On Saturday night the (1-0) Philadelphia wings took on the (2-0) Toronto Rock. This game was big for both teams as they both try to stake their early claim to being top in the east.
The Rock came out pumped up for their home opener in front of the hometown fans. The Rock came out firing as they outclassed the Wings early. The goalies were the early story of the game as both goalies were on top of their game in the first period. Brandon Miller had to stand on his head in the first but was beat twice in the period by Josh Sanderson and Stephan Leblanc as the Rock took a 2-0 lead after the first. In the second period the Rock continued to dominate the Wings but Miller kept the game close for the Wings as he made some big saves in the period. The Rock would take a too many men penalty five minutes into the period and the Wings quickly capitalized on the power play as Kevin Crowley scored to bring the Wings within one. The Rock would answer back though as Rob Marshall hooked up with Patrick Merrill coming off the bench to give the Rock the 3-1 lead at half.
The Wings came out with a renewed focused in the third quarter as Brodie Merrill scored 2 minutes into the period with a wrap around goal to make the score 3-2. Drew Westervelt would then slam dunk a goal behind Nick Rose just a minute later in order to tie the game 3-3. The Rock were not down for long though as Scott Evans hooked up with Casey Beirnes to give the Rock the 4-3 lead. The Rock would continue to build on their momentum as Garrett Billings scored to give the Rock a 5-3 lead at the end of 3.
In the fourth quarter Nick Rose continued to stand tall as chants of Rosey filled the arena as Rose was frustrating the Wings. The Wings would draw within one as Kevin Ross scored to make it 5-4. The Captain of the Rock Colin Doyle would take over as he scored to make it 6-4. Doyle would then add another goal a minute later to take a 7-4 lead. The Rock looked to have this game in hand as Rose was standing tall and frustrating the Wings. Joel White would start the comeback for the Wings as he scored a goal while flying through the air after being hit to draw the Wings within two as the score was now 7-5. The Wings finally seemed to find the solution for Nick Rose as Kevin Ross would score to draw the game within one before Kevin Crowley scored the game tying goal. The game looked like it was headed to overtime as the final minute played out but the Wings would find a way to win Drew Westervelt scored a wraparound diving goal to give the Wings the 8-7 victory.
The Wings showed a lot of grit in this game as they never gave up on the road despite Nick Rose frustrating them for three periods. Drew Miller should be given the credit for the Wings win as he stood on his head for most of the game and kept it close as he had 53 saves on the night and was stellar in net.
The Toronto Rock failed to close out this game as they let their foot off the gas pedal in the fourth quarter and played sloppy defense. Nick Rose was stellar all game but the Wings solved him late in the game and were able to complete their comeback.
This was a tough game for the Rock to lose but gives fans a look at how tough the east will be this year as both the Rock and Wings appear to be ready to battle to the end in order to make the playoffs.
