2011 Wings Lacrosse (1-8-11 vs. Boston)

By Tom Hoffman

The 25th season of Philadelphia Wings lacrosse gets started on Saturday, January 8 as the Wings host the Boston Blazers at 7 PM at the Wells Fargo Center. The game can be seen live on the NLL Network at NLL.com and will also be shown live on the Comcast Network with a replay on Sunday, January 9 on Comcast SportsNet.

History

The Wings are 2-4 against the current Blazers franchise, 2-2 at the WFC. In 2010 the Wings went 2-1 against Boston to win the season series. On January 16, 2010, the Wings defeated the Blazers 12-8 in Philadelphia outscoring Boston 4-1 in the second half to secure the victory. On January 30, 2010 in Boston, the Blazers never trailed in defeating the Wings 11-9. The final matchup, on March 27, 2010, was a fight filled affair that was won by the Wings 13-7. As in the first meeting, the Wings owned the second half by outscoring the Blazers 9-2.

New look Wings

Following the worst season in Wings history (5-11), the coaching staff and roster were overhauled. Coach and General Manager Dave Huntley was let go following the 2010 season and was replaced behind the bench by last season’s offensive coordinator John Tucker. The GM spot was filled by longtime NLL executive Johnny Mouradian. This season’s 23 man roster includes 12 newcomers. Picked up in the Orlando Titans dispersal draft were forwards Brendan Mundorf (28G, 31A in 2009 with New York) and Ryan Boyle (21G-39A in 2010) while another former Titan, Matt Alrich (10G, 9A in 2010) was picked up after being released by the Edmonton Rush on November 16, 2010. A key newcomer on defense is former Blazer Paul Dawson who was picked up from the Calgary Roughnecks in October. Dawson, along with Brett Manney (acquired from the Washington Stealth) and ex-Buffalo Bandit Joe Smith should help solidify the defense around goalie Brandon Miller.

Among the Wings returnees, the biggest ones will be Athan Iannucci and Shawn Nadelen. Iannucci, the National Lacrosse League’s 2008 Most Valuable Player, sat out the entire 2010 season recovering from knee surgery while Nadelen missed all but 2 games in 2010 also due to a knee injury. The team’s leading scorer in 2010, Drew Westervelt (32G, 40A) also is back in the Wings lineup. The most notable Wings gone from 2010 are Geoff Snider (traded to Calgary) and Kyle Wailes (on the Physically Unable to Perform list). Also, Merrick Thomson continues to be sidelined by post-concussion symptoms from an injury suffered in the 2009 Major League Lacrosse season.

Shakeup in Beantown

The Blazers also see an overhauled lineup for 2011 after finishing 8-8 in 2010 and losing to Orlando in the Divisional Semifinal. In addition to Paul Dawson, gone is Boston’s second leading scorer from last season Daryl Veltman (dealt to Calgary). The Veltman deal did bring the Blazers Josh Sanderson (34G, 70A with Calgary) in return. Boston also benefitted from the Titans dispersal draft picking up the NLL’s 2010 MVP in Casey Powell (44G, 36A with Orlando). The biggest change may have occurred on December 23 when Coach Tom Ryan was let go and replaced 5 days later by Toronto Rock assistant (and 2009 Wings head scout) Matt Sawyer.

Opening numbers and notes

The Wings are at .500 (12-12) in season openers having lost 3 of their last 4. The Wings are 14-10 in home openers and have won 2 of their last 3. This will be the third straight season opening at home with Boston (Boston won 13-11 in 2009) and is just the second season in the last eleven that the Wings have opened the season at home (last time in 2008 against the Chicago Shamrox).

Saturday’s game will feature the last 3 players to win the NLL’s MVP award. In addition to Iannucci in 2008 and Powell in 2010, Boston’s Dan Dawson won the award in 2009. Dawson, Powell and Sanderson were all on the 2010 NLL First team All-Pro squad. Sanderson led the NLL in 2010 with 104 points and 70 assists.

Next game

The Wings return home to face the Buffalo Bandits in January 15.