The Philadelphia Wings did their best to fight through a stingy Albany defensive front, but couldn’t quite catch the Firewolves in a 9-8 loss. The setback marked Philadelphia’s first loss on its home floor this season.
Goaltenders Zach Higgins and Doug Jamieson butted heads for the first nine minutes of the game, with neither team scoring until Joe Resetarits found the net 9:03 into the contest. Colton Watkinson grabbed the only other goal of the period to give Albany a 2-0 lead at the first quarter break.
The teams traded goals throughout the second quarter but Albany tallied first when Resetarits converted a power play opportunity 2:38 into the frame. The back-and-forth left Albany with a 5-3 lead at halftime.
Another stingy third quarter saw each team tally just once, with Andrew Kew scoring 36 seconds into the half and Corey Small bagging one with 4:41 to play. After Jacob Ruest made it 7-4 2:07 into the fourth quarter, the Wings finally got some momentum with three straight goals over the span of 3:28 from Kevin Crowley and two more from Small. But Albany stopped that momentum with another from Ruest and the third of the game from Resetarits. Blaze Riorden added one with 1:26 to play, but a concerted effort over the rest of that time proved fruitless.
Small’s four goals paced the Wings, while Crowley also contributed a four-point game on a goal and three assists. Ben McIntosh recorded 10 shots on goal, while Small tallied nine. Higgins turned aside 38 shots in the losing effort, while Jamieson turned away 30.
The Wings continue their homestand with a back-to-back next weekend on January 22 vs. Rochester and January 23 vs. New York.
