Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 1/26/12
The Philadelphia Wings will play their first road game of the season against the undefeated Buffalo Bandits at the First Niagara Center on Friday at 7:30 p.m.
Buffalo enters Friday’s with an East Division-leading 2-0 record, after taking down the 2011 NLL Champion Toronto Rock and Rochester Knighthawks in their first two games. The Bandits have been led by superb goal play from veteran Mike Thompson, who has only allowed 19 goals through two games and has tallied a .791 save percentage. Twenty-year veteran John Tavares has also been performing well for the Bandits this season, accounting for six goals and nine assists in the first two games of the season.
The Wings are coming off a dramatic 10-9 overtime home victory against the Washington Stealth on Saturday night in which rookie Kevin Crowley scored five goals, including the game-winner. Crowley has eight goals on the season. The second game provided a dramatic turnaround from the 22-12 defeat the Wings suffered in their first game against the Knighthawks.
With a win Friday night, the Wings will improve to 2-1 and move into a first-place tie with the Bandits.
“The first game we had a lot of new faces. We really didn’t fully have the principles and plans in tact. We were tied 6-6 at half so we had some good moments,” said Wings Head Coach and General Manager Johnny Mouradian. “We go to the next game and Brandon Miller plays great. Our defense plays superb. At the end of the fourth it was tied and Kevin was able to score in overtime. We expect big things from Kevin and he came through.”
Brandon Miller was a brick wall in the team’s win over the Stealth this weekend, accumulating 49 saves against 58 shots.
“Brandon is a professional and he has been in the league for a long time,” said Mouradian. “He’s a veteran and he’s in his prime. When he sees the ball it’s like a beach ball and when he doesn’t see the ball it’s like a pea. Saturday it was like a beach ball and we need that kind of play every game.”
After Friday’s game versus the Buffalo Bandits, the Wings will return home to Wells Fargo Center to play 2011 NLL Champion Toronto Rock on Saturday, February 4 at 7 p.m.
Tickets to all Wings home games can be purchased at WingsLAX.com or by phone at 215-389-WING.
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