Wings lose in Mississauga

Sam LeClair recorded his second hat trick of the season but it wasn’t enough for the Wings to keep pace with the Toronto Rock in a 15-8 loss in Missisauga on Saturday night.

Toronto took a 3-0 lead in the first five minutes of the game and held it the rest of the night. The Wings were limited to two goals in the first half, one from Liam Patten and the other from Brennan O’Neill, and trailed 8-2 at halftime.  That gap remained relatively consistent throughout the second half, as Philadelphia and Toronto essentially exchanged goals until the Rock went on a 3-0 run in the fourth quarter.

The Rock became the first team this season to hold Mitch Jones without a goal in a contest, and they didn’t allow a goal to Joe Resetarits until 2:00 left in the game; Resetarits added three assists to lead the Wings in scoring with four points. Jones did chip in three assists, while Michael Sowers had a goal and two assists. Shane Simpson scored the other goal for Philadelphia.

Nick Damude started for Philadelphia and played a total of 15:51, stopping 16 of the 22 shots he faced. Deacan Knott played 44:09 and made 26 saves on 35 shots.

The Wings are back at home next week to host the Ottawa Black Bears on Friday night, March 28. Face-off is at 7:00 PM.