Wings take down the Desert Dogs in Vegas

The Philadelphia Wings outscored the Las Vegas Desert Dogs 9-4 in the second half to pull away from a halftime tie and take their second win of the season by a final score of 14-9. The righty duo of Ben McIntosh and Joe Resetarits carried the load for Philadelphia, combining for nine goals, six assists and 22 shots on goal – McIntosh chipped in five goals on the night, one shy of his career high, while Resetarits had four. Meanwhile, Zach Higgins took care of business between the pipes with 42 saves to hold Las Vegas at bay.

Special teams was vital on the night for the Wings. They capitalized on three power play opportunities in the first half, with two of them coming from McIntosh en route to a first-half hat trick. Philadelphia led 5-2 after the third PPG, but a pesky Desert Dogs team clawed back to tie the proceedings at 5-5 at halftime.

But the Wings started to fly away in the third with a 5-1 run, anchored by a pair each from Resetarits and Blaze Riorden, as well as a goal from captain Kiel Matisz. After a pair of Las Vegas goals slimmed the lead, McIntosh bagged his fourth with 87 seconds left in period 3.

The Wings removed any air that was remaining in Las Vegas’s sails during an early-fourth-quarter penalty to Trevor Baptiste. Philadelphia bagged two shorthanded goals during that one Las Vegas advantage, with McIntosh and Resetarits each burning the Desert Dogs to expand Philadelphia’s lead to five. It would get no closer for Las Vegas, as the teams each chipped in just one more goal both during the final 2 ½ minutes of the game.

Resetarits had five assists to go along with his four goals for a nine-point night, while McIntosh added an assist for a six-point night.  Matt Rambo also had half-a-dozen with a goal and five assists, and Riorden had two goals and three assists for a five-point game. Matisz had a typical trademark performance with a goal, three assists and a team-leading 11 loose ball pickups.

The Wings move to 2-1 on the young season and will now get set to start a four-game homestand beginning with their Opening Night on Saturday, January 14 when they host the Panther City Lacrosse Club.  Tickets are available at WingsLAX.com.