LaxPhilly Local Five - Volume 2

By Tom Hoffman

Welcome to the latest installment of the LaxPhilly Local Five. With the NCAA season underway, there is plenty of lacrosse to go see in the area. And with that there are lots of excellent players that you can see on any given day. And don't think we're neglecting the ladies, future installments of the Local Five will feature some of the top games and players in Women's college lax. For this one, we'll be looking at five players at local colleges who are making their presences felt early on this season.

1. Curtis Dickson - Attack ( Delaware, Sophomore, Port Coquitlam, B.C.)

Dickson is following in the paths of other Canadians to star for the Blue Hens (John Grant, Jr., Luke Wiles, Jordan Hall) with his play so far. After a solid frosh season with 21 goals and 28 points in 2007, Dickson has already put up 13 goals and 20 points in Delaware's first four games. Dickson is a huge reason why the Hens are 4-0 and currently ranked ninth in the most recent USILA Division I poll.

2. Bruce Bickford - Goalie (Drexel, Senior, Providence, RI)

Bickford has been one of the NCAA's top goaltenders the last two seasons and a key to Drexel's recent success. Last year's team MVP, Bickford was in the top 10 in 2007 in goals against (7.33) and currently has a 6.87 GAA in leading the Dragons to a 3-1 start and a #14 ranking. Bickford was the Colonial Athletic Association's pre-season All-Conference goalkeeper and could be a top draft pick in Major League Lacrosse's 2008 Collegiate Draft on May 28th.

3. Brian Fleishhacker - Attack (Haverford, Sophomore, Manhasset, NY)

Fleishhacker was named the Centennial Conference's Player of the Week after scoring 12 goals and three assists in Haverford's first two games, in which the Fords went 2-0. Fleishhacker finished second in team scoring last year with 27 points in only 10 games. Haverford is currently 18th in the USILA Division III poll.

4. Al Kohart - Midfield (Penn, Freshman, Port Jefferson Station, NY)

Kohart earned Ivy League Rookie of the Week for his play in the Quakers opening two games. Kohart scored twice in Penn's opener against Drexel and added a hat trick against Villanova in their next game. Kohart's five goals lead the Quakers as they head to Denver for the Pioneer Faceoff Classic with Denver, Air Force and Brown.

5. Rich Romanelli - Attack (Cabrini, Sophomore, Rosedale, MD)

Romanelli scored three goals to lead the Cavaliers to a 10-8 upset of Roanoke College on March 2nd in their season opener. This win sent Cabrini into the LaxNews top 10 and the 12th spot in the current USILA poll. Last season, Romanelli had 28 goals and 42 points, helping Cabrini reach the NCAA playoffs. Romanelli and fellow sophomore Casey Grugan will be a tough duo for opposing defenses to stop.

Our next feature will focus on the five top Women's games in the area in 2008.

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Wings-Rock postponed

By Tom Hoffman

Saturday's Wings-Toronto Rock game at the Wachovia Center has been postponed. Due to bad weather in the Toronto area, the Rock were unable to get a flight out forcing the postponement of the game. The game has been rescheduled for Sunday April 6th at 8 PM.

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Wings Game #8 (vs. Toronto 3-8-08)

By Tom Hoffman

The Philadelphia Wings (6-1) will look to rebound and get back on the winning track this Saturday afternoon when they host the Toronto Rock (5-3). Faceoff at the Wachovia Center is at 1 PM and the game will be shown at 10:30 PM on Comcast SportsNet.

History

The Wings are 6-17 all time in regular season play against the Rock including their first season in 1998 as the Ontario Raiders. At home the Wings are 4-8 and have won the last two meetings here. Last season the teams each won at home. The Wings were victorious by a 10-9 score on January 27 with Geoff Snider scoring the tying and winning goal. On March 30, the Rock jumped out to an 8-0 halftime lead and never looked back in a 15-6 victory. Athan Iannucci (3G, 2A) and Jake Bergey (1G, 4A) each had five points for the Wings while 2007 Rookie of the Year Ryan Benesch led the Rock with 12 points (7G, 5A) while Aaron Wilson (5G, 5A) and Blaine Manning (2G, 8A) each chipped in 10 points in the two games.

Last Week

The Wings split their weekend games, winning 16-12 Friday at home vs. the New York Titans before seeing their season opening six game win streak stopped in Buffalo on Saturday by a 21-12 score. Toronto came back to defeat Calgary at home by a 9-7 score on Saturday night.

All Stars

The Wings will be represented by three players when the NLL meets in Edmonton on March 16 for the All-Star Game. Athan Iannucci, who has earned Player of the Month honors for both January and February, was selected to the East Division’s starting lineup. Taylor Wray and Geoff Snider were added to the East squad as reserves. This will be Iannucci’s first All Star appearance while it will be the second for Snider (2007). Wray will make his third All Star trip but his first as a member of the East team(2006 and 2007 as a member of the Calgary Roughnecks).

Trade

The Wings were part of a four team trade that included Edmonton, Chicago and Minnesota. When the smoke cleared, leaving the Wings were F Dan Marohl (Minnesota), F Keith Cromwell (Minnesota) and G Matt Roik (Chicago) along with 2 draft picks and the playing rights to Brad Self. Coming to Philadelphia were F A.J Shannon (Edmonton), G Brandon Miller (Chicago) and two draft picks.

Stats and Stuff

With their win Friday night, the Wings equaled last season’s win total(six).

Their next win at home will give the Wings six wins for the first time since 2003 when they went 6-2 at the Wachovia Center. This will also match their most wins at home in regular season play.

Quotes

(From the 2-29 game vs. New York)

Drew Westervelt: "It's a great atmosphere to play in. First indoor game, it was a blast. Couldn't ask for a better crowd or a better team to play for."

Geoff Snider: "New York's a good team. They're run and gun, they're fast, they play tough. It was a good win for us. We played like a group. We got a great game out of Athan, a great game out of Blazer, Everybody stepped up."

(From the 3-1 game at Buffalo)

Dave Huntley: "Hats off to them (Buffalo). They played great on the defensive end after we got off to a good start. It was a tough game. We certainly didn't help ourselves. We took too many penalties and that's been a problem for us all year. It was eventually going to bite us in the ass. Tonight was just one of those games that got away from us. I know these guys will answer the bell against Toronto and we'll be fine."

Next Game

The Wings will head into the All Star break with a home matchup against the San Jose Stealth Friday March 14 at 8PM.

Wings take part in blockbuster deal

By Tom Hoffman

Today the Wings were part of a four team trade in the National Lacrosse League. When all was said and done, the wings sent F Keith Cromwell, F Dan marohl and the rights to Brad Self to the Minnesota Swarm and G Matt Roik, along with a 2009 first round pick and a 2010 second round pick to the Chicago Shamrox. Coming to Philadelphia are F A.J. Shannon from the Edmonton Rush, G Brandon Miller and a second round pick in the 2008 draft from Chicago and a fourth round pick in 2008 from Minnesota.

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Split weekend for Wings

By Tom Hoffman

In a weekend that, in movie terms was "The Good, The Bad and The Ugly", the Wings were able to equal their win total from 2007 with a solid 16-12 win over the New York Titans at home Friday night, only to follow it up with a 21-12 pounding from the Buffalo Bandits Saturday in Buffalo.

Friday's game started slowly for the Wings but after New York's Pat Maddalena scored ten seconds into the fourth quarter to bring the Titans within a goal, the Wings went on a four goal run (and six out of the next seven goals) to put the game away. It was another big night for Athan Iannucci, scoring six goals and adding two assists for yet another game MVP honor. Drew Westervelt looked solid in his NLL debut for the Wings, coming off of injured reserve after the trade of Brenden Thenhaus to Edmonton. The night's only real minus was Geoff Snider only going 12 for 26 in faceoffs. That can be attributed to his faceoff opponent, former Wing Jamie Hanford, who has long been one of the NLL's best at faceoffs.

Saturday started well for the Wings, jumping out to an early 5-0 lead and chasing Bandits starter Mike Thompson. 41 saves by backup Ken Montour and nine powerplay goals would end up the doing in the Wings on the evening, denying them their first ever 7-0 start. Without Jake Bergey in the lineup, the rookie Westervelt looked more comfortable in his second game, scoring two goals and two assists. That is when he wasn't serving bench minors for the Wings, who were called five times for too many men on the field penalties. Mark Steenhuis (4G, 6 A) and Cory Bomberry (3G, 7A) led the Bandit offense.

Now at 6-1, the Wings must now refocus and attempt to get back on the winning track when they host Toronto this Saturday afternoon.