The Philadelphia Wings needed a sense of urgency after losing their last five games. Sunday they may have found it when they survived a poor second quarter and came back to defeat the Minnesota Swarm 15-13. After Saturday night’s 14-7 loss on the road to the Rochester Knighthawks it would have been easy for the Wings to pack it in but after defeating the Swarm they may end up looking back on Sunday as the day that possibly saved their season.
“I think that’s probably one of the most emotional wins that we’ve had as long as I’ve been here,” Wings coach Johnny Mouradian said following the win Sunday. Wings forward Kevin Crowley put it another way.
“Definitely feels like a weight’s been lifted off our shoulders,” Crowley said.
After going 5-3 through the season’s first half, the Wings had come up empty in the second half of the season. Slow starts seemed to doom this team but that would not be the case against the Swarm as the Wings lead after the first quarter for only the second time this season. However the Swarm took over the second stanza much the same way they owned the Wings in the second half in St. Paul just over a week ago outscoring the Wings 6-1 and scoring one of the ugliest goals possible when Jay Card fired from the hockey blue line with just under two seconds to play in the half and managed to put the shot past Wings goalie Brandon Miller to give the Swarm an 8-6 halftime lead and send bad vibes through the 6,861 in attendance.
On this day though, the second half would be owned by the Wings. Crowley’s fourth straight goal would bring the Wings to within a goal before Drew Westervelt tied the game. Paul Rabil gave the Wings the lead back before Minnesota scored two of the next three goals to send the game into the final 15 minutes tied at 10. The Swarm would lead 12-11 with less than seven minutes to play before the Wings went on a game winning four goal run highlighted by two more Westervelt scores and goals from two unlikely sources, Kyle Hartzell (3rd of the season) and the first National Lacrosse League goal for Mike Manley. Minnesota’s Kiel Matisz scored with 3:39 left in regulation and :25 after the goal the Swarm had a golden opportunity to get within a goal after Rabil was sent to the penalty box for holding. But the Wings, who had given up six extra man goals to the Swarm, would kill off the penalty and hold on for the victory.
Crowley and Westervelt each tallied four goals and four
assists Sunday and for Crowley, it felt a lot better than Saturday did in
Rochester when he hit almost as many posts.
“I’m tired of hitting posts,” Crowley said.
Miller made 37 saves in net and had a solid second half
after letting up the long distance goal right before halftime. With two games remaining, the Wings would
likely have to win at least one to secure a spot in the 2013 playoffs while a
pair of wins (and some help) could earn the Wings their first home postseason
match since 2002.
