The Philadelphia Wings had a two-week bye to start the 2025-26 NLL season; whereas other teams may have seen this as an obstacle, the Wings used this time to put the final touches on a solid game plan that lifted them over Colorado 8-7 in their home opener, a game that was a nail biter for the 5,689 fans at Xfinity Mobile Arena.
Philadelphia soared out nto a stunning two-goal lead before Colorado came roaring back. The end of the first quarter had a light scoring 2-1 Philly lead. Quarter two was the strongest for Philadelphia as they outscored Colorado 5-2. Philly fans grew nervous at the half, as they expected Colorado to turn it around after the locker room chat. Colorado attempted to do this, but their one goal in quarter three and three goals in the fourth were not enough to stop Philadelphia from flying away with the W.
Philadelphia has some new faces, some players returning from injuries, and veterans to help them lead the way. Right away fans noticed a more aggressive style of play with both transitions and defense. Nick Damude stood on his head with a solid 52 saves to secure the win.
Head coach Ian Rubel commented on the change with Damude as well as the new strategies that were implemented in the off season.
“Loose balls and the way we changed from offense to defense needed to be better. Number one: loose balls. If you don’t possess the ball, you can’t do anything, and possessing the ball is the best defense. It’s a strong, strong focus on attacking loose balls this year, so you will see us play quite a bit more aggressive.”
Also commenting on the game was Landon Sinfield, a new addition to the Wings. Sinfield was a Toronto Rock draft pick in 2024 but didn’t make the team out of training camp. The free agent signing made his presence felt with athletic hustle and his first goal.
“It was a real blast. I’ve never been to Philly before. Coming out with that crowd? I didn’t realize how into the game everyone was,” Sinfield remarked. “All the cheering and the chants they’re doing. ‘Damude’s Dudes’ were hilarious. I loved it! Just to see our fans come out and support us, and then just be able to come out on top–that was a blast!”
It was a blast, but Philadelphia fans were quite nervous going into quarter 4, knowing the team’s history. Any time Dillon Ward is in the net, it is going to be challenging. By changing the typical Philly offense and slowing down some of the shots, the Wings were able to catch Ward off his game a few times. That, combined with a more aggressive style of play on transitions that was coupled with a healthy defense, allowed the Wings to rise above Colorado to hang on for the win.
Colorado’s stand outs for the night included Will Malcom with a five-point effort that included two goals and three assists. He also had the most amount of penalty minutes and caused turnovers. Robert Hope also scooped up nine ground balls in Colorado’s loss.
Sam LeClair had five assists for Philly and Dalton Young four. Joe Resetarits had two goals and one assist and newcomer Eric Fannell two goals.
Colorado has the week off before they host Georgia on December 27. Philadelphia visits Rochester on December 20. They know they will have to keep up their aggressive play if they want to keep winning.
Photos by Tracey Happold-Brown
