By Tom Hoffman
For the Calgary Roughnecks, just playing tonight's game against the Philadelphia Wings certainly had to help take their minds off the fact that their season is on life support due to the franchise's current economic woes. By defeating the Wings 13-7 at the Wells Fargo Center, they just may have put the Wings season on life support.
If any of the 9,604 in attendance were disappointed by not seeing former Wing standout Geoff Snider in the Calgary lineup due to injury, the Wings effort would prove to be even more disappointing. After playing the league leading Toronto Rock almost even for three quarters on Friday night, the Wings carried over the spiritless fourth quarter from that game into tonight's tilt. The Wings, who have not held a lead since scoring the game winning goal at Buffalo two weeks ago, had to be lucky to be only trailing 3-2 after the first quarter as they were outshot 15-5 and easily outplayed. After Calgary's Dane Dobbie opened the scoring in the second, the Wings Brendan Mundorf would pull the Wings within a goal at 4-3 with just over 10 minutes until halftime. By the time Drew Westervelt would score the Wings fourth goal of the night at 9:32 of the third quarter the Wings had given up six consecutive scores and would see goalie Brandon Miller head to the bench to be replaced by Ray Hodgkinson.
While the Roughnecks season sits at day to day, the financial dark cloud they are under did not seem to affect the players on field performance as they gave a tough, spirited and emotional effort. The Wings hopefully took some notes as they will need to find that kind of effort if they want to earn a playoff berth in this 2011 season. They will have plenty of time to think about this game as they don't take the field again until March 26 against an equally desperate Rochester Knighthawk squad. The Wings will need to treat that game as a playoff since a loss there will not only cost them a tiebreaker with the K-Hawks but more than likely will sink any chances the team has of playing in the postseason.
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
2011 Wings Lacrosse (3-4-11 at Toronto and 3-5-11 vs. Calgary)
By Tom Hoffman
The Philadelphia Wings (4-5) will open a weekend of back to back games on Friday night when they visit the Toronto Rock (8-2) at the Air Canada Centre at 7:30 PM. Saturday night the Wings return to the Wells Fargo Center for a 7 PM faceoff against former teammate Geoff Snider and the Calgary Roughnecks (5-3). Both games will be shown live on the NLL Network at NLL.com.
History
Following last week’s game the Wings are 9-20 all time in regular season play against the Rock which includes their first season in 1998 as the Ontario Raiders. On the road the Wings are 3-10 against Toronto (1-0 at Copps Coliseum, 0-1 at Maple Leaf Gardens and 2-9 at Air Canada Centre). The Wings last victory in Toronto was on April 27, 2008 (15-14).
The Wings are 2-1 all time against Calgary with a 19-13 victory on March 22, 2003 in Calgary’s lone visit to Philadelphia. Last season the Roughnecks defeated the Wings 15-7 on March 6 at the Scotiabank Saddledome.
Last Week
The Wings dropped a 16-13 decision to the Rock at Wells Fargo Center. Brendan Mundorf and Athan Iannucci each tallied four goals and five assists for the Wings, who could not overcome an early 5-0 deficit. Calgary last played on February 20 defeating the Edmonton Rush 12-11 at Edmonton’s Rexall Place.
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:
In the 2006 Entry Draft the Wings chose Geoff Snider with the fourth overall pick and with the eighth overall pick chose Athan Iannucci. The Wings also had the fifth overall pick in that draft, name the player the Wings selected with that pick? Answer at the end of the preview.
All Star Game
Last Sunday the East defeated the West 30-26 at the NLL All-Star Game which took place at the Turning Stone Casino Resort in Verona, NY. Brandon Miller started the game for the East and made 26 saves in his 30 minutes of play while Max Seibald chipped in a goal for the East.
Stat Leaders
Athan Iannucci leads the Wings in goals (22, fifth in the league), assists (25) and points (47, ninth in the league). Iannucci is also the NLL leader in points on the power play with 21. Drew Westervelt is tied for third in points on the power play. Jeff Reynolds is tied for fourth with 85 faceoff wins. In goal, Brandon Miller is eighth in goals against average (10.72), second in saves (342) and tied for third in save percentage (.788)
Next Game
Following the Calgary game the Wings will not return to action until March 26 when they travel to Rochester for their second meeting of the season with the Knighthawks.
Trivia Answer
The Wings selected Ian Llord with the fifth overall choice in the 2006 draft. Llord played 11 games for the Wings in 2007 before being dealt as part of a three way trade involving Calgary and the Buffalo Bandits on July 27, 2007 that brought Taylor Wray to the Wings.
The Philadelphia Wings (4-5) will open a weekend of back to back games on Friday night when they visit the Toronto Rock (8-2) at the Air Canada Centre at 7:30 PM. Saturday night the Wings return to the Wells Fargo Center for a 7 PM faceoff against former teammate Geoff Snider and the Calgary Roughnecks (5-3). Both games will be shown live on the NLL Network at NLL.com.
History
Following last week’s game the Wings are 9-20 all time in regular season play against the Rock which includes their first season in 1998 as the Ontario Raiders. On the road the Wings are 3-10 against Toronto (1-0 at Copps Coliseum, 0-1 at Maple Leaf Gardens and 2-9 at Air Canada Centre). The Wings last victory in Toronto was on April 27, 2008 (15-14).
The Wings are 2-1 all time against Calgary with a 19-13 victory on March 22, 2003 in Calgary’s lone visit to Philadelphia. Last season the Roughnecks defeated the Wings 15-7 on March 6 at the Scotiabank Saddledome.
Last Week
The Wings dropped a 16-13 decision to the Rock at Wells Fargo Center. Brendan Mundorf and Athan Iannucci each tallied four goals and five assists for the Wings, who could not overcome an early 5-0 deficit. Calgary last played on February 20 defeating the Edmonton Rush 12-11 at Edmonton’s Rexall Place.
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:
In the 2006 Entry Draft the Wings chose Geoff Snider with the fourth overall pick and with the eighth overall pick chose Athan Iannucci. The Wings also had the fifth overall pick in that draft, name the player the Wings selected with that pick? Answer at the end of the preview.
All Star Game
Last Sunday the East defeated the West 30-26 at the NLL All-Star Game which took place at the Turning Stone Casino Resort in Verona, NY. Brandon Miller started the game for the East and made 26 saves in his 30 minutes of play while Max Seibald chipped in a goal for the East.
Stat Leaders
Athan Iannucci leads the Wings in goals (22, fifth in the league), assists (25) and points (47, ninth in the league). Iannucci is also the NLL leader in points on the power play with 21. Drew Westervelt is tied for third in points on the power play. Jeff Reynolds is tied for fourth with 85 faceoff wins. In goal, Brandon Miller is eighth in goals against average (10.72), second in saves (342) and tied for third in save percentage (.788)
Next Game
Following the Calgary game the Wings will not return to action until March 26 when they travel to Rochester for their second meeting of the season with the Knighthawks.
Trivia Answer
The Wings selected Ian Llord with the fifth overall choice in the 2006 draft. Llord played 11 games for the Wings in 2007 before being dealt as part of a three way trade involving Calgary and the Buffalo Bandits on July 27, 2007 that brought Taylor Wray to the Wings.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Philadelphia Wings....Same old same old
By- Kevin M. Neibauer
Philadelphia,PA- Just past the halfway point in the 2011 season, it has become clear that the Philadelphia Wings are in the same position they have been in for the last six seasons. Each year, the team starts off slowly based on a number of issues, including, having the new faces mesh as a cohesive functioning unit. Slowly, they get their legs and begin to improve. Generally, the team fails to make the playoffs and management responds by bringing in a lot of new faces. The cycle continues year after year.
This off-season indicated storm clouds on the horizon. New Coach John Tucker clearly was putting his finger prints on this team. John Mouradian, one the great minds in the game, was brought in to be the GM. Issues began almost immediately. Geoff Snider was sent packing in a controversial trade. Dispersal draft saw Philadelphia sitting with the pick that could have been Casey Powell. Instead, they moved the pick. Newcomers would include Paul Dawson who has been a good addition. Brendan Mundorf, who finally found his scoring touch. Ryan Boyle, who has been a major disappointment. Thomas Hajek was not brought back and the defense seemed to be strong in the early going without his presence. Lately, it has been a different story. But, the defense would not be as heavily counted on if the offense was a bit more effective. Far too many dropped or missed passes and far too many bad decisions on shots. After all, a cadaver can stop a shot from 25 feet that is right in his stomach.
The past week, Toronto bested Philadelphia, 16-13. Actually, it was more like the Wings gave the Rock a victory. A team simply cannot give up a 5-0 lead in the first quarter in their own building. Throw in a Toronto short handed goal on a 5 on 3 and it is easy to see why this team is on the bottom looking up. Brandon Miller, who had been outstanding all season, simply was not on his "A" game. Moreover the defense who plays Toronto at least twice a year for the past decade simply cannot understand that Toronto plays a "pick and roll', nothing fancy, a pick and roll.
At the halfway point the reality is that Philadelphia simply cannot afford to lose more than two more games. 10-6 is going to be the playoff cutoff. Too many teams are too good. Look at the Division, the Wings can play with any of the teams. But shorthanded goals and 5-0 deficits are not getting it done.
Philadelphia,PA- Just past the halfway point in the 2011 season, it has become clear that the Philadelphia Wings are in the same position they have been in for the last six seasons. Each year, the team starts off slowly based on a number of issues, including, having the new faces mesh as a cohesive functioning unit. Slowly, they get their legs and begin to improve. Generally, the team fails to make the playoffs and management responds by bringing in a lot of new faces. The cycle continues year after year.
This off-season indicated storm clouds on the horizon. New Coach John Tucker clearly was putting his finger prints on this team. John Mouradian, one the great minds in the game, was brought in to be the GM. Issues began almost immediately. Geoff Snider was sent packing in a controversial trade. Dispersal draft saw Philadelphia sitting with the pick that could have been Casey Powell. Instead, they moved the pick. Newcomers would include Paul Dawson who has been a good addition. Brendan Mundorf, who finally found his scoring touch. Ryan Boyle, who has been a major disappointment. Thomas Hajek was not brought back and the defense seemed to be strong in the early going without his presence. Lately, it has been a different story. But, the defense would not be as heavily counted on if the offense was a bit more effective. Far too many dropped or missed passes and far too many bad decisions on shots. After all, a cadaver can stop a shot from 25 feet that is right in his stomach.
The past week, Toronto bested Philadelphia, 16-13. Actually, it was more like the Wings gave the Rock a victory. A team simply cannot give up a 5-0 lead in the first quarter in their own building. Throw in a Toronto short handed goal on a 5 on 3 and it is easy to see why this team is on the bottom looking up. Brandon Miller, who had been outstanding all season, simply was not on his "A" game. Moreover the defense who plays Toronto at least twice a year for the past decade simply cannot understand that Toronto plays a "pick and roll', nothing fancy, a pick and roll.
At the halfway point the reality is that Philadelphia simply cannot afford to lose more than two more games. 10-6 is going to be the playoff cutoff. Too many teams are too good. Look at the Division, the Wings can play with any of the teams. But shorthanded goals and 5-0 deficits are not getting it done.
Sunday, February 27, 2011
Slow start dooms Wings
By Tom Hoffman
For the first time this season the Philadelphia Wings did not score the first goal of the game at home. And by the time they did get on the board they were already facing a five goal deficit that they would not be able to overcome in a 16-13 loss to the league leading Toronto Rock Saturday at the Wells Fargo Center. While the 13 goals scored was a season high, the Wings would set an all time low for attendance as only 7,082 were there to witness the game.
Brandon Miller may be starting the All Star Game tomorrow for the East but he did not look anywhere close to an All Star in this game, struggling to make just 24 saves and failing to make a key save when the Wings could've really used one. And there were certainly more than a few times that a big save might have helped turn the tide in a key divisional matchup. For the second straight home game the Wings would come back to close to within a goal but could not equalize or go ahead. Tonight the moment would occur in the late moments of the first quarter and first seven minutes of the second quarter when Brendan Mundorf and Drew Westervelt, with two goals each, would help the Wings cut a 6-1 Rock lead down to 6-5.
For Mundorf, who did not suit up last week in Buffalo, those two goals equalled his output in his first seven games. Yet much like their last game at home the Wings rally would be muted by a run by their opponent, in this case a Toronto run of five goals that extended their lead to 11-5 just 30 seconds into the 2nd half. Athan Iannucci would start a three goal run for Philly but after a Garrett Billings goal that survived a challenge by Wings coach John Tucker, the teams would end up trading goals the rest of the evening.
Mundorf's night would see him add two more goals and finish with a nine point evening (4G, 5A), as did Iannucci while Alex Turner would chip in with a hat trick. Billings would lead all scorers with 10 points for Toronto while career Wing killer Colin Doyle quietly notched nine points.
For the Jekyll and Hyde Wings, a big back to back weekend awaits starting with a Friday night rematch with the Rock in Toronto before heading home to face former teammate Geoff Snider and the Calgary Roughnecks who will just be happy to still be playing lacrosse following this week's news that the franchise may not be able to finish the season due to lacking finances. If the Wings are to secure a postseason berth they may very well have to sweep this weekend set; a tall task given their lackluster history at Toronto's Air Canada Centre and their dismal record (1-4) this season in front of the home fans.
For the first time this season the Philadelphia Wings did not score the first goal of the game at home. And by the time they did get on the board they were already facing a five goal deficit that they would not be able to overcome in a 16-13 loss to the league leading Toronto Rock Saturday at the Wells Fargo Center. While the 13 goals scored was a season high, the Wings would set an all time low for attendance as only 7,082 were there to witness the game.
Brandon Miller may be starting the All Star Game tomorrow for the East but he did not look anywhere close to an All Star in this game, struggling to make just 24 saves and failing to make a key save when the Wings could've really used one. And there were certainly more than a few times that a big save might have helped turn the tide in a key divisional matchup. For the second straight home game the Wings would come back to close to within a goal but could not equalize or go ahead. Tonight the moment would occur in the late moments of the first quarter and first seven minutes of the second quarter when Brendan Mundorf and Drew Westervelt, with two goals each, would help the Wings cut a 6-1 Rock lead down to 6-5.
For Mundorf, who did not suit up last week in Buffalo, those two goals equalled his output in his first seven games. Yet much like their last game at home the Wings rally would be muted by a run by their opponent, in this case a Toronto run of five goals that extended their lead to 11-5 just 30 seconds into the 2nd half. Athan Iannucci would start a three goal run for Philly but after a Garrett Billings goal that survived a challenge by Wings coach John Tucker, the teams would end up trading goals the rest of the evening.
Mundorf's night would see him add two more goals and finish with a nine point evening (4G, 5A), as did Iannucci while Alex Turner would chip in with a hat trick. Billings would lead all scorers with 10 points for Toronto while career Wing killer Colin Doyle quietly notched nine points.
For the Jekyll and Hyde Wings, a big back to back weekend awaits starting with a Friday night rematch with the Rock in Toronto before heading home to face former teammate Geoff Snider and the Calgary Roughnecks who will just be happy to still be playing lacrosse following this week's news that the franchise may not be able to finish the season due to lacking finances. If the Wings are to secure a postseason berth they may very well have to sweep this weekend set; a tall task given their lackluster history at Toronto's Air Canada Centre and their dismal record (1-4) this season in front of the home fans.
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