A week ago, Blaze Riorden put the final nail in the coffin, securing a 12-11 victory against the Georgia Swarm.
Today, the Philadelphia Wings were unlucky. A shot, clearly crossing the goal line, was upheld as a no-goal. Doug Jamieson acted as a brick wall, showing why he’s among the elite goaltenders. Kevin Crowley, after the game, said this about Jamieson:
“I think [Doug] Jamieson is a great goaltender, and having him back there, packing it around him and making him see the shots he wants to see is playing to their favor.”
Kevin Crowley; 1/15/2022
I asked Paul Day about the adjustments made in the second half on offense. The Wings were shooting from the perimeter, trying to get Jamieson to budge. Looking for the second man, the open man, was on the game plan. Philadelphia nearly doubled their scoring production once they focused on peppering Jamieson with a higher shot volume. Day commented:
“We tried to move off ball and clear the middle out. The first half, we were throwing to the guy cutting; he was not open. It’s the second guy that’s always going to be open. In the second half, we did a much better job being physical and getting through the middle.”
Paul Day; 1/15/2022
Joe Resetarits and Corey Small secured the hat trick for their teams. Despite his performance, Small felt the offense “underachieved.” Day mentioned the Wings didn’t have the tightest week of practice.
Overall, the Albany FireWolves improve to 2-2 following the 9-8 win. These two teams meet again on April 16th, 2022.
Odds and Ends
Today was the one-hundredth career NLL game for John Ranagan. He is one of a handful of veteran players Day was sure to have on his roster. Including Ranagan with Small, Alex Crepinsek, Brock Sorensen, and Ben McIntosh, these veterans total 589 NLL starts. Veteran leadership and a championship pedigree are what Day maintains after the NLL expansion before this season. Expect the Wings to recover this season from their 3-2 record.
Up Next
Next, Philadelphia takes on the Rochester Knighthawks (2-1.)
The Knighhawks destroyed the FireWolves last month, 16-7. Following today’s performance, the Wings are the underdog. However, Philadelphia will face Rochester on the back end of a back-to-back weekend schedule.
Dan Carey accepted a two-year extension to remain the general manager of the Knighthawks. Carey is at the foundation of building a successful expansion franchise.
“He exemplifies all the right characteristics necessary to grow an expansion franchise both on and off the field.” – Minter 1/13/2022
Rob Minter; 1/13/2022
Since 2019, Philadelphia are 2-1 versus Rochester. At home, the Wings are 2-0 in that period. Away, they’re 0-1. They’ll host the Knighthawks at 7pm on January 22nd, 2022.
(Photo Credit: Alex McIntyre)
