Phillylacrosse.com, Posted 12/17/23
From Press Release
Six goals in the third quarter and stellar play from goalie Doug Jamieson propelled the Albany FireWolves (3-0) to a 15-10 win over the Philadelphia Wings (1-2) at the Wells Fargo Center Saturday.
It was a back-and-forth battle as the game was tied 6-6 at halftime, but Albany took control with a big third quarter and kept the pressure on in the fourth to secure the victory. Jamieson allowed only 4 goals in the second half and finished with 38 saves. Forwards Ethan Walker and Alex Simmons both finished with 3 goals and 5 assists to lead the FireWolves offensively. Walker also reached the milestone of 100 career points in the win. Defenseman Joe Nardella won 22 of 29 faceoffs and scooped up 17 loose balls to give Albany a huge possession advantage.
The FireWolves got off to a great start in the first quarter with three straight goals from Walker, Sam Firth, and a shorthanded effort from Tye Kurtz to go up 3-0. Philadelphia would answer back with a three-goal run of the Wings scored twice on the power play (By Joe Resetarits and Mitch Jones, 3G, 3A) and then added another by Sam LeClair on good ball movement to tie the game.
Taggart Clark then scored a diving goal for the Wings near the end of the quarter to make it 4-3. Taggart is the son of Albany Head Coach Glenn Clark and it was a special moment for the Clark family in their first experience competing on opposite teams.
Resetarits (3G, 3A) put the Wings up, 6-4, but Albany scored twice to tie it before halftime.
The floodgates opened for the FireWolves in the third quarter as Travis Longboat scored with a sneaky shot for Albany’s second shorthanded goal of the afternoon. Soon after, Simmons fired a laser past Zach Higgins, and then Nathan Grenon shot low to low to make it 9-6.
Philadelphia’s Taite Cattoni (2G, 2A) stopped the streak with a shorthanded goal to cut the lead to 9-7, but Albany responded with three more goals as Marshall Powless scored off a pick and roll, Simmons finished a feed from Walker, and Grenon added his second goal to stretch the FireWolves lead to 12-7. The Wings pulled Higgins and replace him with rookie Deacan Knott in net.
The FireWolves kept the pressure on as a bouncing ball in front of the net resulted in a Wings own goal and then Simmons fed Walker who scored on a low to high rocket to extend the lead to 14-7. The Wings finally responded with a goal, but defender Nick Chaykowsky scored right off a faceoff win to answer and score the FireWolves’ final goal that put them up 15-8. Philadelphia scored 2 late goals to make it 15-10.
