Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 1/20/11
From Press Release
The Philadelphia Wings shoot for their first win of the National Lacrosse League season Saturday night when they travel to the Colorado Mammoth (1-1) at the Pepsi Center (9:00) for their first road win of the year.
The game will be broadcast live on the Comcast Network – and the Wings need to win it.
The Wings are 0-2 after last weekend’s 9-6 loss to Buffalo. Standouts for Philadelphia against the Bandits were former league MVP Athan Iannucci (two goals, two assists and seven loose balls), forward Drew Westervelt (two goals, five loose balls), transition specialist Max Seibald (one goal, one assist) and goalie Brandon Miller (41 saves on 49 shots).
Series Notes:
Overall: Wings lead 5-3
At Philadelphia: Wings lead 3-1
At Colorado: Tied 2-2
Last Meeting: January 23, 2010; Colorado won in Philadelphia 12-11 OT (Wells Fargo Center)
About the Mammoth:
The Mammoth (1-1) are currently tied for second in the NLL’s Western Division. They are sixth in the league on the power play, converting on 30% of their opportunities, and fourth in the League on the penalty kill at 64%. The Mammoth are 0-1 this season at home.
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.
About the Wings:
The Wings play in the NLL Eastern Division. Philadelphia is seventh in the league on the power play, converting on 52% of its chances, and tied for fifth in the league on the penalty kill at 68%. The Wings are 0-2 at home for the season.
Athan Iannucci leads the Wings with 3 goals and 4 assists. Teammates Drew Westervelt and Alex Turner have also scored three goals each. Goalie Brandon Miller boasts the third best save percentage in the league at 81.6% and the fourth best goals against, surrendering an average of nine a game.
The Comcast Network will broadcast three upcoming Wings games Live and one Classic:
Friday, January 21st at 7:00 p.m. vs. New York – 1989 Wings Championship game
Saturday, January 22nd at 9 p.m. @ Colorado Mammoth
Saturday, January 29th at 7 p.m. vs. the Colorado Mammoth
(Comcast SportsNet replay: Saturday, February 5th at 4 p.m.)
Saturday, February 26th 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 team’s offensive progression:
“I am very happy with the progress from game one to game two,” said Tucker. “We generated a lot of shots and competed for the entire 60 minutes.
“This week we are really going to focus on driving the center of the field and getting inside shots. One thing we do not want to be is a perimeter team. We are going to keep getting better.”
On Traveling to Colorado:
“Bob [Hamley] is a great coach, and they have a wonderful staff. The change in altitude will be tough, but we’re looking to get in early, practice Friday night and be ready for the game.”
Mammoth Head Coach Bob Hamley on the overtime win in Calgary:
“Anything can happen in a six-on-five. [Cliff Smith] made a great play, got his hands free and landed a great shot. We were very happy to get the win on the road in Calgary, excited to get back home and look forward to playing Philly.”
The next Wings home game is on Saturday, January 29 against the Colorado Mammoth at the Wells Fargo Center at 7 p.m.
Leave a Reply