The Philadelphia Wings found themselves stymied by the defense of the Las Vegas Desert Dogs on Saturday night, succumbing in a 10-7 setback in Henderson, NV.
Philadelphia scored first in the contest when Brennan O’Neill started things off 60 seconds into the game. But Las Vegas recorded the next four goals, giving them a 4-1 advantage after the first quarter that was just enough to last the rest of the night.
The Wings pulled within a goal during a very stingy second quarter that saw only three goals scored total. The teams traded tallies into the third quarter, with Philadelphia again closing the gap to just one goal on two more occasions. But with his team up 6-5 late in the third quarter, Adam Poitras put the game out of reach with a natural hat trick. He found the net with just over two minutes left in the third and then twice in the first six minutes of the fourth quarter, giving Las Vegas a 9-5 lead. The Wings scored twice more in the fourth but could not come any closer.
O’Neill scored twice and had three assists for five points while recording 12 shots on goal. Joe Resetarits contributed four assists, while Eric Fannell had a pair of goals and two assists for a four-point night. Michael Sowers, Chris Corbeil and Phil Caputo had the other goals for the Wings.
Nick Damude went the distance in net for Philadelphia, making 48 saves on 58 Las Vegas shots. Nick Rowlett got the best of the faceoff battle, going 16-for-21.
The Wings will return home to host the San Diego Seals this Friday, Janaury 23 at 7:00.
