WINGS OUTDISTANCE RIPTIDE FOR SECOND STRAIGHT WIN
The Philadelphia Wings withstood a late surge from the New York Riptide before pulling back away from a tie game and taking an eventual 15-12 victory at Nassau Coliseum. It’s the first time in their young history that the Wings have won consecutive games and have been above .500, as they go to 2-1 headed into their home opener next week. Josh Currier and Brett Hickey each had hat tricks, while Kevin Crowley had a goal and six assists to once again pace his team in scoring.
After Kevin Buchanan started off the scoring 33 seconds into the contest, New York scored the next three goals before Matt Rambo and Hickey scored to tie it. The Riptide took a brief 4-3 lead, but the Wings proceeded to score the game’s next five goals to develop a 9-4 advantage. Currier started off the run with the last goal of the first quarter, and the Wings scored three times in the first four minutes of the second quarter plus one at the 8:32 mark. Kiel Matisz scored twice in the run, while Cory Vitarelli, Trevor Baptiste and Hickey also made contributions. Baptiste added another before halftime, but that was sandwiched by two Riptide goals and the Wings ended the half with a 10-6 lead.
The third quarter turned into a goaltending battle, as Wings netminder Zach Higgins and Riptide tender Alex Buque took turns keeping the other team at bay. The teams traded just four goals in the first 12 minutes of the frame, with both sides scoring twice to make it 12-7 Philadelphia.
But it was the second New York goal in that span, scored by 2019 first overall draft pick Tyson Gibson, which started a one-sided roll for the Riptide. Gibson scored two in a row to start a 5-0 run, which he then completed 6:56 into the third to earn his first career hat trick and tie the game at 12-12.
From there, the Wings settled down and didn’t allow any more scoring. Brett Hickey scored the eventual game-winner less than three minutes after the Riptide tied things up; Currier added an insurance goal with just over three minutes to play, and Stefan Charbonneau scored a late empty-netter.
Higgins picked up the win with 37 saves on 49 New York shots, while Buque absorbed the loss despite stopping 46 of 60 Wings shots. Rambo had a six-point night on a goal and five assists, Hickey (3G, 1A) and Matisz (2G, 2A) each had four-point nights and several other players contributed to the offensive cause. The Wings gobbled up 68 loose balls in the contest, including 10 from Baptiste, nine from Vitarelli, and eight from Matisz.
A full boxscore of the game can be found athttps://laxreports.sportlogiq.com/nll/GS2220.html
The Wings will now get ready for their home opener against the Vancouver Warriors on Friday, January 10 at 7:00. Tickets for that and all home games are available at WingsLAX.com.
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