By Tom Hoffman
For the second straight game the Philadelphia Wings were betrayed by their offense, again being held to six goals and wasting another solid effort from the defense and goalie Brandon Miller. The Buffalo Bandits kept the Wings off the scoreboard for over 30 minutes and left the Wells Fargo Center with a 9-6 victory before a crowd of 7,764.
The Wings again scored the game's first goal when Drew Westervelt went across the crease to beat Bandits goalie Mike Thompson. After Buffalo racked up the game's next three goals, the Wings showed a little life in tying the game on scores by Max Seibald and Westervelt. This would end up as the Wings highlight of the evening as following Westervelt's game tying goal the Wings would not score again until the fourth quarter, a span of almost 34 minutes. The defense and Miller did their job, holding the Bandit offense to just two goals over the second and third quarters but entered the fourth trailing 5-3.
The Bandits would take advantage of a five minute major to Seibald laste in the third when Frank Resetarits scored just :32 into the final period. Athan Iannucci would snap the Wings scoreless streak but goals by Tracey Kelusky and John Tavares would give the Bandits an 8-4 cushion they would hold on to on the way to their first win of the 2011 season. After the Wings got within a pair at 8-6, Mark Steenhuis would ice the game with an empty net score.
While Coach John Tucker was generally pleased with the effort, his frustration with the team's offense was quite evident. The players seemed to be just as frustrated as well. The Wings will try to awaken their offense on the road when they visit Denver and the Colorado Mammoth next Saturday.
Saturday, January 15, 2011
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Boston Blazes into Wells Fargo Center and defeats Philadelphia, 10-6
By- Kevin M. Neibauer
Philadelphia, Pa. - Two teams with new looks opened the 2011 NLL season in Philadelphia on Saturday evening.
The Boston Blazers, featuring the triple headed monster of Casey Powell, Dan Dawson and Josh Sanderson took very little to exhibit their incredible talents.
Philadelphia was stymied by a close checking Boston defense and the always stellar goaltending of Anthony Cosmo. Cosmo didn't have to be brilliant because the Blazers minimized the Philadelphia offensive threats, Athan Iannucci and Drew Westervelt.
The contest went back and forth in the first half, with Boston taking a one goal halftime lead. Philadelphia could do very little the second half and only recorded two goals.
The Wings enter the season with an entirely new team, a new GM (John Mouradian), new Head Coach (John Tucker) and a host of new players. The biggest addition was defenseman Paul Dawson. The aforementioned, Athan Iannucci is finally healthy and looking to add some punch to the Wings offense.
Philadelphia has been floundering the past few seasons and expectations run high coming into this season. "We played well, we made some mistakes, but, I take responsibility and we will improve each game," Head Coach John Tucker exclaimed after the contest.
Brandon Miller chimed in, "This is a great team, we are vastly improved."
Philadelphia named defenseman Taylor Wray as its new Captain. Former Captain Thomas Hajek did not return to the team.
How much improvement will be made and how fast? Starting the season with two home games against Division rivals will surely be a big test.
With the folding of the Orlando franchise, every team has added depth to their rosters. Philadelphia added Ryan Boyle and Brendan Mundorf from Orlando. Steven Peyser was claimed but is not currently on the roster.
This week, the Buffalo Bandits visit the City of Brotherly Love.
Philadelphia, Pa. - Two teams with new looks opened the 2011 NLL season in Philadelphia on Saturday evening.
The Boston Blazers, featuring the triple headed monster of Casey Powell, Dan Dawson and Josh Sanderson took very little to exhibit their incredible talents.
Philadelphia was stymied by a close checking Boston defense and the always stellar goaltending of Anthony Cosmo. Cosmo didn't have to be brilliant because the Blazers minimized the Philadelphia offensive threats, Athan Iannucci and Drew Westervelt.
The contest went back and forth in the first half, with Boston taking a one goal halftime lead. Philadelphia could do very little the second half and only recorded two goals.
The Wings enter the season with an entirely new team, a new GM (John Mouradian), new Head Coach (John Tucker) and a host of new players. The biggest addition was defenseman Paul Dawson. The aforementioned, Athan Iannucci is finally healthy and looking to add some punch to the Wings offense.
Philadelphia has been floundering the past few seasons and expectations run high coming into this season. "We played well, we made some mistakes, but, I take responsibility and we will improve each game," Head Coach John Tucker exclaimed after the contest.
Brandon Miller chimed in, "This is a great team, we are vastly improved."
Philadelphia named defenseman Taylor Wray as its new Captain. Former Captain Thomas Hajek did not return to the team.
How much improvement will be made and how fast? Starting the season with two home games against Division rivals will surely be a big test.
With the folding of the Orlando franchise, every team has added depth to their rosters. Philadelphia added Ryan Boyle and Brendan Mundorf from Orlando. Steven Peyser was claimed but is not currently on the roster.
This week, the Buffalo Bandits visit the City of Brotherly Love.
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
2011 Wings Lacrosse (1-15-11 vs. Buffalo)
By Tom Hoffman
The Philadelphia Wings will look to pick up their first win of the 2011 National Lacrosse League season when they host the Buffalo Bandits at 7:30 PM on Saturday January 15 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 16 on Comcast SportsNet.
History
The Wings are 19-20 against the Bandits, 11-8 at the WFC. In 2010 the Wings went 1-1 against Buffalo, each team winning in the other teams building. On February 13, 2010 in Philadelphia, the Bandits broke an 8-8 tie in the third quarter and went on to defeat the Wings 13-11. The Wings would return the favor on February 27, 2010 defeating the Bandits 15-11 at HSBC Arena in Buffalo. In that game the Wings never trailed and would break a five game losing streak.
Trivia
This season is not only the 25th season of Wings Lacrosse; it is also the 10th anniversary of the Wings last championship victory in 2001. To celebrate both, this column will feature a trivia question each week and will attempt to tie in both the 2001 champions, as well as that week’s opponent. To begin, here is this week’s question:
Which member of the Wings 2001 team was also a member of the Bandits 1996 championship team? The answer will be at the end of the preview.
Last Weekend
The Wings were defeated by the Boston Blazers 10-6 last Saturday at the Wells Fargo Center. Bill McGlone and Alex Turner each scored twice for the Wings while Brandon Miller made 39 saves. The Bandits fell 10-9 to the Calgary Roughnecks on Saturday in Calgary. Roger Vyse led Buffalo with six points while Mike Thompson stopped 28 Calgary shots.
Notes
The Wings last 0-2 start occurred in 2007 (final record that season was 6-10).
The last time the Wings played on January 15 they defeated the Baltimore Thunder 17-14 at the Spectrum in front of a crowd of 16,274.
During the offseason the Bandits picked up Scott Self and Jay Thorimbert from the Minnesota Swarm and former Wing Brenden Thenhaus from Boston but their biggest acquisition was getting Tracey Kelusky in a deal with Calgary.
Next game
The Wings travel to Denver to face the Colorado Mammoth on January 22.
Trivia Answer
Tom Phair was a rookie on the 1996 Major Indoor Lacrosse League champion Bandits squad that defeated the Wings 15-10 at the Aud in Buffalo. In 2001 Phair contributed 2 goals to help the Wings defeat the Toronto Rock 9-8 to take home the NLL Champion’s Cup.
The Philadelphia Wings will look to pick up their first win of the 2011 National Lacrosse League season when they host the Buffalo Bandits at 7:30 PM on Saturday January 15 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 16 on Comcast SportsNet.
History
The Wings are 19-20 against the Bandits, 11-8 at the WFC. In 2010 the Wings went 1-1 against Buffalo, each team winning in the other teams building. On February 13, 2010 in Philadelphia, the Bandits broke an 8-8 tie in the third quarter and went on to defeat the Wings 13-11. The Wings would return the favor on February 27, 2010 defeating the Bandits 15-11 at HSBC Arena in Buffalo. In that game the Wings never trailed and would break a five game losing streak.
Trivia
This season is not only the 25th season of Wings Lacrosse; it is also the 10th anniversary of the Wings last championship victory in 2001. To celebrate both, this column will feature a trivia question each week and will attempt to tie in both the 2001 champions, as well as that week’s opponent. To begin, here is this week’s question:
Which member of the Wings 2001 team was also a member of the Bandits 1996 championship team? The answer will be at the end of the preview.
Last Weekend
The Wings were defeated by the Boston Blazers 10-6 last Saturday at the Wells Fargo Center. Bill McGlone and Alex Turner each scored twice for the Wings while Brandon Miller made 39 saves. The Bandits fell 10-9 to the Calgary Roughnecks on Saturday in Calgary. Roger Vyse led Buffalo with six points while Mike Thompson stopped 28 Calgary shots.
Notes
The Wings last 0-2 start occurred in 2007 (final record that season was 6-10).
The last time the Wings played on January 15 they defeated the Baltimore Thunder 17-14 at the Spectrum in front of a crowd of 16,274.
During the offseason the Bandits picked up Scott Self and Jay Thorimbert from the Minnesota Swarm and former Wing Brenden Thenhaus from Boston but their biggest acquisition was getting Tracey Kelusky in a deal with Calgary.
Next game
The Wings travel to Denver to face the Colorado Mammoth on January 22.
Trivia Answer
Tom Phair was a rookie on the 1996 Major Indoor Lacrosse League champion Bandits squad that defeated the Wings 15-10 at the Aud in Buffalo. In 2001 Phair contributed 2 goals to help the Wings defeat the Toronto Rock 9-8 to take home the NLL Champion’s Cup.
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