Wings Game #4 (at Colorado 2-15-08)

By Tom Hoffman

The Philadelphia Wings (3-0) hit the road for the first time this season when they travel to Denver, Colorado to face off with the Colorado Mammoth (5-0) in a battle of two of the National Lacrosse League's undefeated teams. Start time is 9 PM EST at Denver's Pepsi Center. The game will be shown at 10:30 PM Friday on Comcast SportsNet.

History

Since the Mammoth's relocation to Denver in 2003 the Wings are 3-2 overall against Colorado. The Wings and Mammoth last met to open the 2006 regular season on December 30, 2005 with the Wings taking home a 13-11 victory. The Wings are 1-2 all time in Denver. Including the Mammoth's previous history in Baltimore (1987-1999), Pittsburgh (2000) and Washington (2001-2002) the Wings are 25-12 in regular season play. Wings coach Dave Huntley served as an assistant coach with the Baltimore Thunder and Washington Power and as General Manager with the Pittsburgh Crossefire, as well as a scout with the Colorado franchise. Huntley worked with Colorado GM Steve Govett in Washington. Fans will remeber Govett played in Philadelphia and served as the Wings GM before moving into his current role with the Mammoth franchise.

Last Game

When the Wings last played, they needed a late goal by Jamie Rooney to force overtime against the Buffalo Bandits. Jake Bergey's fourth goal of the night just 20 seconds into overtime would give the Wings a 15-14 win. Athan Iannucci also added four goals, along with three assists and Rob Blasdell made 48 saves for the Wings.

On the road (finally)

This will be the first game for the Wings this season away from the Wachovia Center. The Wings lost last season at Edmonton breaking a three game win streak in road openers. Last season the Wings went 2-6 away from Philadelphia, winning at Calgary and New York.

Wings Leaders

Goals: Athan Iannucci - 14
Assists: Jason Crosbie - 11
Points: Iannucci - 21
Penalty Minutes: Geoff Snider - 43
Faceoff Wins: Snider - 55
Loose Balls: Iannucci - 32

Barrage Ties

Besides Kyle Sweeney and Brett Moyer on the Wings roster, Barrage fans will recognize a familiar name on the Colorado roster. Jed Prossner has appeared in three games for the Mammoth, chipping in five goals and three assists. Last season Prossner played for the Portland Lumberjax.

Quotes from the Buffalo game:

Dave Huntley: "I'd like to be able to finish a game the way we start the game. Credit Buffalo, they're a veteran team, Darris (Kilgour) is a great coach. I thought tonight both goalies were fantastic, Blazer (Rob Blasdell) kept us in the game. We got a great effort from our guys. It's nice to be able to put a team away but these are good teams we're playing. I thought we finished this game, believe it or not, better than we did against Rochester."

Jake Bergey: "When you start off 3-0 there's not much to complain about. We did have, the last two games, a couple of big leads that we gave up towards the end which is not a great thing to do but we came out with a "W" so that's the important thing. Our team's really coming together, on the field as well as off. We're like a family."

Jamie Rooney: "I've learned from the best. This is my fourth year in the league, first year playing. I've taken things from other teams. In Buffalo, I've learned from J.T. (John Tavares), Dan Teat and other veteran players, in Calgary from Tracey Kelusky and Kaleb Toth. It's just picking up things here and there and just going to the net as hard as you can and finishing."

Next Game

The Wings will return home for a key divisional matchup against the red hot Minnesota Swarm on February 22 at 8 PM.