Wings Lacrosse 2013 (1-19-13 at Toronto)

by Tom Hoffman

The Philadelphia Wings (1-0) will take to the road for the first time during the 2013 season when they travel to Toronto to face off against the Rock (2-0) on January 19. Game time at the Air Canada Centre is at 7 PM and the game can be seen live on Comcast SportsNet, ESPN3 and at www.youtube.com/thelacrossenetwork.


History

The Wings are 12-22 all time against the Rock. The Wings took the 2012 season series from Toronto 2-1. The Rock won the first meeting 15-6 on February 4 at the Wells Fargo Center. The Wings would take the next two games in Toronto defeating the Rock 14-8 on February 18 and 12-10 on March 9. All time the Wings are 5-11 on the road in regular season play against the Rock (1-0 at Copps Coliseum, 0-1 at Maple Leaf Gardens and 4-10 at the Air Canada Centre).

Last Weekend

The Wings won their season opener 13-8 over the Buffalo Bandits last Friday at the Wells Fargo Center. Kevin Crowley scored four goals while newcomers Kevin Buchanan (3G, 3A) and Jordan Hall (1G, 6A) also contributed. Brandon Miller made 43 saves to help the Wings cause. Toronto went 2-0 over the weekend during an All-Alberta road swing. Saturday night they defeated the Calgary Roughnecks 13-11 before heading to Edmonton on Sunday where they beat the Rush 10-9. Nick Rose started both games in goal and made 89 saves (45 on Saturday, 44 on Sunday) while Colin Doyle notched 10 assists.

Trivia

The first meeting between the franchises occurred on February 28, 1998 at Copps Coliseum in Hamilton, Ontario. The Wings won the game 12-11 in overtime. Who scored the OT winner for the Wings and what was significant about this game?

On this date

The Wings are 0-1 on January 19 having lost to the New York Saints 19-13 at Nassau Coliseum in 1991.

Road tripping

The Wings have been successful in their first game on the road the last two seasons, defeating the Colorado Mammoth 11-10 on January 22, 2011 and beating the Buffalo Bandits 13-10 on January 27, 2012. The Wings 4-4 road record last season was their best since finishing with the same record in 2004. Their last winning season away from Philadelphia was in 2001 when they went 4-3.

Answer

Jake Bergey scored the overtime winner for the Wings in what was the team’s first game outside of the U.S..

Next Game

The Wings will return to action on January 26 when they travel to for an opening night rematch against the Bandits at First Niagara Center.

PPL Park to host MLL Championship Weekend

By Tom Hoffman

PPL Park is becoming the place to see collegiate lacrosse after hosting the 2nd day of the NCAA Quarterfinals in 2012 and getting ready to host the Whitman's Sampler Independence Classic for Inside Lacrosse on March 9.  On August 24 and 25, the home of Major League Soccer's Philadelphia Union will show off the best of professional outdoor lacrosse when Major League Lacrosse brings its championship weekend to the Philadelphia area for the first time since Villanova hosted it in 2003.

Semifinals will take place on August 24 with the Championship game going off the next day.  Tickets are now on sale through the PPL Park Events listing on PhiladelphiaUnion.com (select tickets and buy tickets now), by calling 1-800-298-4200 or going to the PPL Park box office.