Wings Drop Another at Home

The Halifax Thunderbirds used a 5-0 run midway through the second half to outdistance the Philadelphia wings by an eventual 14-10 final at Wells Fargo Center.  Halifax received goal contributions from 10 different players as they won for the fourth time in five games.

The Thunderbirds used their transition game early to jump out to a 5-1 lead through the first 12 1/2 minutes of the contest. Halifax scored three of those goals in transition, allowing them to build a cushion that absorbed a Wings three-goal run late in the first and early in the second quarters. Halifax added two more late in the second and led the game 7 to 4 at halftime.

Philadelphia’s best work of the game came early in the third quarter as they outscored Halifax 4-1 over the first 5:10, a stretch that culminated in Michael Sowers’ first NLL goal. But that point was where Halifax’s game deciding 5-0 run started and the Wings didn’t find the back of the net again until halfway through the fourth quarter when Sowers tallied his second. Joe Resetarits completed a hat trick with an extra attacker with just under two minutes to play, but the Wings could not get any closer.

Halifax’s well-spread-out offense was led by hat tricks from Mike Robinson and Ryan Tarafenko. Nobody else on the Thunderbirds roster scored more than one goal. Mitch Jones had another outstanding game for Philadelphia with a goal and eight assists for nine points, while Resetarits added three assists to his hat trick for a six-point day. Brendan O’Neill, Holden Cattoni, Phil, Caputo, and Blaze Riorden had a goal apiece and Sowers added an assist for a three-point NLL debut.  Nick Damude made 48 saves in absorbing the loss.

The Wings will head to Halifax for the back half of a home-and-home series between the teams next Saturday, February 15 at 6 PM. Their next home game is at Wells Fargo Center on March 8 when they host the Albany Firewolves at 7 PM.