By
Tom Hoffman
The
Philadelphia Wings (5-10) will travel to the Air Canada Centre on Saturday
night to face the Toronto Rock (6-9) in what amounts to a playoff game for both
teams. Faceoff is at 7 PM and can be
seen live at www.youtube.com/thelacrossenetwork.
History
The Wings are 15-24 in regular season play against the Rock with a 6-12 all time regular season record on the road, 5-11 at the ACC. The teams have met twice this season with Toronto defeating the Wings 20-10 on February 7 at the Air Canada Centre and the Wings winning 14-13 on March 22 at the Wells Fargo Center. Prior to the February 7 loss the Wings had won in their last three visits to the ACC.
Last Game
The Wings fell 13-9 at home last Friday to the Calgary Roughnecks. The Wings trailed 5-4 at halftime but would lead Calgary 8-7 after three quarters. Calgary would outscore the Wings 6-1 in the final frame aided by two of their three shorthanded goals on the evening. Pat Saunders led the Wings with six points (4G, 2A) while Tracey Kelusky added four points (1G, 3A0 and Ryan Ward chipped in three assists. Evan Kirk made 34 saves in the losing effort. The Wings dropped to 2-6 at home for the 2014 season.
History
The Wings are 15-24 in regular season play against the Rock with a 6-12 all time regular season record on the road, 5-11 at the ACC. The teams have met twice this season with Toronto defeating the Wings 20-10 on February 7 at the Air Canada Centre and the Wings winning 14-13 on March 22 at the Wells Fargo Center. Prior to the February 7 loss the Wings had won in their last three visits to the ACC.
Last Game
The Wings fell 13-9 at home last Friday to the Calgary Roughnecks. The Wings trailed 5-4 at halftime but would lead Calgary 8-7 after three quarters. Calgary would outscore the Wings 6-1 in the final frame aided by two of their three shorthanded goals on the evening. Pat Saunders led the Wings with six points (4G, 2A) while Tracey Kelusky added four points (1G, 3A0 and Ryan Ward chipped in three assists. Evan Kirk made 34 saves in the losing effort. The Wings dropped to 2-6 at home for the 2014 season.
Playoff Scenario
For
the Wings, a win Saturday is necessary to keep their hopes alive for third
place and the final playoff spot in the NLL’s Eastern Division. A loss and Toronto will wrap up the playoff
spot as they will be two games ahead of the Wings in the standings and will own
the tiebreaker between the two. A Wings
victory would give them the tiebreaker over Toronto and keep the playoff battle
going. A Wings victory and a Minnesota
Swarm loss would eliminate the Swarm; a Swarm win would still keep them alive
for the final spot in the East.
Notes
Should
Brandon Miller start in goal Saturday it will be the first time he’s started
against the Wings since January 12, 2008 when he was with the Chicago Shamrox. The Wings won that game 19-11.
Kyle
Buchanan has scored four goals in his last nine games after scoring 14 in his
first six games.
On this date
The
Wings are 0-3 on April 12. In 1996 the
Wings lost to the Buffalo Bandits 15-10 in the Major Indoor Lacrosse League
Championship game, the final lacrosse game played at Buffalo’s Memorial
Auditorium. In 2003 the Wings fell to
the Rochester Knighthawks 12-10 at Blue Cross Arena and in 2008 the Wings lost
15-14 in overtime to the Minnesota Swarm at Xcel Energy Center.
Next Game
The Wings will travel to Langley, British Columbia on April 19 to face the Vancouver Stealth.
The Wings will travel to Langley, British Columbia on April 19 to face the Vancouver Stealth.
