It's the last game of the regular season and it's "winner take all" when the Philadelphia Wings (7-8) travel to Rochester to face off with the Knighthawks (6-9) on Saturday evening. The winner will claim the fourth and final playoff spot in the National Lacrosse League's Eastern Conference. Faceoff is at 7:30 PM and can be seen live on NLL.com.
History
The Wings are 15-17 against Rochester and 5-10 at the Blue Cross Arena including their 16-13 win there on January 10. Merrick Thomson scored four goals and added an assist while Kyle Wailes put up seven points, six of them assists, to the the Philadelphia offense. Brandon Miller made 36 save in net for the Wings. Gary Gait scored five goals for Rochester in his return to the NLL following his retirement after the 2005 season while Shawn Williams added eight points (2G, 6A) for the Knighthawks.
Last Week
Drew Westervelt's goal with 61 seconds to play lifted the Wings to a 16-14 victory over the Toronto Rock, eliminating the Rock from the NLL postseason. Westervelt's goal was his fourth of the evening. Merrick Thomson led the Wings with eight points on three goals and five assists. Rob Blasdell made 47 saves for the Wings. Rochester was swept over the weekend, losing 13-9 at Buffalo on Friday and 10-5 at Boston on Saturday.
Playoffs
As mentioned already, the winner of this game will clinch the fourth and final playoff spot in the East. The Buffalo Bandits, New York Titans and Boston Blazers have already clinched the first three spots. The Wings-Knighthawks winner will face either Buffalo or New York pending the results of the Bandits-Blazers and Titans-Minnesota Swarm games. The playoffs will open the weekend of May 1.
Quotes
Wings coach Dave Huntley on the difference between the Knighthawks early in the season and now: "Obviously Pat O'Toole's back. Craig Point certainly is bringing out the best in Shawn Evans. Gary (Gait)'s still playing well. They're running the floor a little better."
Drew Westervelt on facing the Knighthawks: "We know we've got a battle next weekend. Everybody's gonna come ready to go and hopefully we can just keep building off of tonight."
Next Game
Either the first weekend in May at either New York or Buffalo or the opening night of the 2010 season.
