2012 Wings Lacrosse (3-3-12 vs. Rochester)

by Tom Hoffman

The Philadelphia Wings (4-3) will reach the midpoint of their 2012 National Lacrosse League season Saturday when they host the Rochester Knighthawks (3-5) at the Wells Fargo Center. Game time is at 7 PM and can be seen on the Comcast Network as well as the NLL Network at NLL.com. The game will also be broadcast on Z88.9 (Burlington County College) and online at www.z889.org.

History

The Wings are 15-24 against the Knighthawks in regular season play and are 10-10 at home. In 2012 the Wings are 0-1 having lost the season opener to Rochester 22-12 on January 14 at the Wells Fargo Center. The Wings have lost seven consecutive games against Rochester and haven’t beaten the Knighthawks in Philadelphia since 2008 (15-14 on January 18).

Last Game

The Wings two game win streak ended with a 12-10 loss to the Edmonton Rush at Rexall Place. Kevin Crowley scored four goals while Drew Westervelt added a hat trick and three assists. Brandon Miller made 36 saves in goal.

The Opponent

Rochester lost to the Toronto Rock last Friday 16-12 at the Air Canada Centre. Cody Jamieson leads the Knighthawks in scoring with 20 goals and 24 assists while Matt Vinc has a goals against average of 12.35.

All Star Game

The West Division defeated the East 20-18 in the 2012 All Star Game on February 25 at Buffalo’s First Niagara Center. All four Wings representatives made it onto the score sheet. Dan Dawson led the Wings contingent with a goal and six assists, Brodie Merrill had four assists, Kevin Crowley tallied two goals and one assist and Max Seibald added a pair of goals.

Honoring #35

The Wings will add a second retired jersey banner to the ceiling of the Wells Fargo Center on Saturday when they retire Dallas Eliuk’s #35. Eliuk will join Tom Marechek (#42) as the only numbers retired by the Wings franchise. Eliuk played for the Wings from 1991 to 2005 before finishing his career with the Portland LumberJax. He was inducted into the NLL Hall of Fame in 2009.

Midseason

The Wings record the last five seasons at the midpoint:

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

On this date

The Wings are 1-1 in games played on March 3. In 1990 they defeated the Pittsburgh Bulls 9-8 in overtime at Pittsburgh and in 2007 they lost to the Rochester Knighthawks 14-13 in Philadelphia.

Next Game

The Wings head back to Toronto to face the Rock on March 9.