Wings Defeat Riptide 11-5

Kevin Crowley posted a first-half hat trick to lift the Wings to a lead they would not relinquish as Zach Higgins and the Wings defense locked things down to support an 11-5 victory over the New York Riptide at Nassau Coliseum on Saturday night. The win kept the Wings in a playoff spot headed into their cross-country trip to visit the San Diego Seals next Friday night.

The Wings opened up a 3-0 lead by scoring three times in 58 seconds during the first quarter, with Kyle Jackson, Crowley, and Kiel Matisz finding the net in that order to jump-start the offense.  Cory Vitarelli and Crowley would add two more to the ledger opposite a pair of New York goals to give the Wings a 5-2 lead after the first quarter.

Crowley completed the hat trick 4:43 into the second quarter, and Sam LeClair added another between bookended New York goals, making it a 7-4 Wings lead at halftime.

Higgins and the Wings defense held New York to just one goal in the second half, a breakaway tally 8:43 into the fourth quarter. Other than that, Higgins was perfect in the second half; he made 38 saves on 43 New York shots over the course of the evening.

Crowley added four assists to his hat trick for a seven-point evening, while Matisz had two goals and four assists for six points.  Jackson had his third consecutive game of five or more points since joining the club, bagging a pair and adding three helpers. LeClair had a goal and two assists for a three point game, as did Vitarelli; Blaze Riorden also scored twice and added an assist. Trevor Baptiste went 13-for-19 on faceoffs.

The Wings now get set to visit the San Diego Seals next Friday night.