The Philadelphia Wings used a 6-0 run to turn a 3-goal deficit into a 3-goal lead and take an eventual 15-13 win over the Georgia Swarm on Saturday night in Duluth, GA. The victory snapped an eight-game losing streak for the Wings and kept their playoff hopes alive with two games remaining in the season.
The game had an inauspicious start for Philadelphia, as the Swarm sprinted out to a 6-2 lead in the first 18:07 of the contest. Four of those goals came in the first seven minutes, and the run spelled the end of the evening for Nick Damude, who was replaced by Deacan Knott for the rest of the way.
But that change seemed to light a fire under the club, as the Wings scored six of the next seven goals to tie the game and then trailed just 8-7 at halftime. After Joe Resetarits completed a hat trick to knot the score 1:41 into the third quarter, Georgia then bagged three goals in 54 seconds to take an 11-8 lead.
But Philadelphia bounced back once again and took the lead for good during the 6-0 run, with Sam LeClair’s goal making it 12-11 just under four minutes into the final quarter. Georgia managed two more goals, but did not get any closer.
Resetarits scored four and added seven assists for an 11-point game, while Blaze Riorden had a hat trick and four assists for a seven-point night, his highest single-game total since he had a career-high nine points against the Swarm on March 18, 2023. Riorden now has single-game totals of nine points, eight points and seven points that have all come against Georgia and represent three of the four highest single-game totals in his career.
Phil Caputo recorded his first hat trick as a Wing and his first overall since a five-goal game on January 27. 2024 with Panther City; he added an assist for a four-point game. Mitch de Snoo, Evan Messenger and Sam LeClair each had a goal and two assists. Dalton Young made his NLL debut and recorded four assists.
Knott earned the win with 25 saves on 32 Georgia shots in 41:53 of action. Damude stopped seven of 13 he saw in 18:07.
The Wings will wrap up their home regular season schedule next Saturday when they take on the Swarm once again, this time at Wells Fargo Center, in a 7pm start.
