2011 Wings Lacrosse (2-26-11 vs. Toronto)

By Tom Hoffman

The Philadelphia Wings (4-4) will open the second half of their 2011 National Lacrosse League schedule this Saturday night when they host the Toronto Rock (7-2). Faceoff at the Wells Fargo Center is at 8 PM and the game will be shown live on the Comcast Network and on the NLL Network at NLL.com.

History

The Wings are 9-19 all time in regular season play against the Rock including their first season in 1998 as the Ontario Raiders. At home the Wings are 6-9 against Toronto. Last season the Rock swept the season series from the Wings. Toronto defeated the Wings 19-11 on February 5, 2010 at the Air Canada Centre and won 13-6 on April 3, 2010 in Philadelphia. NLL Rookie of the Year Stephan LeBlanc led all scorers in the two games with 19 points (8 Goals, 11 Assists).

Last Week

The Wings defeated the Buffalo Bandits 10-9 last Saturday at HSBC Arena. Drew Westervelt scored the game winning goal with 1:18 remaining in regulation. Westervelt also added four assists while Athan Iannucci and Dan Hardy each chipped in with hat tricks. Toronto swept a home and home with the Rochester Knighthawks winning 10-5 Friday in Toronto and 13-6 Saturday in Rochester.

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:

Dallas Eliuk was named the Most Valuable Player in the Wings 2001 Championship Game victory, how many saves did he make that evening? Answer at the end of the preview.

All Stars

On Sunday afternoon at 2 PM the NLL All-Star Game takes place at the Turning Stone Casino Resort in Verona, NY. The game will be shown live on Versus with the Wings being represented by Brandon Miller and Max Seibald. For Seibald this will be his first trip to the ASG while it will be the second ASG appearance for Miller (2007 ASG at Portland).

Wings at Mid-season (since 2007)

2011: 4-4
2010: 2-6
2009: 3-5
2008: 7-1
2007: 4-4

Next Game

After the All-Star Game the Wings will head to Toronto to face the Rock on Friday March 4 to open a back to back weekend that will conclude with a home match against Geoff Snider and the Calgary Roughnecks on March 5.

Trivia Answer

Dallas Eliuk made 40 saves in leading the Wings to a 9-8 victory over the Rock and their sixth indoor lacrosse title (four in the Major Indoor Lacrosse League and two in the NLL).