The Ottawa Black Bears grounded the Philadelphia Wings in a solid 13-5 victory in Philadelphia Friday night as the Wings continue their losing streak.
Ottawa played a physical game. Combine that with the solid between the pipes play of former Philadelphian Zach Higgins, the Wings could not keep up.
Ottawa ended the first quarter 3-2 with goals from Jeff Teat, Larson Sundown, and Reilly O’Connor. Philadelphia had goals from Brennan O’Neill and Phil Caputo. Those two goals came on power plays. It was clear that Ottawa’s aggressive style of play stunned the Wings.
Quarter 2 saw the Black Bears go on the prowl. They amassed 5 goals to Philadelphia’s lone goal that was scored by Blaze Riorden. It was rhe the T and T combination of goals by Taggart Clark and Teat that seemed to clip the Wings before O’Connor added his second of the night. The Wings, stymied by progress and goals, went to their locker room to regroup.
And their goal scoring slump continued in quarter 3 as they were shutout by the Black Bears. The lone goal came from Teat. Tempers flared, sticks went flying, and Philadelphia once again found itself in an insurmountable offensive hole that it could not claw out of.
The last quarter saw the battle of twos. Ottawa scored 2, followed by 2 from Philadelphia, and ending with 2 from Ottawa to round out the solid win. Callum Jones and Connor Kearnan scored for Ottawa before Clark added his final 2 of the game. Joe Resetarits and Evan Messenger each added one for Philly.
Head Coach Ian Rubel addressed the media staying, “it’s mental preparation. At this level, it doesn’t matter who you are playing against. If you’re not mentally prepared to start this game—mentally, emotionally, you’re going to get the starts we have.” Unfortunately those starts have prevented the Wings from winning games. The Wings will have one final shot at a home win against Georgia on April 5th.
