In a near sellout crowd, it was easy to tell that the former Wings organization moved into a growing lacrosse hotbed. Kids were coming into the game with sticks and helmets, and there were about 1,000 fans waiting at the doors before they even opened. The high intensity crowd, played at the Mohegan Sun Arena, helped carry the Black Wolves to their first ever win by a score of 12-8 over the Buffalo Bandits.
From the beginning of the game, the team created a vibe that the Native American heritage is going to be a big part of the team’s makeup. The Mohegan council put together a nice ceremony prior to the game honoring the roots of the tribe with the sound of drums and harmonious chanting.
On the field, the Black Wolves put together a show for the Connecticut crowd. lt was a mixture of a fast transition offense and strong goaltending that lead to New England’s victory. Kyle Buchanan lead New England in the goals department. Buchanan scored four goals on the night including an acrobatic, behind the back shot. Kevin Crowley also had an impressive night scoring five points in the opener.
However none stood out more than goaltender Evan Kirk. Kirk put up an impressive save percentage of .86 while being the last line of defense in multiple situations. Primarily during the second half, the Orangeville, Ontario native, put on a show. By stopping four point blank shots on a late penalty kill, Kirk managed to keep the game in New England’s favor which allowed Kyle Buchanan to sink the empty netter and seal the win.
As mentioned earlier, the team is embracing the Native American heritage that the new location offers them. According to Black Wolves head coach, Blane Harrison, the team received a traditional, hand-made, wooden lacrosse stick from the Mohegan Tribe. The stick was also blessed by the Mohegan Chief and the tribe’s elders. To keep the team close, and to build chemistry, Coach Harrison decided to use this stick as a reward item.
The stick will be given to the team’s player of the game. Today, the stick was given to first star Evan Kirk. “The guys are really buying into it. Not just as a team, but as a family,” Harrison noted after the game.
Black Wolves forward, Quinn Powless, also mentioned that the team is starting to get some chemistry going. “We are finally starting to come together as a team, everybody is starting to mesh together. Having the stick as the team MVP, it’s great. Everybody is working hard for it.”
Right now the Black Wolves are working on the little things. They are trying to do the right things in transition and be a solid team all around. The home victory is a good first step in the right direction. However, the team has a long season ahead of them. Certainly it will be interesting to see how the relocated team does and the weeks go by.
