Comeback not enough for Wings after another opening zero

By Tom Hoffman

For the second game in a row, and third time this season, the Philadelphia Wings found themselves held scoreless after the first quarter. And for the third time, the Wings found themselves on the losing end of this type of game. After yet another comeback that had this game looking like it would go into overtime, Minnesota's Chad Culp scored on a behind the net shot with 4.5 seconds left in regulation to give the Swarm their third straight win, 13-12 over the host Wings.

The Wings looked lackluster at best in the horrid first, outscored 4-0, outshot 15-5 and outhit on numerous plays. Faceoffs were a problem as well as Geoff Snider, despite taking part in the pre game warmup, was a scratch as he recovers from the trachea injury suffered two weeks ago in Edmonton. Athan Iannucci finally got the Wings on the board 5:30 into the second quarter and his second goal of the night late in the stanza allowed the Wings to trail by just two scores at halftime. The teams traded goals in the third, the Wings twice getting within a goal before Minnesota answered with a goal of their own.

The Wings caught fire in the fourth as goals from Iannucci (his fourth of the night), Rob Van Beek and Merrick Thomson gave Philly its first lead of the night at 10-9. Former Wing Dan Marohl continued to be a thorn in the side of his former team as he tied the game just 24 seconds after the Wings took the lead. Iannucci's fifth of the night gave the Wings their last lead of the night as Minnesota would reclaim it on goals from Aaron Wilson and Sean Pollock. When Thomson potted his third of the night with 1:25 left in regulation it appeared the Wings would force overtime, maybe even pull out a late win, until Culp's last second heroics sent the Swarm home victorious.

Rob Blasdell did a solid job in relief of starter Brandon Miller, making 41 saves and keeping the Wings in the game. Iannucci added three assist to his five goals for his best game of the season while Van Beek and the Swarm's Sean Pollock gave the fans a Flyer type highlight with a toe to toe bout early in the third quarter. For Dave Huntley's squad, they now find themselves in fifth place with the loss and have another week off before hosting the Colorado Mammoth on March 28. With five games remaining, there will need to be some sense of urgency if the Wings want a return to the postseason. And the scoreless first quarters will need to be put to rest.

Wings 2009 Game 11 (vs. Minnesota 3-14-09)

By Tom Hoffman

Fresh off the National Lacrosse League's All Star Break, the Philadelphia Wings (4-6) will begin their push towards the postseason when they host the Minnesota Swarm (4-5) Saturday evening at the Wachovia Center. Faceoff is at 7:30 and can be seen live on NLL.com.

History

With their 13-12 win over the Swarm on February 12, the Wings are now 5-6 all time vs. Minnesota and 3-2 in Philadelphia. In that game, Athan Iannucci celebrated his return to the lineup with a three goal, two assist performance. Merrick Thomson also added three goals and Mat Giles tallied a goal and five assists. Former Wings Ryan Ward (3G, 2A) and Dan Marohl (1G, 5A) paced the Swarm.

Last Games

The Wings split a back to back weekend prior to the All Star Game, defeating Edmonton 14-9 on February 27 before falling to Portland the next night 12-10. Against the Rush, Merrick Thomson scored six goals and A.J. Shannon added four to lead the Wings while Brandon Miller made 39 saves in goal. In Portland, the Wings trailed 5-0 after the first quarter before making the game close. Thomson added three more goals and Kyle Wailes added three in the losing effort. Minnesota swept a weekend series away from home, defeating Toronto and Buffalo to end a five game losing streak.

All Stars

The Eastern Conference won their third straight All Star Game 27-21 over the West in front of a crowd of 13,380 at Denver's Pepsi Center. The Wings Drew Westervelt scored a goal and added three assists while Kyle Sweeney had a goal and an assist. Westervelt replaced teammate Geoff Snider, who missed the game due to a tracheal fracture suffered in the Wings game at Edmonton.

New Wing

Prior to the game in Edmonton the Wings signed Jon Harasym, who had been released by the Toronto Rock. To make room on the roster, Jim Borell was released. Borell was picked up by San Jose.

Next Game

After a week off, the Wings return home on March 28 to face the Colorado Mammoth.

Wings 2009 Game 9 (at Edmonton 2-27-09) and Game 10 (at Portland 2-28-09)

By Tom Hoffman

After a much needed win last weekend, the Philadelphia Wings (3-5) head out West for a tough pair of matchups. Friday night the Wings will be at Rexall Place to square off with the Edmonton Rush (3-5) with a 9:30 PM faceoff. Saturday the Wings will head to Portland to meet the Lumberjax (4-3) at the Rose Garden. Saturday's faceoff is at 10:30 PM. Both games can be seen live on NLL.com

Histories

The Wings and Rush have met just once, in the 2007 season opener in Edmonton. The Rush won 13-12 on a last second goal by Randy Daly after Kyle Wailes had tied the game with 1:49 remaining in regulation. Wailes (3G, 3A), Geoff Snider (G, 2A) and Athan Iannucci (3G) each made their Wings debut that night. The Wings are 1-2 against Portland, each team winning on the road. Last season the Wings made their first ever visit to Portland and came back to defeat the Jax 13-10, using a 6-2 fourth quarter to overcome a six goal night from Portland's Dan Dawson. Brandon Miller earned the win in goal with 45 saves while Athan Iannucci had a six goal night of his own.

Last Game

The Wings stopped a two game losing streak with a 13-12 win over the Minnesota Swarm Saturday night. Athan Iannucci returned to the Wings lineup with a five point night (3G, 2A) while Drew Westervelt also added five points (2G, 3A) and Merrick Thomson also chipped in with a hat trick. Portland last played February 7 when they defeated San Jose 16-13 in Portland.

More All-Star info

The Wings added another member to the Eastern Conference All Star team when defenseman Kyle Sweeney was named as one of the reserve players. Sweeney will join Geoff Snider in Denver on March 7, for Sweeney this will be his first NLL All Star appearance.

Wings Mid-Season records (last five seasons)

2008: 7-1

2007: 4-4

2006: 4-4

2005: 3-5

2004: 4-4

Quotes

Wings coach Dave Huntley on the upcoming weekend: "Edmonton's a big, physical defense. They've got some very talented guys on the front door and a goalie, Chugger (Steve Dietrich), with great experience. Our reward for playing them Friday is we get to play the "Oregon Redwoods" of the Lumberjax. They're a gigantic team. It'll be a real challenge."

Next Game

Following the All Star break, the Wings will return home to face the Minnesota Swarm on March 14.

Wings rediscover the win column against Swarm

By Tom Hoffman

After last week's humiliation at home against the Boston Blazers, the Philadelphia Wings needed a night like last night. Getting their # 1 weapon back in the lineup (Athan Iannucci), facing an opponent struggling almost as bad as the Wings have been (four straight losses prior to last night) and had also played the night before (home against Boston) seemed to be the perfect tonic for the Wings. A quick start allowed the Wings to hold on at the end and defeat the Minnesota Swarm 13-12 before a season high of 10,559 at the Wachovia Center.

The teams were in a snarling mood even before the opening faceoff as the Wings Geoff Snider and Minnesota's Ryan Cousins had to be separated by the officials. The Wings got off to the fast start they needed in the first, getting a hat trick from Merrick Thomson and a tally from Geoff Snider to take a 4-0 lead. Former Wings Ryan Ward and Dan Marohl would combine on the Swarm's first two goals to make the game 4-2 Wings after the first. After Ryan Sharp scored one minute into the second to get Minnesota within a goal Wings fans got to see what they have been missing all season, an Athan Iannucci score just nineteen seconds later. The 2008 MVP would add a second goal later in the quarter and assisted on Drew Westervelt's goal that gave the Wings an 8-4 halftime advantage.

Kyle Wailes opened the second half scoring for Philadelphia before Minnesota began to show some life on the floor. The Swarm scored five of the next six goals to cut the Philly lead to 10-9 before Westervelt's second of the night and a one from Rob Van Beek restored the three goal cushion. The eventual game winning goal came after Minnesota's Kevin Fines brought the Swarm within two and was a show of pure beauty and strength. Iannucci took a feed from A. J. Shannon and one handed a shot past Swarm keeper Kevin Croswell to put the Wings up 13-10.

"It was a great pass by A.J.," Iannucci said. "Put it right in my stick."

The Swarm would get the game's last two scores, the last by rookie Brad Favero with 1:08 left in regulation but the Wings were able to hold off the Swarm and walk off with the victory. Hostilities didn't end with the final whistle as Snider and Minnesota's Ryan Sharp were exchanging words in the handshake line.

While Mat Giles led all Wings scorers with six points (1G, 5A), it was Iannucci the fans were concerned with, and he did not disappoint with a five point night (3G, 2A). Afterwards, he felt like a player in his first full game of the season.

"I felt a little slower than I wanted to," Iannucci said. "I'm just sore all over, tired. You can practice all you want but there's no substitute for a game."

Fortunately for Wings fans, the knee Iannucci had injured last summer was feeling fine. His presence back in the lineup certainly sparked the offense, which goalie Brandon Miller noticed as well.

"Our offense really stepped up tonight," Miller said. "After that debacle last week it sure was nice to see everyone came to play tonight. It was a great team win."

Miller had 39 saves in the cage for the Wings but felt it was not one of his better games.

"I think the guys bailed me out tonight," Miller said. "I wasn't having my strongest game, I was, for some reason, just a little bit off tonight."

While quite happy with the win, Wings coach Dave Huntley saw some things that he felt still needed some improvement heading into the second half of the season.

"I thought we came out with great energy," Huntley said. "I'm disappointed that at this stage of the season we still aren't buying into possession before transition and just getting off the floor. We still have to buy into the idea of getting off the floor and picking the ball up before we run up the floor."

The Wings will look to maintain that energy when they hit the road for a pair of games out West, Friday night in Edmonton and Saturday night in Portland.

Wings 2009 Game 8 (vs. Minnesota 2-12-09)

By Tom Hoffman

Following one of the worst games in team history, the Philadelphia Wings (2-5) will head into midseason with a match against the Minnesota Swarm. Faceoff Saturday night is at 7:30 PM and the game can be seen free on NLL.com for those who can't make it to the Wachovia Center.

History

The Wings are 4-6 all time vs. the Swarm, including 2-2 in Philadelphia. Last season the teams split the season series, each team winning at home. The Wings outscored Minnesota 11-1 in the fourth quarter en route to a 17-8 win February 22 in Philadelphia. Athan Iannucci led the Wings with six goals that night. On April 12, the Wings were less than two seconds from victory when former Wing Dan Marohl tied the game with a power play goal to force overtime where the Swarm won on a Sean Pollock goal 1:19 into the extra session. The Wings had trailed at halftime 10-3 before their comeback. Iannucci only scored three goals that night but one was goal number 62 breaking Gary Gait's single season record. The Wings will also face the Swarm in Philadelphia on March 14.

Last Game

The Wings were held to four goals in an 8-4 loss to the Boston Blazers last Friday night. Brandon Miller was the lone Wings highlight with 48 saves in net. Minnesota was idle last week but will play twice this weekend, starting Friday night at home vs. Boston.

You're an All Star (again)

For the third consecutive season, Geoff Snider will represent the Wings in the NLL All Star Game March 7 in Denver. Last season Snider earned MVP honors in the East's 17-16 OT win in Edmonton. In his previous two ASG appearances, Snider has six goals and five assists to go with 50 loose balls and 53 faceoff wins. The Wings could have some extra representatives when the reserves for the East are announced later this week.

Next Games

The Wings will hit the road for back to back games starting February 27 when they travel to Edmonton to face the Rush before heading to Portland to meet the Lumberjax on February 28.