Wings 2010 Schedule

By Tom Hoffman

The Philadelphia Wings schedule for the 2010 season has been released. The Wings will open their 24th season of play on January 8 when they travel to Orlando, FL to meet up with the Orlando Titans, who transferred to the Sunshine State from the New York City area. The Wings home opener will be the following weekend on January 16 against the Boston Blazers. All home game will be on Saturday nights.

2010 Regular Season Schedule (All times ET)

*Schedule is subject to change

Friday, January 8 Philadelphia at Orlando - 7:35 PM

Saturday, January 16 Boston at Philadelphia - 7:00 PM

Saturday, January 23 Colorado at Philadelphia - 7:00 PM

Saturday, January 30 Philadelphia at Boston - 1:00 PM

Friday, February 5 Philadelphia at Toronto - 7:30 PM

Saturday, February 6 Orlando at Philadelphia - 7:00 PM

Saturday, February 13 Buffalo at Philadelphia - 7:00 PM

Saturday, February 20 Rochester at Philadelphia - 7:00 PM

Saturday, February 27 Philadelphia at Buffalo - 7:30 PM

Saturday, March 6 Philadelphia at Calgary - 9:30 PM

Friday, March 12 Philadelphia at Orlando - 7:35 PM

Saturday, March 13 Minnesota at Philadelphia - 7:00 PM

Saturday, March 27 Boston at Philadelphia - 7:00 PM

Saturday, April 3 Toronto at Philadelphia - 7:00 PM

Saturday, April 10 Philadelphia at Rochester - 7:35 PM

Saturday, April 17 Philadelphia at Minnesota - 8:35 PM

NLL Championship Preview

By Tom Hoffman

Just two teams remain standing in the 2009 National Lacrosse League season and Friday night, one will be hoisting the Champion's Cup. The Calgary Roughnecks and the New York Titans will meet at Pengrowth Saddledome to decide who is the league's best team. Faceoff is at 9:30 ET and can be seen on the NLL Network at NLL.com.

History

The two teams have only met once previously and that was this season. Calgary traveled to Madison Square Garden and defeated the Titans 12-10 on February 28th. Kaleb Toth scored three goals and added three assists while Dane Dobbie had five points on three goals and a pair of helpers. Mike McLellan led the Titans with six points on two goals and four assists while Brendan Mundorf added a hat trick. Matt King made 33 saves for Calgary while Matt Vinc stopped 48 Roughnecks shots in the NY goal. New York played that day without Casey Powell and Patrick Merrill.

Playoff History

Calgary is 6-5 all time in the postseason, 3-3 at home. New York is 3-1 overall and 1-1 on the road. This will be the Roughnecks second Champion's Cup final (they defeated the Buffalo Bandits in 2004) while the Titans are making their first appearance in the finals.

How they got here

Both teams have been successful at home in the 2009 postseason. Calgary defeated the Colorado Mammoth in the West semis 15-8 before taking down the San Jose Stealth 17-5 in the West finals. New York needed overtime to beat the Rochester Knighthawks 11-10 at Madison Square Garden then hopped across to New Jersey and the Prudential Center to beat the Buffalo Bandits 9-3 in the East finals.

Who's Hot

For both teams it's easily the goaltenders. New York's Matt Vinc has a 6.38 goals against with 72 saves in his two games while Calgary's Matt King has a 6.50 GAA and 82 saves. Vinc held the Bandits to just three goals last Saturday while King shut out the Stealth for just over three quarters. The postseason goal and assist leaders are in Calgary (Tracey Kelusky with 8 goals and Josh Sanderson with 11 assists) while the Titans Casey Powell is the overall leader (6G, 9A) with 15 points.

Who has the rings?

Calgary has six players on their roster (Kelusky, King, Kaleb Toth, Andrew McBride, Devan Wray and Kyle Goundrey) who helped the Roughnecks to their 2004 NLL title. In addition, Toth (2000), Josh Sanderson (2005) and Pat Campbell (1999, 2000) won championships with the Toronto Rock. For New York, Patrick Merrill won twice with Toronto (2003, 2005) while Dave Stilley won in 2001 with the Philadelphia Wings and again in 2006 with Colorado. Bill Greer won in 2007 with Rochester.

Pick

Both teams have solid goaltending and have shown they can shut down a high powered offense. Their regular season meeting was a tight game. Calgary prevailed but New York fans might have wondered if the result could have been different with their leader (Casey Powell) in the lineup. They'll find out on Friday night.

New York 10, Calgary 8

NLL Conference Final Previews

By Tom Hoffman

Down to four teams remaining in the hunt for the National Lacrosse League's Champions Cup, on Saturday night we'll find out who will be meeting in the league's title game next weekend. Here's alook at Saturday's games. Both can be seen free on NLL.com.

Eastern Conference Final

Buffalo Bandits (11-6) at New York Titans (11-6), 7:30 PM at Prudential Center

Regular Season: NY won the season series 2-0.

Playoff History: The teams met at HSBC Arena in last season's East Final, won by Buffalo 19-12.

How they got here: Buffalo avenged a season-ending loss when they defeated the Boston Blazers 11-8 in Buffalo last Saturday. Mark Steenhuis scored four times for the Bandits while Ken Montour made 47 saves. New York scored three times in the final 7:39 of regulation before winning in overtime 11-10 over the Rochester Knighthawks last Friday at Madison Square Garden. Casey Powell scored the game's final three goals and had four total with four assists to pace the Titans.

X-Factors: Both teams have explosive offenses in front of solid goaltenders (Buffalo's Ken Montour, New York's Matt Vinc). Which offense will have the better success? John Tavares had 12 points in last season's East Final, can the NY defense keep him in check?

Western Conference Final

San Jose Stealth (8-9) at Calgary Roughnecks (13-4), 9 PM at Pengrowth Saddledome

Regular Season: Calgary won both meetings in 2009.

Playoff History: Calgary won the only postseason meeting, 15-14 in the 2004 Division Semi-Finals.

How they got here: San Jose won on the road 20-16 against the Portland Lumberjax last Friday night. Colin Doyle led the Stealth with nine points (2 goals, 7 assists) as Tyler Richards won his playoff debut in net. Calgary dominated the Colorado Mammoth 15-8 last Sunday in Calgary. Matt King made 40 saves for the Roughnecks while Dane Dobbie added seven points on three goals and four assists.

X-Factors: San Jose only won twice on the road during the season but knocked out the home Lumberjax. Can Calgary take advantage of the home support and host next week's Championship game? Which former Toronto Rock star will shine brightest, San Jose's Colin Doyle or Calgary's Josh Sanderson?

NLL Playoff Preview (Conference Semi Finals)

By Tom Hoffman

With the regular season now in the rearview mirror, the 2009 National Lacrosse League postseason is set to begin Friday May 1st. With two games Friday, one Saturday and one Sunday, it shapes up to be a busy weekend. With that in mind, Laxphilly.com presents its preview of the opening round action.

Friday May 1

Rochester Knighthawks (7-9) at New York Titans (10-6), 7:30 PM at Madison Square Garden

Regular Season: New York won the season series 2-1.

Playoff History: first ever meeting.

Team Leaders:

Rochester: Goals: Shawn Evans (30), Assists: Shawn Williams (67), Points: Williams (93), GAA: Pat O'Toole (10.74).

New York: Goals: Casey Powell (40), Assists: Jordan Hall (56), Points: Powell (85), GAA: Matt Vinc (11.33)

X-Factors: Jamie Rooney scored seven goals in 10 games for the Titans before being dealt to Rochester at the trade deadline. After scoring five goals for the Knighthawks in seven games, will he be looking to show something to his former team? Which former Syracuse star will be on top, NY's Powell or Rochester's Gary Gait.

San Jose Stealth (7-9) at Portland Lumberjax (9-7), 10:30 PM at the Rose Garden

Regular Season: Portland won the season series 2-1.

Playoff History: This will be their second meeting. Portland won 18-16 in the 2008 West SF.

Team Leaders: San Jose: Goals: Colin Doyle (38), Assists: Doyle (73), Points: Doyle (111), GAA: Matt Roik (11.37).

Portland: Goals: Peter Morgan (29), Assists: Ryan Powell (44), Points: Powell (62), GAA: Matt Disher (10.80).

X-Factors: Portland is 0-1 in home playoff games. While Jax keeper Disher played in last season Champion's Cup final, San Jose's Roik has never played in the NLL postseason.

Saturday May 2

Boston Blazers (10-6) at Buffalo Bandits (10-6), 7:30 PM at HSBC Arena

Regular Season: The teams split the season series 1-1, each winning on the road.

Playoff History: First meeting between the current teams. Buffalo was 2-0 against the original Blazers (1992, 1993).

Leaders: Boston: Goals: Daryl Veltman (34), Assists: Dan Dawson (74), Points: Dawson (104), GAA: Anthony Cosmo (10.14).

Buffalo: Goals: Mark Steenhuis and John Tavares (51), Assists: Steenhuis (50), Points: Steenhuis (101), GAA: Ken Montour (9.57).

X-Factors: Dan Dawson is looking to appear in his fourth NLL title game in five seasons (2005, 2007, 2008). Buffalo is looking to win back to back titles and their fifth overall (1992, 1993, 1996, 2008).

Sunday May 3

Colorado Mammoth (7-9) at Calgary Roughnecks (12-4), 5 PM at Pengrowth Saddledome

Regular Season: The teams split their season series 1-1, each winning at home.

Playoff History: This will be their fourth playoff meeting. Calgary has a 2-1 edge, winning the most recent meeting in 2008.

Leaders: Colorado: Goals: Brian Langtry (38), Assists: Gavin Prout (48), Points: Langtry (79), GAA: Andrew Leyshon (10.93).

Calgary: Goals: Dane Dobbie (41), Assists: Josh Sanderson (74), Points: Sanderson (103), GAA: Matt King (10.23).

X-Factors: How well does ex-Roughneck Leyshon know his former teammates? And how much offensive support will he receive from a Mammoth offense that struggled for most of the season?

Wings dismiss Lindsay Sanderson

By Tom Hoffman

On April 22, the Philadelphia Wings announced that General Manager Lindsay Sanderson had been relieved of his duties after five seasons. During his five seasons as GM, the Wings had a record of 37-43. Sanderson also spent his first three seasons with the Wings as coach, compiling a record of 20-28 before he was replaced by Dave Huntley. No successor has been named yet.

Stay with Laxphilly.com for all Wings moves during the offseason.