2011 Wings Lacrosse (at Minnesota 4-16-11)

By Tom Hoffman

The Philadelphia Wings (5-10) will conclude their 2011 National Lacrosse League season when they visit the Minnesota Swarm (6-8) at the Xcel Energy Center at 8:30 PM. The game will be shown live on the NLL Network at NLL.com.

History

The Wings are 7-7 all time in regular season play against the Swarm, this will be the lone meeting in 2011. On the road the Wings are 3-4 against Minnesota. In 2010 the Wings swept the season series from Minnesota with a 20-11 win in Philadelphia on March 13 and a 13-12 overtime win in St. Paul on April 17. Brandon Miller earned both wins last season making 81 saves over the two games.

Last Weekend

The Wings lost a pair of games to end their hopes for a playoff berth this season. On Saturday the Wings fell to the Boston Blazers 9-7 in Boston and on Sunday lost to the Rochester Knighthawks 10-6 at The Wells Fargo Center. In both games the Wings entered the fourth quarter trailing 7-5 but could never get the tying or go ahead goals. Brandon Miller took the loss in Boston despite a 30 save performance while Kurtis Wagar made his Wings debut on Sunday and made 34 saves. Minnesota lost in overtime 16-15 to the Washington Stealth in Everett, WA last Saturday.

Trivia

This season is the 25th season of Wings Lacrosse and the 10th anniversary of the Wings last championship victory in 2001. This column will feature a trivia question each week and will attempt to tie in the 2001 champions and/or other moments in Wings history, as well as that week’s opponent. This week’s question is:

Name the current Wing who was selected in the 2004 Expansion Draft by the Swarm? Answer at the end of the preview.

Notes

All time the Wings are 1-1 on April 16. In 1994 the Wings won their third Major Indoor Lacrosse League title defeating the Buffalo bandits 26-15. In 1999 the Wings suffered what may be the worst loss in their history when they fell 13-2 to the Toronto Rock in the NLL Semi Finals.

The Wings can top their 2010 record (5-11) by a game with a win over the Swarm. A win would also give them a .500 record away from Philadelphia. The last time the Wings finished .500 or better on the road was in 2004 (4-4).

Next Game

See you during the 2012 season.

Trivia Answer

Shawn Nadelen was chosen with the sixth pick in the 2004 Expansion Draft by Minnesota. Nadelen would be re-acquired by the Wings on February 8, 2005 (along with a first round draft pick in the 2005 NLL Entry Draft) with Ryan Ward and the Wings fourth round draft pick in the 2005 Entry Draft going to the Swarm.