Wings revised 2009 schedule

By Tom Hoffman

With the announcement of the Chicago Shamrox folding yesterday, the National Lacrosse League revised its 2009 schedule. For Wings fans, the home dates and opponents will remain the same but now the Minnesota Swarm will make a second visit to the Wachovia Center on February 21, the night the Shamrox would've played in Philadelphia. The road schedule had a few more tweaks done to it. Gone, in addition to Chicago, are visits to Minnesota and San Jose, replaced by a second trip to Rochester (January 10) and a weekend trip to Edmonton and Portland (February 27 and 28). The Wings visit to Madison Square Garden also was a casualty of the new schedule, that game is now on February 8 at Newark's Prudential Center. Here is the new Wings schedule for 2009 (home games in bold):

Sat. January 3 at Buffalo 7:30

Sat. January 10 at Rochester 8:05

Fri. January 23 Boston 8:00

Sat. January 24 at Boston 7:30

Fri. February 6 Buffalo 8:00

Sun. February 8 at New York (Prudential Center) 7:00

Fri. February 13 Boston 8:00

Sat. February 21 Minnesota 7:30

Fri. February 27 at Edmonton 9:30

Sat. February 28 at Portland 10:30

Sat. March 14 Minnesota 7:30

Sat. March 28 Colorado 7:30

Sat. April 4 at New York (Prudential Center) 7:30

Sun. April 5 New York 2:30

Sat. April 11 Toronto 7:30

Sat. April 18 at Rochester 7:35

In the Shamrox dispersal draft, also done yesterday, the Wings took Mat Giles. Giles had 27 goals and 23 assists last season for Chicago and is a 10 year veteran in the NLL.

Where Are They Now?: Garrett Burnett

By:Kevin M.Neibauer

Garrett Burnett, former NHL player with the Anaheim Mighty Ducks, former long-time minor leaguer who played in six different leagues on thirteen different teams.

Burnett, always known as a fighter, fought Scott Parker 11 times in his career, including three times in one game.

Burnett realized his dream when he finally made it to the National Hockey League and played one season as the Ducks enforcer, the tough guy actually got to feel the thrill of scoring an NHL goal.

Ice time dwindled and Burnett switched sports, he went back to Western Canada and signed up to play professional lacrosse.

The Vancouver native may go down in history as the most popular player in minor league history. With a heart and personality far bigger than his talent, Burnett won fans over with his movie star good looks and rugged “never say die” attitude that everyone loves.

Always the last to leave the autograph sessions and always making time for a child, Burnett came across as everyone’s brother, son or more importantly, their friend.

When he wasn’t playing hockey, he could be found on the Lacrosse rink. Burnett played on the legendary Burnaby Lakers team that featured two future hall of fame goaltenders, Pat O’Toole and Dallas Eliuk.

Burnett was a third string goaltender who also played the field, normally a defender, Burnett gained a reputation with Eliuk.

“He was always in the middle of things, big hitter, he could play a little bit…” said the now retired netminder.

All of that ended on Boxing Day in 2006, the 6’-3” 235 pound tough guy entered a bar in Vancouver with a friend for a night on the town.

The establishment apparently was host to a collection of thugs and unsavory types. At least two men started an argument with the Burnett party and things came to a head. The exchange began to get physical, and while the bouncers idly sat by, Burnett was hit with a barstool and rendered unconscious.

The injuries were life threatening and left Burnett in a coma. If not for the fact that an off-duty EMT was on the scene, Burnett may have died.

“They (doctors) said that it probably because of my being in such good physical shape, it probably saved my life.” Burnett commented.

Of course, his playing days are over. He now is an outpatient who is working on his physical and mental impairments.

Burnett is still unable to drive, has nerve damage in his face, “pins and needles” in his face, orbital damage and still some swelling in the brain that causes memory loss.

Does he complain? No. In fact he spends his time working in the Vancouver community and “trying to give something back to the communities in the cities that I played.”

“The fans have been great, I get letters from everywhere, I can’t wait to get into Philly and see my old friends….see how big some of the kids have grown, see the faces of these people.”

His main passion these days is a charity for children with LUPUS and arthritis. Celebsforkids.ca is an organization that celebrities and athletes such as Burnett use to gather memorabilia for auctions,

Burnie also keeps himself busy with the Seniors in Vancouver, visiting and playing BINGO and trying to make a difference.

Burnett freely admits that his parents, Bob and Vicci and his sister were by his bedside, “Non stop from the day of the accident.” His parents are currently on a cruise and Burnett expects to have Christmas with his family.
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Wings come back to defeat Titans in scrimmage

By Tom Hoffman

In a spirited pre-season scrimmage at the Center Circle in Rahway, NJ, the Philadelphia Wings used a solid second half to defeat the New York Titans 13-11 Saturday evening. While the game did take place at the Titans practice facility, the group of fans there gave it a definite pro-Wings feel.

"I thought it was a good game by both teams," Wings coach Dave Huntley said. "I was real pleased with a lot of the new stuff we're trying to do. A lot of our new guys did a good job."

Wings fans worried about about the losses on offense (Jake Bergey, Jamie Rooney and Jason Crosbie), as well as how Athan Iannucci will be after his recovery from knee surgery, had to impressed with the play from two returnees. After sitting out last season due to visa issues, Kyle Wailes played like he hadn't missed a beat, putting up four goals. Drew Westervelt added three tallies, including a shorthanded no look, back to the net roll shot that obviously surprised Titans goalie Matt Vinc early in the second quarter while the Wings were killing off a five minute major to Taylor Wray. Wailes's play definitely caught his coach's eye.

"It was good to see Kyle Wailes back," Huntley said. "Obviously he's a real good player and he played terrific. It didn't look like he hadn't played lacrosse for a year."

Also scoring for the Wings were Merrick Thomson (two goals), A.J. Shannon, Kyle Sweeney, Geoff Snider and Taylor Wray. Rob Blasdell played 55:05 and gave up 10 goals in a solid effort. Rookie free agent Mickey Hover finished the game for Philadelphia. Marc Burton had a hat trick for New York while Mike McLellan, Jamie Rooney and Jordan Hall each added two scores. Titans coach Ed Comeau used four goaltenders in the scrimmage (Matt Vinc, Erik Miller, Kurtis Wagar and Angus Dineley). Missing from the Wings lineup last night were Rob Van Beek, Brandon Miller, Sean Thomson and Jim Borell. Rookies who impressed were Jordan Levine and Matt Bocklet.

The Wings trailed 4-3 after the first quarter and 8-6 at halftime before breaking the game open with a 4-0 third. The teams traded goals in the fourth with the Wray icing the game with an empty netter with under three seconds to play. For the Wings this will be their lone pre-season action as they prepare for the regular season opener January 3 in Buffalo against the defending champion Bandits.

2009 Season-What to Expect

By-Kevin M. Neibauer

With the 2009 National Lacrosse League just around the corner, I wanted to take a look at the upcoming season and what appears to be a drastic new look for your Philadelphia Wings.

Jake Bergey, Jamie Rooney, Peter Jacobs, and Jason Crosbie....none are returning. That is a lot of experience that the Silver (Red) and Black are losing.

Crosbie, Jacobs and Bergey all brought leadership and experience to the locker room.

Rooney, put points on the board, although he faded in the latter stages of the season, his contributions carried this team at times.

Bergey had one of his most productive seasons ever and was rewarded by being exposed (again) to the Expansion Draft.

Jacobs was seeing less and less time due to the emergence of Geoff Snider, but, Jacobs was one of the biggest leaders of the club. His presence, along with the presence of Crosbie certainly helped the younger players along.

Athan Iannucci....what else can be said. Without a doubt, the biggest question for this team. Will he return to his old form? Will the knee hold up?

Clearly 70 goals is asking a lot, but how about 50? It is tough to expect that kind of production again, especially with Iannucci coming off the injury and Philadelphia seriously lacking a second proven scorer.

Will Merrick Thomson play up to his billing? Thomson was superb at times last season, but was also nearly invisible on occasion.

So, where will the goals come from? Who steps up? Will Jim Borell or David Mitchell become the surprise break-out player of the season?

Pat Heim showed some skill at times, Drew Westervelt is another player who will be counted on to step it up.

AJ Shannon may turn out to be the key to the offense this season. Has Shannon gotten back into paying shape? Is he ready to emerge as a leader?

Geoff Snider....simply needs to play his game. Snider struggled early last season, taking a lot of penalties and simply making bad decisions. Snider is one of the most explosive players in the game and will do his part to win a few games with heart alone.

Snider needs to realize that he is a constant target of the opposition due to his heart. He needs to keep his emotions in check. It is time for Snider to step up and accept his role as a team leader.


Defensively, the Wings had a ton of talent, but have a problem with cohesion and the abiity to play a solid game.

Kyle Sweeney should only get better, the return of Kyle Wailes won't hurt either. Taylor Wray and Tom Hajek are solid. Rob van Beek needs to have a big season.

Goaltending...which Blazer do we see? The one who played lights out for most of the home schedule? or the Bazer that played like the lights were out on the road?

Brandon Miller should be able to fill in nicely, in fact, Miller could compete for the starting spot.

Dave Huntley did a nice job with the team last season. He will have his work cut out for him this season.

The Philadelphia squad made the playoffs last year, so logically, they need to do at least that much.

Minnesota is out of the Division, but New York has gotten even stronger and Rochester will always be a threat as long as Gary Gait is playing.

Buffalo of course is Buffalo, tough to play every year. Even if you beat them, they play a physical game that takes a toll on players. How will Sean Greenhalgh rebound? He improves the power play just by being on the foor.

Toronto went through a of of adversity last season, with questions about the coaching staff and the impending retirement of Jim Veltman. The Rock may be the weak link of the Division....or maybe not.

Boston is putting together a nice squad, Tom Ryan has added Dan Dawson, a legit goal scorer who will mesh nicely with Jake Bergey (If Bergey plays)

Chicago has been steadily improving the past two seasons. Are they ready contend for a playoff? Of course.

So, where will Philly finish?


Remember, you get what you pay for and these predictions were free....

Wings will lose their first two (road games in Buffalo and Minneota)
win their next three (Chicago and Boston twice)
lose to San Jose
defeat Buffalo
Boston
Chicago
lose to New York
defeat Minnesota (OT)
defeat Colorado
New York
lose to New York
defeat Toronto
Rochester

So, that makes them 11-5....or maybe 5-11.....


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Wings open Training Camp

By Tom Hoffman

The Philadelphia Wings will begin preparations for the 2009 NLL season when they open training camp on Friday, November 21 at United Sports Training Center in Downingtown, PA. All practices are free and open to the public.

As the season approaches, look for interviews and preview articles leading up to the season opener January 3 in Buffalo.