The 23rd season of Philadelphia Wings lacrosse will begin where the 2008 season ended for them. The Wings will head back to the site of last season's 14-12 postseason defeat, Buffalo's HSBC Arena, to do battle with the defending champion Bandits Saturday night. Faceoff is at 7:30 PM.
History
The Wings are 17-18 all time in regular season play against the Bandits. At Buffalo the Wings have a 7-11 record, but are 6-7 at HSBC though they have lost in their last four visits including last season's playoff. The Wings last victory in Buffalo was on February 25, 2005 (14-8).
For Openers
The Wings are 12-10 in season openers and have won four of their last five opening games. In season openers on the road the Wings are 7-7. Philadelphia has opened the season four times against Buffalo and are 1-3 in those games, the lone win coming in the 1998 opener in Buffalo (14-12).
Last Season
The Wings and Bandits split their two regular season matchups in 2008. The Wings needed overtime to defeat Buffalo 15-14 on January 26th at the Wachovia Center. Jake Bergey's goal just twenty seconds into the extra period gave Philadelphia the win after Jamie Rooney's score with less than two minutes in regulation forced the overtime period. On March 1st the Bandits handed the Wings their first loss of the 2008 season at HSBC by a score of 21-12. Philadelphia jumped out to a 5-0 lead 6:34 into the first quarter before being outscored 21-7 the rest of the night. Including the postseason, Athan Iannucci scored 12 goals against Buffalo last year while Rob Blasdell started all three games in net for the Wings. For Buffalo, Mark Steenhuis (8G, 10A), Cory Bomberry (5G, 13A) and John Tavares (5G, 13A) each had 18 points in the three meetings with the Wings.
New Faces
The Wings have nine new faces on this season's 23 man roster (as of 12-28). One face isn't quite new as Kyle Wailes returns to the Wings lineup after missing the 2008 season due to work visa issues. Wailes scored 16 goals and added 21 assists in 2007 and will be looked upon to add to the teams offense especially with the losses of Jake Bergey (expansion draft), Jason Crosbie (free agency) and Jamie Rooney (Arizona dispersal draft). Also missing from the lineup (pending a physical) is last season's MVP and leading goal scorer Athan Iannucci as he recovers from a knee injury suffered last summer playing for the St. Regis Indians in Major Series Lacrosse in Ontario. Three of the new faces for 2009 came via September's entry draft, first round pick Sean Thomson, second round choice Matt Bocklet and fourth rounder Jordan Levine. Also added, and expected to help pick up the offense, was Mat Giles via the Chicago dispersal draft. Giles led the Shamrox last season with 27 goals.
2008 Numbers
Goals: Athan Iannucci - 71
Assists: Jason Crosbie - 40
Points: Iannucci - 100
Penalty Minutes: Geoff Snider -103
Loose Balls: Snider - 244
Goals Against Average: Brandon Miller - 12.18 (in seven games with Wings), Rob Blasdell - 13.92
Next Game
The Wings travel to Rochester to face the Knighthawks on January 10th.
