected from the MLL player pool by the Dragons.

New Members

The Barrage made two player acquistions last week, getting Tim Byrnes off of Long Island's Practice squad and picking up Kevin Cassese from Rochester in exchange for future draft picks.

Next Game

The Barrage will travel to Rutgers University on July 12 for their first 2007 meeting with the New Jersey Pride.

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Game Preview - Barrage vs. Lizards 6-30-07

By Tom Hoffman

The Philadelphia Barrage (3-2) will look to end their two game losing streak when they return to USTC in Downingtown to square off with the Long Island Lizards (4-1) Saturday night. Faceoff is at 7 PM.

Last Week

Another rough 3rd quarter doomed the Barrage as they fell to the Rochester Rattlers 16-11 in front of 4,829 at PAETEC Park. Philadelphia led 8-7 at halftime and 9-8 early in the third before the Rattlers scored six straight goals to break open the match. Roy Colsey scored five goals, Mike Springer tallied three goals and two assist and Ryan Boyle added five assists for the Barrage. Brian Dougherty made 20 saves in a losing effort. Brandon Spillett earned MVP honors with a four goal performance while Colin Doyle, who usually does his damage here indoors, added a hat trick to fuel the Rattler offense.

Third (quarter) is not the charm

The Barrage have struggled mightily during the third quarter in 2007. They have been outscored 30-12 this season, 26-7 when you take away the season opener at Boston when the outscored the Cannons by a 5-4 margin. In the back to back losses to Long Island and Rochester, the play in the third has turned the tide against the Barrage. A 7-7 tie against the Lizards became a 13-7 deficit after three and 16-7 into the fourth while the Barrage led 8-7 at the half in Rochester before the collapse.

All-Stars

The Barrage will be well represented when the MLL All-Star Game is played in Boston on July 8th. Five players have been selected to the Eastern Conference team. Roy Colsey(4th appearance), Matt Striebel (3rd), Brian Dougherty (4th), Ryan Boyle (3rd) and Kyle Sweeney (2nd) will each represent the defending league champs. In addition, Tony Resch will be behind the bench for the All-Star showdown.

Next Game

The Barrage will be at home on July 6 for their first ever meeting with the San Francisco Dragons. Faceoff will be at 7:30 PM at USTC.

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Game Preview - Barrage at Rattlers 6-23-07

By Tom Hoffman

After seeing their franchise record win streak end at Long Island last week, the Philadelphia Barrage (3-1) look to start a new one Saturday when they travel to Rochester, NY to face off with the Rattlers (2-2). Faceoff at PAETEC Park is at 7:30 PM. The Barrage defeated Rochester 21-17 on June 2 at USTC in Downingtown, PA.

Last Week

After playing to a 7-7 tie through halftime, the Barrage were outscored 9-0 to start the second half and never recovered, falling to the Lizards 16-11 at Mitchel Field. Ryan Boyle led Philly with a six point performance (four goals, two assists) while ex-Barrage players Blake Miller (three goals) and Keith Cromwell (two goals, three assists) led the Long Island offense.

Records Broken

Last weekend, a number of MLL records were tied or broken in Rochester's 27-26 overtime win at Denver. The Rattlers John Grant Jr. tied a league record with a 14 point performance including eight goals and four assists, the eight goals also tied a team record. Two of his goals were from beyond the 2 point arc. It was the highest scoring game in league history with 53 points combined between the two teams. Denver set a single game record with 42 points (22 goals, 4 two pointers, and 16 assists).

Leaders

Goals: Barrage - Ryan Boyle [14], Rattlers - John Grant, Jr. [20]*

Assists: Barrage - Boyle [11], Rattlers - Casey Powell [7]

Points: Barrage - Boyle [26], Rattlers - Grant [28]*

Saves: Barrage - Brian Dougherty [58], Rattlers - Mike Levin [44]

* - League Leader

Next Game

The Barrage return home on June 30 to host the Long Island Lizards. Game time is at 7 PM.

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Game Preview - Barrage at Lizards 6-16-07

By Tom Hoffman

Looking to continue their perfect start to the 2007 MLL season, the Philadelphia Barrage (3-0) travel to Uniondale, NY to square off with the Long Island Lizards (2-1) on Saturday afternoon. Faceoff at Mitchel Field is at 1 PM.

All Time

The Barrage are 7-11 all time against the Lizards, 5-3 since moving to Philadelphia. The Barrage are only 2-6 on the road versus Long Island, both wins coming in the last three seasons. Last season Philadelphia swept the season series 2-0. On June 17, the Barrage won 13-12 on a B.J. Prager goal with 3:22 remaining in regulation time after coming back from an early 8-0 deficit. Brian Dougherty made 20 saves in the comeback win. At Villanova Stadium on July 20, the Barrage pulled out a 10-8 victory. Justin Smith scored a hat trick to lead Philadelphia. Both squads played minus key players that night due to the ILF World Field Championships being played in London, Ontario.

Last Game

Ryan Boyle turned in another MVP performance as the Barrage defeated the Boston Cannons 16-13 at USTC in Downingtown before a crowd of 2,403. Boyle led the way with four goals and two assists, scoring the game winner, while Matt Striebel and Justin Smith each scored three times and Michael Springer dished out four assists along with a goal. Seth Goldberg made his Barrage debut scoring twice in place of Roy Colsey, who missed the game due to illness. Andy Corno won 17 of 31 faceoffs for Philadelphia. Brett Bucktooth led the Cannons with four goals.

Bragging Rights

When the Barrage and Lizards meet, there is usually quite a bit of trash talking and very spirited play. A number of players on both teams live on Long Island and several have played for both teams adding to the rivalry. Lizards Blake Miller, Nicky Polanco and Keith Cromwell helped the Barrage win the championship in 2004 while Brian Dougherty helped lead the Lizards to the 2003 title.

Quotes

Barrage A Ryan Boyle:

On the team's start: " Any time you go 3-0, especially within the division, it's good. It sets you up for later on in the season, that's what's really important. It urges you to stay focused and realize these wins now could play a huge factor come the playoffs."

On the Boston game: "It was tough without Roy, he's such a big part of our offense. I think a lot of guys tried to do too much early, myself included. Finally when they (Boston) made their run and tied it and took the the lead it was time for certain players on offense to step up. I just tried not to force anything, tried to let the game come to me. It seemed to work out well. I put myself in situations where I could make some plays and fortunately i was able to bury some shots."

Barrage Coach Tony Resch on the difference between coaching the team in 2005 and this year's team, both as defending champions:

"I think it's the familiarity in both directions. It's tough to come back with a championship team in any situation but when you're a new coach with a returning championship team there's going to be a bit of a feeling out process. Both sides struggled with that in 2005 and then in 2006 I adjusted my expectations and they (the players) figured out what I was about so we found the middle ground. This year, I think we're very comfortable with each other. We have the kind of guys back who know their roles within the team so that's always an advantage."

Next Game

The Barrage stay on the road as they travel to Rochester to face the Rattlers on June 23 at PAETEC Park.

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Game Preview - Barrage vs. Cannons 6-9-07

By Tom Hoffman

The Philadelphia Barrage (2-0) will look to continue their winning ways when they host the Boston Cannons (2-2) Saturday night at 7 PM. This is a rematch of the season opener, won by Philadelphia 13-9 May 19 in Boston.

Last Week

The Barrage won their home opener 21-17 over Rochester in front of a crowd of 2,004 at United Sports Training Center. Ryan Boyle earned Offensive Player of the Week with a nine point performance (4 goals, 1 - 2pt. goal, 4 assists). Roy Colsey added four goals and an assist and Matt Striebel added three goals. Brian Dougherty made 17 saves in goal for the Barrage. John Grant Jr. scored six goals for the Rattlers.

MLL Draft

The Barrage made four picks in the MLL Collegiate Draft last week. With their first pick in the third round, the Barrage took Attackman Peter Trombino from Princeton. Trombino was the first player in Tigers history to score at least 20 goals and 10 assists in all four seasons of play. Also taken in the third round was Attackman Ian Dingman from Navy.In the fourth round the Barrage took Mike Graham from Loyola (Md.) and took Drexel's Mike Filippone with the final pick of the draft in the fifth round.

Wings in the MLL

The Wings have several players who are playing for MLL teams this summer. One, John Christmas, will be in town this weekend with Boston to oppose his Wings teammate Kyle Sweeney. Christmas currently is tied with Mikey Powell for the Cannons scoring lead with 15 points (8 goals, 7 assists). Athan Iannucci made an impressive debut in MLL with a seven point game to lead the Chicago Machine to their first ever win, 19-17 over Denver. In that game he was opposed by Wings teammate Geoff Snider. Others contributing to their MLL teams are Shawn Nadelen and Kyle Fiat (Washington), Damien Davis (Chicago), and Keith Cromwell (Long Island).

Next Game

The Barrage travel to Uniondale, NY to face the Long Island Lizards on June 16. Faceoff at Mitchel Field is at 1 PM.

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Game Preview - Barrage vs. Rattlers 6-2-07

By Tom Hoffman

The Philadelphia Barrage will look to go 2-0 on the season when they play their home opener against the Rochester Rattlers on Saturday night. Faceoff at United Sports Training Center in Downingtown, PA is at 7 PM.

All Time

The Barrage are 4-10 in regular season play against the Rattlers. Since moving to Philadelphia, their record is 4-2 (2-1 at home). The Barrage also won their first postseason game against Rochester (2004).

Last Season

The Barrage swept the season series for the first time ever in 2006. They opened the season with a 12-11 win on May 20 at Franklin Field, Mike Springer leading the way with four goals while Ryan Boyle added two goals and six assists. The Barrage won the second meeting on August 5 18-15 at Paetec Park. Four players (Roy Colsey, Paul Cantabene, Matt Striebel, Mike Springer) scored hat tricks for the Barrage.

Opening Results

The Barrage opened defense of their MLL Champinship with a 13-9 win at Boston on May 19 at Harvard Stadium. Matt Streibel scored four goals, Mike Springer added three more and Ryan Boyle scored two goals and added three assists in the win. Brian Dougherty earned Goaltender of the Week honors with a 15 save performance.

Rochester lost their opener at home 13-12 to Washington on May 26. John Grant Jr. scored four goals along with two assists and Joe Walters added three goals for Rochester while ex-Barrage goalie Mike Levin made 13 saves.

New Home

The Barrage are playing their home games in 2007 at the United Sports Training Center in Downingtown, PA. Their previous home, Villanova Stadium, is undergoing renovations to the track and is unavailable for use by the Barrage this season.

World Indoor Results

Team USA earned a Bronze medal at the 2007 ILF World Indoor Games in Halifax with some help from a couple of Barrage players. Bobby Horsey (4 goals, 10 assists) and Matt Zash (6 goals, 12 assists) helped the US team go 4-2 in the tournament. 2006 Barrage member Keevin Galbraith added ten goals and nine assists for the American squad.

Next Game

The Barrage will return home on June 9 when they host the Boston Cannons at 7 PM




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Game Preview - Barrage at Cannons 5-19-07

The Philadelphia Barrage begin defense of their 2006 Major League Lacrosse championship on Saturday May 19 when they travel to Harvard Stadium to face the Boston Cannons. The Cannons opened their 2007 season last weekend with a 17-13 win at Washington. Faceoff will be at 7 PM.

All Time

The Barrage all time are 5-13 during regular season play vs. Boston though they have won both of their postseason meetings with the Cannons. On the road the Barrage are 3-7 during the regular season (1-4 at Cawley Stadium and 2-3 at Nickerson Field).

Last Year

The Barrage suffered both of their regular season losses at the hands of the Cannons. The first meeting was on June 24 in Boston where the Boston’s Chazz Woodson scored with 4:10 remaining to give the Cannons a 16-15 victory. Justin Smith scored four goals for the Barrage while Brian Dougherty made 15 saves. Five days later the two teams met at Villanova Stadium. In a game stopped early in the fourth quarter by lightning, the Cannons trounced the Barrage 16-5 scoring 14 of the game’s final 17 goals. Woodson and Matt Poskay each score three goals for Boston while Roy Colsey scored twice for Philadelphia. The Barrage would get revenge in the postseason, defeating the Cannons 17-12 in the MLL Semifinals in Los Angeles. Matt Striebel tallied five goals for the Barrage, who would move on to defeat the Denver Outlaws and win their second MLL title in three years.

Rankings

The Barrage has been picked first in the Inside Lacrosse MLL Power Rankings and have also been picked to finish first in the East by Lacrosse Magazine.

Indoor World Games

The ILF Indoor World Games are taking place this week in Halifax, Nova Scotia. Several members of the Barrage are on the Team USA 33 man roster. Those named include Ryan Boyle, Jed Prossner, Bobby Horsey, Matt Zash and Kyle Sweeney. According to the Philadelphia Wings website (wingslax.com), Sweeney will not be playing in the World Games. Sweeney, along with Horsey and Zash, played for the Barrage Saturday in their scrimmage against the MAB Philadelphia club.

Next Game

The Barrage will play their home opener on Saturday June 2 at USTC in Downingtown, PA against the Rochester Rattlers at 7 PM.

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Part 2 Interview with Mike Fox

Kevin M. Neibauer caught up with the busiest man in Philly sports in an effort to update the interview from two years ago. As you will learn, Mike Fox is just as busy as ever. Well, let's have Mike tell you.



KMN- Mike, we did the first interview about two seasons ago. A lot has happened in your life since that time. First off....You have gotten into showbiz, tell us what projects that you have been involved with.

MF-"Well, I worked on 3 movies, “Invincible”, “ We Are Marshall” and a new movie that hasn’t been released yet, “ The Game Plan”. I was given cameo roles for “We Are Marshall” and “Invincible”. I was offered a cameo for “ The Game Plan” but turned it down because they wanted me to stay in Boston for another week so they can shoot the scene".

KMN- What is next? Another movie? Television?

MF-"Laughing, I wish… Coming off the third movie I was offered a sales job at Verizon, and I need a little stability in my life. Funny thing though, on the 1st day I started at Verizon, my phone rang and it was an offer for another movie which I had to turn down. Since I started at Verizon I have been spoken to about another movie and help with a TV series which I had to turn down also. Verizon isn’t the only reason I turned them down. All jobs were away and during the season where I have too much to do with either the Wings or the Barrage.

KMN- So, you are still with the Barrage?

MF "Yes, in fact I am working to get everything ready for the start of the season."


KN- With the filming and movie making, and equipment duties, you must have a 28 hour day....

MF- "It is that way all the time. With the movie, everything I do is centered around the movie schedule. We start with a training camp so I have hours that correspond to the practices. We move into a shooting schedule so my set up and day centers around that time table. Some days my call time will be 4 am and go until midnight, but then I have to have an 8 hour turn around, so I do get some sleep. "

"With the teams and working full time, my week is chock full of activities. I do all the laundry and have the equipment room at my home. After a Wings home game for example I immediately unpack the truck into my garage and start the uniforms in the washer. While the first load is going through, I sort the towels and repack the bags from what I used. By then I can hang up the first load of wash to dry and get into the 2nd load. After I hang that load, I can start the towels and get to bed. This is usually an hour after I get home, and I am constantly moving. As long as we don’t have another game to prepare for, this is pretty much my schedule. If we do have another game that weekend, I repack the truck with the bags I will be traveling with and then try and get a few winks. Usually though, with a Friday night home game and a Saturday night away game, I don’t really sleep until Sunday. I then use time during the week to finish all the towels, fold them and repack the officials locker room bag, the visitors bag and our towel bag. I do around 200 towels a week for home games. "

"I then rely on the free time I have during the week to finish the towels and get ready for the next home game. That free time might be getting up a while before I normally have to get up so I can wash, dry and fold some towels and get them into the proper bag. I try to finish before Wednesday because we practice at night and then I have the practice gear to take care of."

"I would love a few more hours in the day. Sometimes, while I am waiting for the last of the uniforms to come out of the wash, I will sit on the floor and play with my dog."


KMN- Talk about your duties with the US Indoor team, are they basically the same as with the Wings?

MF- "Well, yes and no. First of all I am the equipment manager for the USIL team. That is the same as with any lacrosse team. Secondly, the coaches and general managers have included me in on all the conference calls with the planning etc. where I am a bigger part of the process."

KMN- Do you still involve your kids in your work?

MF -"I will try to do this as long as I can, the teams take so much time away from the family so anything I can do to keep contact with my boys I will do. My sons all grew up on the sidelines, I have worked for Temple football for 25 years. I brought them with me there when they were 8-9 years old. When I started with the Soul there was a job opening and I brought Mike Jr. there. Chris will be back with the Barrage as a water boy. "

KMN-Was it a particularly tough season with the Wings?

MF- "Any season for a professional athlete is tough. When you see these guys who can’t move because they are so beat up from a game get right back into it whether it is a back to back game or getting ready for the game for the following weekend. I have nothing but respect for these guys. "

"I do know what you meant, any time you fall short of the goals you all have set, both individually and as a team it hurts. People laugh when we speak of trainers and equipment people setting goals but you need the entire team working together for the same end and Jen (Massey) and I worked hard for us to reach that end. It hurts, it really does. "

KMN- Do you have a large staff for the equipment duties?


MF- "For the Wings and the Barrage I have been fortunate and have had an intern some of the time, so that helps especially for the home games. For the movies our staff could be as large totally as 7, but that would be for all of football: the actors, the special ability actors (SAE’s), and the extras. I work with 1 other person and we do the actors and the SAE’s. My primary position is to protect the SAE’s, those people who are really doing the hits and stunts. I might have anywhere up to 50 people I handle alone."

"It’s funny, with an NFL team you have a head guy, several assistants and the ball boys that might total 10 people who all work to support 53 guys. With the Wings and Barrage I have @ 24 guys mostly by myself. It was that way with the Soul and the Kixx too. I would love to see some of those guys do what we do and travel like we travel, but that is another issue."

KMN-Do you still work at Jeff Spano's place?

MF- "Jeff is a very close friend of mine and until I started working back at Verizon, it was my job bartending at Brothers in Bryn Mawr. I still help Jeff out with odds and ends… he doesn’t know what a screwdriver is so I go into Brothers’s in Bryn Mawr and make the necessary fixes."

"It was neat to see how the bar has matured in just over a year and how Jeff stabilized the menu to some really excellent choices. Good food and good atmosphere at Brother’s in Bryn Mawr on Connestoga Road.



KMN-How are the players? Is it demanding keeping up with tooth paste, shaving cream and the needs the guys have?

MF-"The guys are great. I know it is cliché but in my years with this team we seem closer each and every year, even with all the changes on the roster. New guys just slide right in and become welcome instantly. I know we all have each others back.
The toiletries box is easy to take care of, I supply whatever the guys need so they can just worry about their job. It is that simple. Yes, I get requests and I even get contributions of supplies from the guys. With the new house, I have a shelf in the equipment room that only has the toiletries stocked on it. "

KMN- If a player gets injured during a game, does Lindsay ask you if he can play? Or is it up to the player and coach?

MF-"Lindsay is a professional. He has been around long enough to see a variety of injuries so he has a good idea when something happens. Lindsay will get a report from Jen Massey, our Head Trainer when someone gets hurt, and that will tell him if they can return immediately or must sit. All of our coaches are good with that. Sometimes, the report will go into detail from the doctors and they abide with that decision.
The biggest this is communication. Some times a guy gets dinged and goes into the tunnel or locker room and Jen will rush to check them out. At that point I will inform Chris Sanderson and he will tell Lindsay."

KMN-Russ Cline,in his blog, mentioned changes. Those changes don't include your staff do they?

MF-"LOL, I don’t have a staff. As for Jen Massey and myself, I know we would both like to be back next year. I have been through numerous coaching changes over the course of my career and have survived most of them so I just know my fate lies in the hands of the owners.

KMN-Which is the easiest to deal with, Professional teams or movies?

MF-"Forgetting about egos, with the movies every day is game day. Everything I do for them is preparing them for the screen. I know what the hits will be, we rehearsed them and have each and every step charted. I have a safety meeting with the trainer and the unit director every morning so we know what hits and stunts are planned, then we come up with the padding to protect the athlete."

"With the teams, I try to protect the athlete to the best of my ability with the equipment given. Although I work closely with Jen Massey we cannot forsee any injury because so many things can happen on the floor. All I can do with these guys is once they get injured, use my knowledge to prevent any further damage."


Thanks agin to Mike Fox....


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Interview with Wings/Barrage equipment manager, Mike Fox

by Kevin Neibauer

This is the most popular interview that I have ever had the pleasure to do.

Going through the archives, I felt bad because this wasn't in here.

Originally done in April 2005, Mike Fox shows why I refer to him as the "Hardest Working Man In Philadelphia Sports."


Now that the Wings season has ended and the Barrage have not yet begun, I was wondering what do fans due to keep themselves busy in the interim?

I found a person who has no problem keeping himself occupied.

An exclusive "one on one" with Michael J. Fox

No, not that Michael J. Fox....the Fox that serves as equipment manager for
the Philadelphia Wings.

Kevin M. Neibauer got the opportunity to chat with the busiest man in
Philadelphia sports....

Wings fans recognize Mike Fox as the guy on the bench who opens the door to
the bench and comes out to offer aid to an injured Wing player.

But, there is much, much more about Fox. Most fans have no idea just what it
is that Mike does.

All his responsibilites with local teams, a full time "regular" job, a
family.....

Well let's let Mike tell us...

KMN- Mike, Describe your duties with the Wings.

MF- "Well, my title is Head Equipment Manager. So, first and foremost, my job is to have all the equipment for the team....which means either having them
outfitted or have the equipment with me in order for them to practice and play.

It sounds simple when stated that way, but it really involves much much more.

I make sure that the players and coaches have everything that they need. I keep supplies of pens. markers, toiletries, equipment,etc. so that when they
come in they can do their job without worrying about anything.

I am in charge of all ordering, maintenance and repair of equipment and
uniforms.

I try to foresee problems, carrying things like sewing kits, hot glue guns,
even lacing so that we have everything covered.

Things like having the radio in the locker room, always smiling, name plates
for the lockers, these are things that happen everyday.

I was asked once if I carried shoe polish, now, we have a kit that we
travel with.

So, as you see, taking care of equipment is just part of the task of the
equipment manager."

KMN- On Wings game day, what is a typical day like?

MF- "There are a number of factors that makes this a tough question to
answer...Is there a shoot around? Are we home or away? Are we playing the next day....things like that.

However, if we have a home game at 7:30 PM, I arrive at the arena
around 9 AM. This gives me a little time to get my stuff unloaded from my
truck. (We have no storage facility at the Wachovia Center so everything that we
need for the game has to brought in a taken away)

I then set up the radio and get the hot water ready for the Coaches's tea and
make coffee for the guys. I get the visitors stuff together for their
practice....36 balls, cups, soap, shampoo and towels for their shoot around,
everything gets placed in their locker room.

Jenn Massey, our trainer, helps by sending the coolers of water and gatorade
and, of course, the squeeze bottles.

At this point, I begin putting the name plates on the lockers for our guys so that players know where his locker is.

I proceed to set up my table with the tape, gum, stringing materials,
markers, tools, Red Bull, ticket envelopes and everything the players need to get their stuff ready.

While the Wings are doing their shoot around, I get the "game day" stuff
ready for the officials room. The 36 game balls, the towels, soap, toiletries, and
a pack of assorted drinks.

I then take the dirty towels from the visitors locker romm and leave them
their game ones . I check with the visiting manager to see if they need anything else.

For example, Toronto had 6 players bags that didn't make it in time for the
game, so I drove to our storage facility and got 6 sets of equipment, down to
socks and compression gear.

Normally, right about then our shoot around is winding down and the guys
wander in to get changed and maybe watch either game tapes or Rippy's lacrosse show (Rip Roarin' Lacrosse)

While that is going on I will put out the uniforms and clean up for the
evening's game. It is now around 1 PM and I head home until my 4:00 PM return.


When I return, I try to get there before the players so I can catch my
breath. Once the players come in I am on the go doing tasks and answering questions.

We have the DVD player set up at this point and I have set out markers in the coaches room along with paper so they can post the line-ups, keys to the game etc.

Up until we go out for pre-game, we have footage on the TV at all times.

The rest of the drinks are delivered so we have the interns ice down the game (bottled water) and post game drinks.(soda for the hoagies).

At this time I am changing heads and shafts. I don't string well, so a number of players have taken on that responsibilty. We watch the clock to get
everyone into meetings or on the floor at the right times.

I then help Dallas (Eliuk) get ready. Checking his straps and tightening up
his pads. Then I help him with his jersey.

The footage that the fans see in the pre-game of the team getting ready is
correct.

Next, we stock the bench with towels, water bottles and some bottles of
players favorites.(rehydralite, gatorade, poweraid...etc)

The ball boys then need to be checked to make sure they are all there and
doing their jobs. They gather the balls up after the last practice shot from
both teams and return them to me.

Once we get back into the locker room before intros, we are doing last
minute equipment taping, some repairs and gathering the back up sticks for the game.

We stock the table with 2 cordless drills, one with a Phillips head and one
with a drill tip. In addition, a hacksaw along with shafts and back up sticks.

During the game, I work the door on the offensive end of the bench. If there is a problem during play, Coach Chris Sanderson takes the door while I make repairs. For all injuries, I go out with Jenn Massey to give her assistance.

At halftime, I start packing some bags to get out after the game and I set out laundry bags for the uniforms. If we are playing the next day, the shorts
are put in a different bag so they can be washed.

After the game I get as much packed up as possible so the truck can get
packed while the players are showering. If we are playing away the next night, I make sure the bags are packed correctly and that I know if I need to get more tape, etc.

The truck gets packed differently too if we have a game the next day because
the bags that stay go on the bottom.

The locker room bag is the last to go, the one with the blood sprays,coffee pots, radio, toiletries and the name plates from the lockers. This normally occurs anywhere from an hour to an hour and a half after the game.

Wheter we have a game the next day or not, I need to go out with the guys for awhile. Believe it or not, I am still working at this point. Making sure
players aren't cramping. I hear their complaints about things I can control and change. I let them vent to a friendly ear.

Being the equipment manager does have a great deal of psychology associated with it. The old school guy who doesn't befriend anybody and says no to all
requests has long since gone away. There have been more than a few times when I
have stayed a couple of hours having a late dinner with the guys and gone home
to wash the uniforms for the next days game, unpacked the truck from the home
game and made sure the away stuff was all stocked up and went to the airport without getting any sleep. It is the nature of the job. You do what you have to
do.

After a normal game I have left the Wachovia Center as late as midnight and
as early as 10:45"


KMN- Beside the Wings, do you work for any other clubs?

MF-"My season runs around the year. I work in Football Operations for Temple
University from August to November. The Philadelphia Soul year round part time handling equipment (I was the head guy a year ago but stepped down), start with the Wings in November thru April and work for the Barrage from May until
August as the Head Equipment Manager.

In the past I have worked for a number of professional football clubs in
several different leagues and a couple of college football teams. I also help Navy
in the Army-Navy game the first Saturday in December."


KMN- Which team is the hardest to work for?

MF- "They all have their challenges and their joys."



KMN-How long have you been in the business?

MF- "Well, my first professional job was in 1972, so it has been 33 years. I started out as both a trainer and equipment manager for the Philadelphia Bell of the World Football League. I was never certified (as that was before the
certification standard) but I use that knowledge to help me in my positions."


KMN- On a more personal note, would you like to discuss your family?

MF-" I am married to a beautiful, understanding and loving wife, Mary. I
have 3 sons, Dan a Junior at University of the Sciences in Philadelphia who also
is 6'-9" and a left handed pitcher on their baseball team.

Michael Jr. who is the video coordinator for the Philadelphia Soul and
Barrage and 11 year old Chris who was the water boy for the Barrage last season....Did I say understanding wife too? That is an understatement!!!!"


KMN-This certainly seems like a demanding schedule....how do you find the
energy to stay at it for 33 years?

MF- "Well, I do try and use my powers for good and not evil.

You have to remember, that with a few exceptions, these positions are part
time. I am in sales for Verizon, so this presents a great diversion to the
regular "grind"

My father played professional basketball in Philadelphia in the 30's and he
taught me to have passion for sports. Maybe that's how I keep going, this is a
passion.

Before last year I was working for Temple and running several youth programs,
so that was year round too. The advantage there was my children played in the programs so I saw them.


As you can see with Mike Jr. for example I try to get my family involved with the teams so it helps minimize the time I spend away from them. Last season,
Chris had a blast travelling with me on the bus with the Barrage. The team was
great and welcomed my family.

Dan was standing ubder the goal post when Ken Hinesly kicked the 52 yard
field goal as time expired when the Soul beat Columbus. You see his head above the
crowd in the video."

KMN-"My experience in the Wings locker room is that all the guys are very nice and friendly...is it really as tight knit as it seems?

MF-"With the Wings I saw that and experienced that from Day 1. I worked the Army- Navy game then showed up for my first day of work, "late" at USTC when the Wings were scrimmaging Anaheim, I believe. The guys came up to me and
introduced themselves. They have been great ever since. The Barrage guys are the same way. Maybe its the sport, or the nature of the sport. Not many playing it so its a very close knit community.

For the Wings, Soul and Barrage I would do anything for those guys and they know it, and don't take advantage of it.

And, as I stated before, it is one thing for the guys to respect me, but they
have welcomed my family too, and that speaks volumes about their character."


KMN-The night we were chatting in the Wings locker room, we were interrupted
by a phone call from the Soul....what was that all about?

MF- "Long story short. The Sould flew out to Columbus earlier that day on
a commercial flight and USAir was concerned about the weight of the plane so they
unloaded some bags to make the plane lighter. Then, they lost the bags.

The Soul were waiting until the last flight in from Philadelphia to see if
the bags ever made it on board, the call you heard was that the bags were still
missing in action.

The Soul travels with 24 players, with 20 on the active roster. Of those 20, 11 bags were missing and not only did they have a game against Columbus, but,
it was also the NBC game for that region.

I went to their practice facilty at Tri States and duplicated as best I could
the equipment for the players who were missing stuff.

I then packed everything in 5 bags and headed out to the airport for the
early morning flight....Yes, it was another all nighter.

I travelled in my suit from after the Wings game. Found some Soul gear at the Aston complex to change into for the game.

I landed in Columbus and even had a driver waiting for me at baggage claim
just like in the Bud commercial. I won't slam the airline or go into more stupid
details but everybody on the plane knew why I was there and they helped count the bags when we landed.

I got to the arena at 10:30 for a noon kickoff and the lost bags had gotten
there at 10:15. The last part was great, I was the safety net in case USAir
lost them again. Even still I got greeted by team President, Ron Jaworski, owner Jon Bon Jovi, the coaches....

Coach Fuller even stopped his pregame interview with radio broadcaster Ari Wolfe to thank me....I flew back with the team.

For my efforts, Coach Fuller gave me a game ball."




Next up, Mike updates on his doings.....from equipment to movies.

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Interview with Lindsay Sanderson

by Kevin M. Neibauer

In an exclusive for LaxPhilly.com, Kevin M. Neibauer caught up with Wings General Manager, Lindsay Sanderson.

Sanderson explined the current state of the franchise and gave us some insight on some of the "rumors" circulating the area.

So, without further ado. Lindsay Sanderson chats with Kevin M. Neibauer

KMN- Now that a decision has been made on the coaching situation, will it be yourself, or ownership that will decide on the new staff?

LS-"Part of my duties is to pick a new staff. once the NLL finals are over, then we will start the interview process.

Right now, I have a short list, but we will wait to see who is available and what calls I get from interested parties."



KMN- So, Gregg (MacDonald), Chris (Sanderson) and Terry (Sanderson), are completely out the picture as far as the Wings go? No scouting or any other job openings?

LS-"No, they have been relieved of their duties, their time with the Wings has come to an end. I really believed that, on paper at least, that this was the best team that I have had since I have been with Philadelphia."

"But, at the end of the day, we just didn't get it done."

"We're all big boys, teams don't live up to expectations, coaches pay the price, we know it, they know it."




KMN- Did you get the job of telling the guys or did Russ and Chris do it?

LS-"Russ told them. But, I got the chance to sit down with them and let them know the plan."

"We all knew this was something that was in the works..."



KMN- As you said, this was the best team that you have had, so, did that make it harder to suffer a 6-10 season.?

LS-"I have been very, very disappointed for a while. I think it really hit home when New York beat Toronto on that last weekend. After all we went through, we still had a chance."

"We played well against Chicago. We played well against Minnesota on that Friday night. Nick Patterson just had our number."

"But, like I said, that New York game really made it sink in...we had our shots to get into the playoffs, we just pissed it away like that."



KMN- Do you see major changes on the roster before next season?

LS-"Well, we have the draft. As you know, we have the Portland pick which should be a very high pick and will enable us to get some value."

"Plus, we are intending to take a long look at Free Agency, see what's available, who can help us. We will look at trade possibilities. Everything as always, is pretty wide open."

"We need to find a way to beat these teams like Rochester and Buffalo. I think it is more psychological that anything physical."



KMN- You have a few guys who have been mentioned in rumors, to be retiring. Peter Jacobs for one....

LS-Early in the season, Pete mentioned that this may be his last year. But, I have not heard anything to make that true. I think with Geoff Snider taking a lot of the pressure off Pete on the face-offs, it helped to keep Pete from getting beat up as bad. He had a lot of energy left at the end of the season, so I would think he will be back."



KMN- How about Jake Bergey?

LS- "Again, I haven't heard anything from Jake on it, but from what I understand, he is planning on going another season."



In other matters, Sanderson explained the draft position as such. The Wings hold the First Round pick of the Portland team. That came about as a result of the Dallas Eliuk trade.

Philadelphia does not have it's own first round pick. That was traded away in the Kyle Wailes acquisition.


For what its worth, Sanderson, as always, played his cards close to the vest. He says that indeed there is a "short" list of candidates. When pressed on just who may be on that list, he, of course, was non-committal.

On the subject of his coaches that were fired, he explained that once the season ends, teams will begin to decide on who to hire. So, Sanderson believes that each will land somewhere.

The GM also commented on his contract status, which will expire at the end of the NLL playoffs. "I will sign a new deal. Since I am just the GM now, things will be different with my contract."

Kevin M. Neibauer


Coming soon......I will re-post the most popular interview that I have ever posted to this site. A candid one-on- one with Mike Fox, the Wings equipment manger.

Fox has reprised the interview to catch the fans up on what is going on in the life of the "busiest man in Philadelphia sports."

So, that interview will also be up on the site shortly.....


Thank You to Lindsay Sanderson for sitting down with us and as always, handling himself with class and dignity.

I believe that Sanderson is a tremendous evaluator of Lacrosse talent and that keen eye will result in a Championship in the near future.

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Wings Miss Playoffs....Again

By- Kevin M.Neibauer

The Philadelphia Wings missed out on the post-season, again.

This season, more than any other was a more bitter pill to swallow than usual.

All the draft picks, three goaltenders, experience, defense, goal scoring all figured to make this the season that the Black and Silver would finally be competing for the National Lacrosse League Championship.

Things however were quickly throttled with an uninspired opening night road loss against Edmonton.

Lack of discipline, too many penalties and a lack of big goals when it counted would become an ominous albatross around the neck of the team.

It is rare that one gets a sense that the season is lost on Opening night.

Portland came in and easily handled the Wings. Again, a lack of goal scoring and lack of discipline would doom any shot of a victory.

Bottom line is this...this team needs to make serious and major changes if ownership expects anyone to attend games next season (except of course, the lucky ones who received a free ticket as a result of the Minnesota fiasco)

Let's look at the roster as it stands and examine who returns and who doesn't.

Geoff Snider, Sean Greenhalgh, Dan Marohl, Athan Iannucci, Ian Llord and Rob Van Beek clearly deserve to come back.

After that, let's take a look at the rest, starting with the goaltenders.

Matt Roik...Roik can be completely dominating and then be totally horrible.
Usually, in the same game. The problem with Roik, who put up impressive numbers and played in the All-Star game is that he doesn't make the big save when needed.

For instance, the Wings go a two or three goal run. That's when the next save is crucial. Roik doesn't seem to make it often enough.

Will Roik be back? Clearly that will be decided by management. (We'll get to this shortly.)

Ken Montour..."Monster" was exactly what a team wants in a back-up goalie. He bridged the gap, never really seemed to give a really "bad" goal and to me, deserves to be back.

Can he challenge for the starting job? Again....TBD

Jay Preece...like Montour, played well when called on. Truly a tough one to figure here. Is Philadelphia happy with him or is he on the roster to be exposed for the expansion draft?

On to the backline....Thomas Hajek, Kyle Sweeney, John Christmas and Ian Llord should be asked to come back.

Damian Davis rarely saw the floor and when he did, his inexperience showed.

Forwards....truly a quandry. Marohl, Greenhalgh, Geoff Snider and Athan Iannucci are clearly the best hope at the position.

Mark Morley? Seemed to be oversized and outmuscled most of the season.

Keith Cromwell? Almost non-existant this season.

Kyle Wailes?Played well enough to return but seemed to fall out of favor with Lindsay Sanderson at the end of the season. This one again, is up in the air.

Jake Bergey? Had a great season, but is getting a bit long in the tooth. Bergey without question, deserves a shot to come back. But, his injuries and his age may make him contemplate hanging it up.

Clearly, this is Jake's call. He should be back (unless something different comes along....maybe a coaching slot?)

Jeff Ratcliffe...had a good season, but was banged up a bit. Has a new baby and has seemed to lose a bit of his fire. Again, it should be up to Rat to decide his future.

The Wings hold the Portland Number one draft pick. Maybe it's time to give up the coveted rookie draft and use the pick to bring in a scorer.

Front Office? Something will be done here. Will Lindsay Sanderson remain behind the bench? Doubtful. Will he remain as the GM?

Who goes behind the bench? Jake Bergey? Tom Marechek? Tom Ryan? Kevin Finneran?

That is a big question. Ryan will NOT be taking the job, he is involved with too much to dedicate the time needed.

Marechek? Probably not, he retired to start a family. He probably won't want to take away from that.

We will have a long off-season......

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Game Preview (Wings vs Swarm & Wings at Shamrox)

Game Previews - Wings vs. Swarm 4-13-07, Wings at Shamrox 4-14-07

By Tom Hoffman

The Philadelphia Wings hopes for a spot in the 2007 NLL playoffs hinge on the final weekend of play in the 2007 season. The Wings host the Minnesota Swarm Friday night in a makeup of the St. Patrick's Day postponement before traveling to Chicago to finish the regular season against the Shamrox. Friday's faceoff at the Wachovia Center is at 7:30 while Saturday's at the Sears Center is at 8:30. Saturday's game is scheduled for telecast on Comcast Sportsnet Sunday at 3:30.

East Standings

x- Rochester 12-2
x- Buffalo 10-4
Minnesota 7-7
WINGS 6-8
Toronto 6-9
Chicago 5-10
New York 3-12

x - clinched playoff spot.

Playoff Scenarios

As listed on NLL.com:

MINNESOTA [7-7]
Can clinch a playoff berth with one win, OR a Philadelphia loss to Chicago, OR a Toronto loss to New York.

PHILADELPHIA [6-8]
Can clinch a playoff berth with two wins, OR one win and a Toronto loss to New York on Saturday.

TORONTO [6-9]
If Minnesota defeats Philadelphia on Friday -
Toronto can clinch a playoff berth with a win over New York, OR a Philadelphia loss to Chicago.

If Philadelphia defeats Minnesota on Friday -
Toronto can clinch a playoff berth with a win over New York, AND either a Minnesota loss to Arizona or a Philadelphia loss to Chicago.

Last Meetings

The Wings fell to the Swarm 11-9 on March 18th at the Xcel Energy Center. Jake Bergey scored 4 goals to lead the Wings while Kasey Beirnes had 4 for the Swarm.

March 24th the Wings used a 5-0 4th quarter to come back and defeat the Shamrox 12-11 at the Wachovia Center. Kyle Fiat's 1st NLL goal proved to be the game winner. Ridley High's Bill McGlone had 4 points (3G, 1A) for Chicago.

Wings Leaders

Goals - Athan Iannucci (27)
Assists - Dan Marohl (41)
Points - Sean Greenhalgh (63)
PIM - Geoff Snider (54)
Saves - Matt Roik (367)

Next

Either a first round playoff game at Rochester or Buffalo or an early start to the offseason.