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.
Wednesday, April 13, 2011
Sunday, April 10, 2011
Wings end home schedule passing quietly into the night
By Tom Hoffman
Less than 24 hours after seeing their playoff hopes dashed in Boston, the Philadelphia Wings came home to the Wells Fargo Center and delivered what was their typical home performance for 2011. Looking tired and if they'd rather be elsewhere, the Wings again could find very little on the offensive end and ended their home schedule with a 2-6 record following Sunday's 10-6 loss to the Rochester Knighthawks.
As both teams played Saturday night and had to travel to Philadelphia, play was sluggish in the first quarter. Only one goal was scored in the game's first 15 minutes and it gave the Wings their only lead of the day when Drew Westervelt tallied 10:37 into the stanza. Wings backup Kurtis Wagar, making his first start of the season, stopped all 12 Knighthawk shots in the first and kept Rochester off the board until Shawn Williams tied the game 6:09 into the second. At that point the Knighthawk offense arose from its slumber to score the game's next five goals before the Wings Max Seibald scored in the final minute of the half to make it a 5-2 game.
The second half didn't start any better when Mike Accursi and Craig Point extended the Rochester lead to 7-2. Then, much like the previous night in Boston, the Wings scored the next three goals to go into the last 15 minutes down just 7-5. By the time the Wings scored goal number six though, the Knighthawks had broken the game open on scores by Jordan Hall, Jarrett Davis and an empty netter by Chris Driscoll.
Westervelt scored a hat trick for the Wings, who missed Athan Iannucci for the third straight game. Ryan Boyle added a goal and three assists while Wagar made 34 saves in his Wings debut. With one game remaining next week against the Minnesota Swarm, the Wings will look to at least finish a game better than they did in 2010. In what was likely a more frustrating season that the 2010 debacle of 5-11, that is about as positive as it gets. What to expect in 2012 is anyone's guess.
Less than 24 hours after seeing their playoff hopes dashed in Boston, the Philadelphia Wings came home to the Wells Fargo Center and delivered what was their typical home performance for 2011. Looking tired and if they'd rather be elsewhere, the Wings again could find very little on the offensive end and ended their home schedule with a 2-6 record following Sunday's 10-6 loss to the Rochester Knighthawks.
As both teams played Saturday night and had to travel to Philadelphia, play was sluggish in the first quarter. Only one goal was scored in the game's first 15 minutes and it gave the Wings their only lead of the day when Drew Westervelt tallied 10:37 into the stanza. Wings backup Kurtis Wagar, making his first start of the season, stopped all 12 Knighthawk shots in the first and kept Rochester off the board until Shawn Williams tied the game 6:09 into the second. At that point the Knighthawk offense arose from its slumber to score the game's next five goals before the Wings Max Seibald scored in the final minute of the half to make it a 5-2 game.
The second half didn't start any better when Mike Accursi and Craig Point extended the Rochester lead to 7-2. Then, much like the previous night in Boston, the Wings scored the next three goals to go into the last 15 minutes down just 7-5. By the time the Wings scored goal number six though, the Knighthawks had broken the game open on scores by Jordan Hall, Jarrett Davis and an empty netter by Chris Driscoll.
Westervelt scored a hat trick for the Wings, who missed Athan Iannucci for the third straight game. Ryan Boyle added a goal and three assists while Wagar made 34 saves in his Wings debut. With one game remaining next week against the Minnesota Swarm, the Wings will look to at least finish a game better than they did in 2010. In what was likely a more frustrating season that the 2010 debacle of 5-11, that is about as positive as it gets. What to expect in 2012 is anyone's guess.
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