Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 1/27/11
From Press Releases
The Philadelphia Wings (1-2) of the National Lacrosse League (NLL) will begin the opening leg of a weekend doubleheader Friday when they travel to the TD Garden in Boston to play the Blazers at 7:30 p.m.
Then on Saturday, the Wings return home to host the Colorado Mammoth at the Wells Fargo Center. Face-off in is set for 7:00 p.m.
After breaking through with their first win of the season last Saturday in Colorado, the Wings will look to avenge an early season loss to the Blazers, Friday, and continue their recent success against the Mammoth, Saturday. Though trailing Colorado by four at the half in their meeting last weekend, Philadelphia stormed back to score eight goals in the second frame, wining by a final score of 11-10.
Wings’ standout transition player Max Seibald ended the night with 3 goals, 1 assist and 3 loose balls. Athan Iannucci had 1 goal, 2 assist and 2 loose balls while defender Paul Dawson had 2 goals and 1 assist. Goalie Brandon Miller recorded 41 saves on 51 shots, and took home the game’s MVP honors.
Series Notes (Boston):
Overall: Blazers lead 5-2
At Philadelphia: Blazers lead 3-2
At Boston: Blazers lead 2-0
Last Meeting: January 8, 2011; Boston won in Philadelphia 10-6 (Wells Fargo Center)
About the Blazers:
The Blazers (2-2) are currently ranked fourth in the NLL Eastern Division. Boston is fifth in the league on both the power play and the penalty kill, converting 42% percent of its extra man opportunities and killing off 60% of its opponent’s. The Blazers are 1-1 this season at home.
After starting the season with a win on the road in Philadelphia and one at home over Edmonton, Boston has dropped two difficult one-goal games in a row to division rivals Toronto and Rochester. Individually, forwards Casey Powell and Dan Dawson lead the NLL in goals and assists, respectively.
Series Notes (Colorado):
Overall: Wings lead 6-3
At Philadelphia: Wings lead 3-1
At Colorado: Wings lead 3-2
Last Meeting: January 22, 2011; Philadelphia won in Colorado 11-10 (Pepsi Center)
About the Mammoth:
The Mammoth (1-2) are currently ranked fourth in the NLL’s Western Division. They are fourth in the league on the power play, converting on 42% of their opportunities, and sixth in the league on the penalty kill at 59%. The Mammoth are 1-0 this season on the road.
Following an opening night loss to Washington in overtime, the Mammoth were able to rebound on the road with a close win in Calgary. Despite forfeiting an early three goal lead, the Mammoth would claim victory in the extra session thanks to forward Cliff Smith’s second tally of the evening. Brian Langtry would lead all Mammoth scorers with three assists while Jamie Shewchuk and Steve Toll chipped in with two goals and two assists, respectively. The victory was followed by a home loss to the Wings (see above).
About the Wings:
The Wings, (1-2) are currently fifth in the NLL Eastern Division. Philadelphia is seventh in the league on both the power play, converting on 33% of its chances, and the penalty kill, successfully defending 57% of its opponent’s opportunities. The Wings are 0-2 at home for the season and 1-0 on the road.
Athan Iannucci leads the Wings with 4 goals and 6 assists for a total of 10 points this season. Teammates Drew Westervelt and Max Seibald have also scored four goals each and follow Iannucci with 7 points and 6 points, respectively. Goalie Brandon Miller boasts the second best save percentage in the league at 81.2% and the third best goals against, surrendering an average of 9.33 per game.
The Comcast Network will broadcast three upcoming Wings games Live:
Saturday, January 29 at 7 p.m. vs. the Colorado Mammoth
(Comcast SportsNet replay: Saturday, February 5 at 4 p.m.)
Saturday, February 19 at 7:30 p.m. at the Buffalo Bandits
(Comcast Network replay: Monday, February 21 at 7 p.m.)
Saturday, February 26 at 8 p.m. vs. the Toronto Rock
(Comcast SportsNet replay: Sunday, February 27 at 1 p.m.)
Coaches Corner:
Wings Head Coach John Tucker on the first win of season:
“I am very proud of our team and the way we responded. We have a tremendous amount of character in our locker room. We started to get on a roll there and hopefully we can keep that going through the weekend big weekend ahead of us.”
Wings Head Coach John Tucker on Boston’s “Big Three:”
“It is not an easy task. If you start paying too much attention to Casey then John or Dan can score. It is a tough task for anyone to defend them. Boston is going to score; we just have to score more goals than we did last time we faced the Blazers.”
Colorado Mammoth Assistant Coach Ed Comeau on the Mammoth’s loss to Philly last week
“It was a tale of two games, we played very well and controlled the game in the first half and I feel that Philly did that to us in the second half. A disappointing loss, but we are ready to go in to Philly this weekend.”
Single game tickets start at $20 and are available exclusively through ComcastTIX on line at ComcastTIX.com, by phone at 1-800-298-4200 or in person at the Well Fargo Center Box Office. Season tickets are also available by calling 215-389-WING.
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