Friday morning the Philadelphia Wings will face-off against the Rochester Knighthawks, that’s right Friday MORNING. The Wings will hold a business person/kids education special at 11am. The Wings luck against the Knighthawks is anything but good. Last time the Wings defeated the ‘Hawks you have to go back to January 10,2009 as the Wings won 16-13. The last time the Wings beat the ‘Hawks in Philadelphia, you need to go back to January 18,2008 a 15-14 Wings victory. Since then Rochester as rolled off 10 straight victories including last years 14-13 playoff victory. This is a streak the Wings and their fans want to stop.
The Wings are coming off a bye week after losing their last two games, 14-13 to Buffalo and a 16-8 home loss to Calgary. This will be the adversity test so many of the lacrosse media has been waiting to see the Wings handle. Wings are led by Kevin Crowley (9G/10A), Kevin Buchanan 4/13, Jordan Hall 4/12 and Kevin Ross 7/8. Brandon Miller has been very strong in net with a 10.06 GAA with a 80.9% save percentage.
The Knighthawks are coming off their first victory a 7-6 win over the Stealth. This was a rematch from the opener in which the Stealth were victorious 13-12. The Hawks may be at 1-3, but they are playing back to back games that can pull them to a 3-3 record and they like nothing better then to start the weekend off with another win over the Wings. This will be the return of Dan Dawson and his brother Paul to the Wells Fargo Center for the first time since the trade prior to the start of the season. No doubt all players involved, Paul Rabil, Jordan Hall, Joel White, along with the Dawson brothers, they will have a little extra in there step as they face there former teammates
Knighthawks are led by Cody Jamieson 7G/10A along with Cory Vitarelli 7/4 and Dan Dawson 1/10. The Hawks also have lacrosse sensation Casey Powell, #2 overall pick from 2012 Stephen Keogh, Joe Walters, Mike Accursi, and between the pipes Matt Vinc. Vinc has a 10.75 GAA and a 79% save percentage and showed what he can do last week allowing only 6 goals versus the Stealth.
For the Wings to win this game they must score early and often to force Rochester to take chances on the offensive end. They have to play disciplined lacrosse, and the defense must stay “on the hands” of their scorers and not allow them any room to shoot. They must also capitalize on power play opportunities and odd man rushes.
Rochester’s mission is the same. They must start strong. With their win last week and most of the players knowing what they have done to the Wings the past 3 years, there is no doubt Rochester will be up for this game
Look for my post-game write-up Friday night, along with a few interviews.
