The Philadelphia Wings: Love Is In the Air

By Ted Montour

Champions again, the Philadelphia Wings enter the NLL's fifth season just like they finished its first in 1998.



The bedrock pro lacrosse club will have to fight hard, however, to have a shot at a repeat. The Wings' major task in the off-season was to rebuild their front office. With General Manager Jim Rogers on his way to New Jersey, Marty O'Neill was named to take his place. The veteran goaltender (and lacrosse equipment designer) had retired after eight MILL / NLL, and thirteen WLA, seasons between the pipes.




Then, 14-year Wing, Head Coach Tony Resch announced his retirement from professional lacrosse, leaving a huge vacancy for O'Neill to fill. In August, the Wings announced that former assistant coach and player Adam Mueller would replace Resch. Even amidst turmoil, the Wings prevail, however, as co-owner and original Wing Mike French was inducted into the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame.


The Wings most notable loss in the expansion draft was Defender and face-off man (112 won last season) Jamie Hanford, taken by New Jersey. Dallas Eliuk ended the speculation, started by his own musings in post-Champion's Cup game interviews, to announce that he would return for another season between the pipes.

    
Kevin Finneran

Veteran Forward Kevin Finneran (23 goals, 39 assists, 3rd in team scoring last year) was left unprotected in the expansion draft, was not selected, and was subsequently re-signed.

O'Neill traded his first-round entry draft pick to Buffalo for Attacker Keith Cromwell (152 goals 144 assists in 55 games at Rutgers, and all-time goal scoring and points record holder), originally drafted by Columbus and traded to the Bandits.

From their remaining draft selections, the Wings signed Forward Matt Striebel, a Princeton attacker who had 43 goals and 74 assists in his career as a Tiger. Striebel had 2 goals and 2 assists in Princeton's 10 - 9 overtime championship win over Syracuse in the 2001 NCAA final.

    
Dallas Eliuk

Dallas Eliuk, the dean of NLL 'tenders, was second last season to the Rock's Bob "Whipper" Watson in wins with nine, third in goals-against average (11.95), and third in minutes and saves. Chris Sanderson and Nick Schroeder wait in the wings (sorry).


The defence is anchored by Captain Dave Stilley and Tom Phair (who will likely step in as the primary draw-man with the departure of Peter Jacobs), with able support from Tom Slate, Andrew Martin and Josh Ruhle.



Jake Bergey led the Wings last regular season with 43 goals and 43 assists, and Tom Marechek's 48 goals put him 3rd among NLL shooters. While Mark Millon will surely be missed to open the season, almost 80% (163 goals) of the Wings' offence last season, with Finneran (23 goals), Jeff Ratcliffe (21), Jason Clarke (18) and Tom Ryan (10), return to start this campaign. Cromwell and Striebel can be expected to contribute in their debut season.


E-Lacrosse quality logo gear!


The Wings begin defence of their 2001 title with five straight road games, including a trip to Vancouver (Sunday, December 9) to play the expansion Ravens at GM Place. Phillie fans (average attendance 15,173 last winter, second only to the Rock) will have to wait until January 18, 2002 to see the latest Champion's Cup banner raised to the rafters at the First Union Centre, prior to the game against the Saints. By then, the Eastern Division standings could look interesting, especially since the expansion New Jersey Storm will already have played half of their schedule, albeit with only two of those against Division rivals.

The Wings' schedule includes inter-divisional home-and-home series with the Knighthawks, Bandits and Rock, starting with a December 15 visit to Rochester, and finishing with their two games against Toronto. The second half of their schedule features six at the First Union Centre, including a five-game home stand that begins at the mid-season turn.





With the Saints and the Power both looking to unseat the champions and gain the Division-winning seed for the play-offs, the Wings and the Wingnuts will be grateful for every one of those second-half home dates. Philadelphia is the only contending team that did not get noticeably younger, heading into 2001-02. Eliuk and company have a wealth of big-game and post-season experience, and the championships to prove it, but they will have to, at some point this season, find some second wind.

The Eastern Division SHOULD produce three play-off bound teams, but if the Wings do not dominate the second half of their own regular season, they could bring March in like lions, only to finish with the NLL lambs. A Champion's Cup repeat might not be in the cards, even though Philly fans are rooting for nothing less.


The Wings Fan Club site is awesome!


1/13/02

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