The Philadelphia Wings ended the 2008 regular season with a 15-14 win over the Toronto Rock at Air Canada Centre.  The Wings secured a spot in the NLL playoffs last night when the New York Titans defeated the Rochester Knighthawks, eliminating them from playoff contention.  The Wings face the East Division Champion Buffalo Bandits in the first round of the NLL Playoffs at HSBC Arena on Friday, May 2 at 7:30 p.m.

            “We have to play four consistent quarters to be successful during the playoffs,” said Head Coach Dave Huntley.  “Fortunately our offense had a great start this afternoon, and we were able to hang on for the win.”

            The Wings offense came out strong, outscoring the Rock 8-2 in the first quarter.    Toronto scored seven goals to Philadelphia’s four in the next two quarters to draw within three going into the fourth.  The Rock’s offense came alive in the final quarter of play, tying the game at 14 on a power play goal with just under five minutes left in the game.  The Wings’ Athan Iannucci scored shorthanded with less than a minute left, to give his team a 15-14 win.

            Iannucci finishes the regular season with 71 goals topping Gary Gait’s single-season goal scoring record by 10.

            Leading the Wings in scoring were Athan Iannucci with five points (4G, 1A), Jason Crosbie with four points (2G, 2A), Jamie Rooney and A.J. Shannon each with three points (2G, 1A), Jake Bergey and Merrick Thomson each with three points (1G, 2A), and Pat Heim, David Mitchell and Rob Van Beek each with one goal. Goaltender Rob Blasdell had 30 saves in the first half while Brandon Miller made 29 in the second.

            Leading the Rock in scoring were Lewis Ratcliff with seven points (3G, 4A), followed by Jim Veltman with five points (1G, 4A), Blaine Manning with three goals, Aaron Wilson and Scott Campbell each with three points (2G, 1A), Rob Marshall and Kasey Biernes each with two points (1G, 1A), and Chris Driscoll with one goal.  Goaltender Bob Watson had six saves in the first 13:28 of the game before being replaced by Mike Poulin who made 21 saves on the night.

            For a box score from today’s game logon to www.pointstreak.com.