Wings Drop First Game to Defending Champions 15-11

Published on January 3, 2009 under National Lacrosse League (NLL)
Philadelphia Wings News Release


BUFFALO, NY - The Philadelphia Wings dropped their first game of the season to the Buffalo Bandits at the HSBC Arena in Buffalo, NY. The Wings fell behind early and were not able to overtake the defending National Lacrosse League Champions. The Wings will play their second game of the season on Saturday, January 10 when they travel to the Blue Cross Arena to battle the Rochester Knighthawks at 8:05 p.m.

"Buffalo came out and played a tough game tonight," said Wings' Head Coach Dave Huntley. "We started to pick it up in the fourth quarter but we need to sustain that for a full 60 minutes." The Wings started the scoring just 10 seconds into the game when Drew Westervelt beat Bandits goalie Mike Thompson on the first shot of the season. Buffalo's Phil Sanderson tried to bring his team on even on a breakaway just one and half minutes later but was stopped by Wings goalie Rob Blasdell. The Bandits broke through on the scoreboard when Mark Steenhuis put one in the back of the net the 10:19 mark. John Tavares gave the Bandits a 2-1 lead on Buffalo's first powerplay opportunity of the game. Taylor Wray tied the game at two on a fast Wings transition with just under three minutes remaining in the quarter. Wings defender Jordan Levine took a five minute cross-check penalty and Buffalo quickly capitalized to take a 3-2 lead on their second powerplay goal of the quarter courtesy of Roger Vyse. The Wings countered with a shorthanded goal by Kyle Wailes with only 17 seconds remaining to knot the first quarter score at three.

The Wings started the second quarter by successfully killing off the remainder of the five minute major penalty that had carried over. Not long after the two squads were back even in man power, Buffalo's Roger Vyse netted his second goal of the contest to give his team a 4-3 lead and just two minutes later Kevin Dostie scored to make it 5-3 in favor of the home team. Steenhuis scored his second of the game as Buffalo doubled up Philadelphia 6-3. Newly acquired Mat Giles helped the Wings inch to within two goals with his first goal 2009 at 11:29. The two teams continued their defensive battle as the first half concluded with the Bandits maintaining their lead at 6-4.

Steenhuis opened the second half scoring on a breakaway goal at 1:43 of the third quarter. Bufffalo extended its lead to 8-4 on a perimeter shot from Cory Bomberry. Geoff Snider scored his first of the season with 7:01 remaining in the third to bring Philadelphia back within three. The Bandits stopped any Wings momentum with two consecutive goals by Kevin Dostie and Delby Powless to close out the quarter with a 10-5 lead.

The Wings switched goaltenders to start the fourth quarter and replaced starter Rob Blasdell with Brandon Miller. The change in net did not stop Buffalo from starting the fourth quarter the same way they ended the third, with a goal. Bandit Tom Montour turned a long Wings rebound into the first score of the fourth quarter. Each team then traded goals to bring the score to 12-6 with less than 13 minutes left in the game. The Wings were able to get the score within three goals as a result of consecutive scores by Giles, Westervelt, and Kyle Sweeney. John Tavares ended the Wings offensive streak with 4:55 left in the game to give Buffalo a 13-9 lead. The game then saw a flurry of three goals in 70 seconds with the Wings netting two (Wailes, M.Thomson) and the Bandits one (Tavares). The Bandits' Billy Dee Smith punctuated the fourth quarter when he scored an empty net goal to give Buffalo a 15-11 victory.

Leading the Wings in scoring were Geoff Snider with six points (1G, 5A), Drew Westervelt with five points (3G, 2A), Kyle Wailes (2G, 1A) and Mat Giles (2G, 1A) each with three points, Kyle Sweeney and Merrick Thomson each with one goal and one assist, as well as Taylor Wray who added a goal. Goaltender Rob Blasdell made 25 saves and Brandon Miller made 9.

Leading the Bandits in scoring were Mark Steenhuis with eight points (4G, 4A), John Tavares with five points (3G, 2A), Kevin Dostie (2G, 2A) and Roger Vyse (2G, 2A) who each had four points, Thomas Montour with three points (1G, 2A), and Delby Powless (1G, 1A), Billy Dee Smith (1G, 1A), and Cory Bomberry (1G, 1A) who each had two points. Goaltender Mike Thompson made 32 saves.

The Wings will open their home schedule at the Wachovia Center on January 23 at 8 p.m. when they take on the expansion Boston Blazers. Guarantee great seats for the home opener and all of 2009 by reserving your season tickets now! Season Tickets are on-sale with Lower Level seats starting at just $21 per game. To purchase tickets or receive more information call (215) 389-WING (9464) or visit WingsLAX.com.

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National Lacrosse League Stories from January 3, 2009


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