For Wings, another makeover, another opening game loss

By Tom Hoffman

Much like last season the Philadelphia Wings entered their Natioanl Lacrosse League season opener following a massive roster overhaul that again included a trade of a fan favorite. And once again the Wings gave their remaining faithful a sign that change doesn't grant immediate success. Except for a five minute flurry in the 2nd quarter and a Broad Street Bully-like final 26 seconds of play, the Wings looked lost in their 22-12 defeat to the Rochester Knighthawks before 8,813 at the Wells Fargo Center on Saturday night.

There were very few bright spots in a game in which the Wings never led. After Max Seibald brought the Wings within a goal just under six minutes into the first stanza, the Wings were lit up for four consecutive scores to trail 6-1 after the opening 15. Philly then had its first highlight moment of the evening when they ripped off five goals in a stretch of 4:28 to tie the game at six. Included in this run were the first Wings goals for Kevin Crowley, Mike Hominuck and Dan Dawson. Crowley's first NLL goal came 2:15 after his first NLL point, an assist on a Drew Westervelt goal. The good vibes on offense would end there as the Knighthawks would counter with three goals to take a 9-6 halftime lead and then add four more to start the third and turn the game into a rout and chase Wings goalkeeper Brandon Miller.

The remainder of the second half belonged to Rochester on the scoreboard and to the Wings on the penalty sheet. With 26 seconds to play in a game that was already settled the Wings decided to take a page from the Flyers old playbook and goon it up with the Knighthawks. In round one the Wings David Brock and Rochester's Kyle Laverty went at it twice while Thomas Hajek, in his return to the Wings, and Tyler Burton of Rocheste also squared off. Just nine seconds after that a second donnybrook took place, one which ended in a ridiculous goalie fight between the Wings Kurtis Wagar and the Knighthawks Jake Henhawk. When the dust cleared the two teams combined for over 210 penalty minutes and some likely suspensions.

Crowley tallied three goals and five assists in his NLL debut to highlight the game for the Wings. For the Wings it was the first time giving up 20+ goals in agame since the Knighthawks did it to them on March 29, in a 20-12 final. It was also the second most goals the Wings have given up in a game, the worst being a 26 goal pounding in 2001 at Buffalo. The Wings will need to tighten up on defense and look for more consistency next week as the Washington Stealth will be coming into town on Saturday.