Wings Defeat Georgia in Overtime After Strong Defensive 2nd Half

Brett Hickey scored with 8:23 left in overtime to lift the Philadelphia Wings to an 8-7 win over the Georgia Swarm on Saturday night in suburban Atlanta. Hickey’s heroics came after Ben McIntosh posted a second-half hat trick to help erase a four-goal halftime deficit. The overtime win was the Wings’ third of the season, two of which have come against Georgia, and lifted them to 5-3 on the NLL season.

The Swarm held a 6-2 lead at halftime after opening the contest with the game’s first four goals. But Philadelphia started chipping away with two third-quarter tallies from McIntosh and one from Matt Rambo. Corey Small then tied the game 1:33 into the fourth quarter, and McIntosh completed the hat trick 85 seconds later to give the Wings their first lead of the game at 7-6.

That advantage held for a little over seven minutes until former Wing Jordan Hall re-tied affairs at the 10:05 mark.  Neither team could score through the rest of regulation, sending the contest to extra time.

Hickey’s winner came 6:34 into the extra session after several back-and-forth rushes and opportunities for both sides to win it. His over-the-top shot beat Georgia goaltender Mike Poulin between the pads and made Hickey the third different Wing to record an overtime game-winner this season.

Goaltending was outstanding at both ends, with Zach Higgins earning second-star honors with 53 saves. Poulin absorbed the loss despite stopping 40 of 48 Wings bids. McIntosh was awarded first star honors with an assist to go along with his hat trick, while Hickey finished with a pair of goals and an assist. Small had three assists along with his goal, and Kevin Crowley also scored for the Wings.  Trevor Baptiste went 15-for-20 on faceoffs and picked up nine loose balls, while Alex Pace and Ryan Wagner grabbed seven apiece.

The Wings return home next Saturday, February 5 to host the Toronto Rock at 8:00 PM on Fan Appreciation Night.  Tickets are available at WingsLAX.com.