Weekend a sweeping success for Wings

By Tom Hoffman

Following two ugly losses at home the Philadelphia Wings were looking for some good fortune as they headed into a back to back weekend facing the Rochester Knighthawks and Colorado Mammoth.  And after getting past a rough first quarter in Rochester in which they trailed 4-0, the Wings were able to put a solid game together and came back to defeat the defending champion Knighthawks 10-8 on Saturday before heading home and completing a weekend sweep by derailing the Mammoth 14-12 overcoming yet another slow start.

Going into Rochester to face a team they had not beaten in their last 11 tries (including last season’s playoff matchup) going back to 2009; the first quarter deficit was one that would’ve buried some recent Wings squads.  But on this night the Wings would dominate the rest of the way, outscoring the Knighthawks 10-4 over the final 45 minutes of play and getting stellar play in goal from Brandon Miller.  Getting this win over the Knighthawks was a big deal to the Wings.

“To get that monkey off our back and to know we can get a win off of them, that’s huge for our confidence down the stretch,” Wings forward Kevin Ross said following Sunday’s game.

And Sunday’s win over Colorado followed the pattern of Saturday’s game as the Wings, after scoring the game’s first goal, fell behind by 5-2 late in the first quarter to continue what has been a season long trend of slow starts since their opening night win against the Buffalo Bandits. 

“It takes us a little bit to get going,” Wings coach Johnny Mouradian said.

Once the Wings got going in Sunday’s game, they took a 9-7 lead into halftime and would not give up the lead en route to a well earned win that put them back over the .500 mark.   Having a big weekend for the Wings was Drew Westervelt, who followed a four point night (2 goals, 2 assists) in Rochester with a four goal and five point day against Colorado.  Kevin Crowley had an 11 point weekend while Brandon Miller picked up after his slow start in Rochester to have a strong effort against the Mammoth.  The Wings were also helped by two roster moves made during the week to provide some veteran stability to a young team when they added Mike McLellan to the forward ranks and also brought back defenseman Kyle Sweeney.

For the second time this season the Wings will take a two game win streak into Buffalo when the face the Bandits on Friday night.  And not have to worry should they get off to another slow start.

“We gotta realize that if they score early there’s a lot of game, a long way to go,” Ross said.  “Realize that it’s a 60 minute game and it doesn’t matter if you’re losing in the first quarter.  It’s what happens at the end of the game that matters.”

 

Drexel Hosts No. 16 Albany in Home Opener on Saturday

from DrexelDragons.com

Philadelphia, Pa. - The Drexel men's lacrosse team opens its home schedule on Saturday afternoon as it hosts the 16th-ranked University at Albany. Face-off is scheduled for 1 p.m. at Vidas Field.

Drexel opened the season last Saturday at No. 7 Virginia and nearly knocked off the Cavaliers. The Dragons trailed by two goals late in the fourth quarter, but rallied to tie it with just 10 seconds left when Ryan Belka evened the score at 12-12, However, the Cavaliers won the opening face-off in the overtime period and scored just 11 seconds into the extra period as Virginia escaped with a one-goal win against the Dragons for the second straight season.

Ben McIntosh picked up his first career hat trick for the Dragons. Nick Trizano, Frank Fusco, Andrew Vivian and Aaron Prosser each had a pair of goals. Freshman Will Gabrielsen, in his first collegiate game, made 15 saves for the Dragons.

Albany opened its season on Sunday with a 16-15 victory in double overtime against No. 13 Syracuse. The Great Danes got off to a quick start and had an 8-4 lead late in the first half, before the Orange scored 10 second half goals to force overtime. Lyle Thompson had two goals and six assists to lead the Great Danes, while Ty Thompson scored five goals.

Tickets for Saturday's game are $5 in advance and $8 at the door. Call 1-866-4DREXEL or visit drexeltickets.com to purchase tickets. Youth tickets (12 and under) and Drexel students with a valid ID are free. Due to the threat of inclement weather, the game will not have video streaming. Live stats will be available.

Wings Lacrosse 2013 (2-23-13 at Rochester, 2-24-13 vs. Colorado)

By Tom Hoffman

Coming off of a second bye week and looking to end a three game losing streak, the Philadelphia Wings (2-3) will travel to face the defending champion Rochester Knighthawks (3-4) on February 23 in the opener of a back to back weekend that concludes on February 24 with a home matchup against the Colorado Mammoth (2-4).  Game time Saturday in Rochester is at 7:30 PM while Sunday’s game at the Wells Fargo Center is at 4 PM.  Both games can be seen live at www.youtube.com/thelacrossenetwork.

History

The Wings are 15-27 all time against the Knighthawks in regular season play, 5-15 in Rochester.  The Knighthawks have won 10 consecutive regular season games against the Wings including their 20-10 thrashing of the Wings on February 8 at the Wells Fargo Center.  Against Colorado the Wings are 30-14 all time and 16–6 in Philadelphia including the Mammoth’s previous seasons in Baltimore (1987-1999), Pittsburgh (2000) and Washington (2001-2002). Since the team’s move to Denver the Wings are 8-4 overall, 4-2 in Philadelphia.

Last Time Out

The Wings last played on February 8 when they dropped a 20-10 decision at the Wells Fargo Center to Rochester.  Brodie Merrill notched a hat trick for the Wings while former Wing Dan Dawson had an 11 point game with four goals and eleven assists.
Rochester saw a three game win streak come to an end last Saturday as they fell at home to the Buffalo Bandits 10-6.  Colorado dropped their second game in a row on Saturday losing 14-7 to the Edmonton Rush at the Pepsi Center. 

Trivia

These three players played for both the 2001 Wings and the 2006 Colorado Mammoth championship teams.  Name the players. Answer will be listed below.

Notes and stuff

The Wings haven’t swept a weekend of back to back games since 2011 when they defeated the Boston Blazers 11-5 on January 28 in Boston then came home on January 29 to defeat the Colorado Mammoth 12-11.

On this date

The Wings are on 0-1 on February 23 losing in 2002 to the Columbus Landsharks 15-14 in overtime at the First Union Center.  On February 24 the Wings are 3-3.  In 1989 they defeated the New England Blazers 16-11 at the Centrum in Worcester.  In 1996 they defeated the Boston Blazers 12-10 at the Spectrum and in 2001 defeated the Buffalo Bandits 17-12 at the First Union Center.  In 2006 the Wings lost 12-11 in overtime to the Toronto Rock at the Air Canada Centre, in 2007 they lost 13-12 to the Bandits at HSBC Arena and in 2012 the Wings lost 12-10 to the Edmonton Rush at Rexall Place.

Answer

Dave Stilley, Jamie Hanford and Jay Jalbert played on both championship teams.   

Next Game

The Wings will return to action on March 1 when they travel to Buffalo to face the Bandits at First Niagara Center.

Local NCAA teams getting set for 2013 season

By Tom Hoffman

Area college lacrosse fans will have a lot to look forward to in the next few weeks as a number of games will be taking place in the Philadelphia area as the 2013 season gets into high gear.  While a number of local schools have already started their seasons, many others will be hitting the field for the first time this weekend gearing up for Memorial Day weekend’s NCAA Championships taking place at Lincoln Financial Field.

The University of Delaware Blue Hens have already played twice this season, defeating High Point then falling to Bucknell,  but will face a tough opponent this Saturday when the defending National Champion Greyhounds of Loyola University invade U of D’s Rullo Stadium for a 3 PM faceoff.  Blue Hens attackman Eric Smith missed the 2012 season due to injury but already has 6 goals and 2 assists to start the 2013 campaign and will look to add to his totals against a stingy Loyola defense that ranked fifth in the nation in 2012.  Jack Runkel will again be the starting keeper for the Greyhounds, who open the season as the top rated team in the country according to the United States Intercollegiate Lacrosse Association Coaches Poll and the Nike/Inside Lacrosse Media Rankings.   In addition, Villanova University will open their 2013 season at Villanova Stadium on Saturday hosting Lehigh University at 1 PM.  The Mountain Hawks are 1-0 already having defeated St. Joseph’s last weekend and enter the game ranked 10^th in the Nike/IL poll and 11^th in the USILA poll. 

The following weekend, more big names will take the fields in the area starting on February 22 at 7 PM when the Duke Blue Devils will faceoff at Franklin Field against the University of Pennsylvania for the Quakers season opener.  Saturday the 23^rd will see a local Division III matchup featuring Haverford College at fifth ranked (USILA) Cabrini College at 1 PM.  On February 26^th, Villanova will travel to West Philadelphia and a date with Drexel University at Vidas Field while Penn takes a ride to City line Avenue to face St. Joseph’s.

These games are just an appetizer to get local college lax fans ready for what’s coming up the rest of the season, including the Inside Lacrosse Whitman’s Sampler Independence Classic on March 9 at PPL Park in Chester.   This event, along with other key local games in March will be highlighted in the coming weeks.   Stay tuned to LaxPhilly for previews of these upcoming games across all three NCAA divisions.  

Interview With Nick Schroeder

Pictured with Dallas Eliuk, Nick Schroeder (right) in one of
his many hillarious poses that Wings fans came to
know and love

Kevin M. Neibauer recently caught up with an old friend and genuinely funny and nice guy, the one and only, Nick Schroeder.

Nick was a back-up to the legendary Dallas Eliuk....

So, let's catch up with Nick

 KMN-'How long did you play with the Wings?"

NS- "I joined the Wings in 2001 and stayed until I went to NY for their first season, I think that was in 07_08, i dont remember... too many hits to the head."

 KMN-"How hard was it too stay focused being a back-up?"

NS-"Focusing while backing up Dallas Eliuk was easy... make sure the water bottles were full and keep opening and closing the gate. Not a lot to keep straight

 

 KMN-" Since you left, you now have a family, care to talk about that?'
NS-"I love talking about my family! My daughter is 6 now and in grade one and my wife still thinks im a knucklehead for playing lacrosse still. That about covers it."

 KMN-:New Jersey Rascals, first player signed, what is your status with them?"
NS- "Who knows... that was a highlight of my career, for about 5 minutes."

 KMN- "Favorite city to play in?"
NS-"There is only one answer to that and we both now what it is."

 

 KMN-' Toughest city to play in?"
NS-"Same city! I remember my first game for the Wings playing the Washington Power in Washington. After a poor warm up in front of one fan that came early, I walked over to the bench to get a squirt of water when I noticed the fan was a cute little old lady wearing a Wings jersey so I gave a wave... She returned my friendly Canadian greeting by clearly mouthing the words "you Suck Big". I promptly let in 4 goals on 5 shots and got pulled. It was the beginning of the end".

 

 KMN- "Best teammate?'
NS-" Everybody who ever stayed in the Canadian embassy. Its a bond of silence that will last forever. Or we would all be in jail."

(The Canadian Embassy is where the players from Canada lived while in season)....a lot of secrecy!!!

 

 KMN-"Do you have a day job, or full time goalie?'"
NS-"Being a full time goalpretender was the dream for a long time but when I found out its about what you truly love to do and not have to... Thats when I became a dump truck driver."
 

 KMN-' "What advice do you have for the younger kids who aspire to be a pro lacrosse player?"
NS-"Dont be a goalie. It hurts"

.Nick Schroeder was always very kind to my daughters when they coming to games with me, he, more than others, showed them what good guys lacrosse players can be. Nick always found time, win  or lose to badger and tease me, good naturedly...always a nice word and a smile...it was an absolute pleasure to catch up with him.

Thank You Nick for doing me the honor of doing this interview!!!