The Philadelphia Wings (4-9) will look to claw their way back into the playoff chase as they travel to Rochester to face the Knighthawks (5-7) at the Blue Cross Arena on Saturday, April 10 at 7:35 p.m. The Wings will return home for their final regular season game at the Wachovia Center on Sunday, April 25 when they host the Orlando Titans at 5 p.m.

The Knighthawks defeated the Wings, 12-6, in their only match-up this season (February 20, 2010). The Wings are coming off a 13-6 loss last Saturday to Toronto, which snapped their two game winning streak.

Series Notes:

Overall:  Knighthawks lead 19-15
At Philadelphia: Wings lead 10-8
At Rochester: Knighthawks lead 11-5
Last Meeting: February 20, 2010; Knighthawks won at the Wachovia Center 12-6

About the Knighthawks:

The Knighthawks are currently fifth in the NLL's East Division and have lost their last four games. They are sixth in the League on the power play, converting on 43% of their opportunities, and second in the League in killing power plays 65% of the time. The Knighthawks are 3-4 at home this season.

John Grant leads the Knighthawks with 60 points (25G, 35A), followed by Shawn Williams with 50 points (18G, 32A), and Shawn Evans with 37 points (9G, 38A).  Pat O’Toole has played the majority of the minutes in net for Rochester posting a 10.36 goals against average and a .767 save percentage.

About the Wings:

The Wings are currently sixth in the NLL's East Division.  Philadelphia is 10th in the League on the power play, converting on 30% of their chances. They rank ninth in the NLL in penalty killing with a 51% kill percentage. The Wings are 1-5 on the road this season.

Drew Westervelt leads the Wings with 60 points (25G, 35A), followed by Kyle Wailes with 54 points (22G, 32A) and Dan Teat with 36 points (15G, 21A). Wings goalie Brandon Miller continues to be the busiest in the NLL having faced 595 shots in his 13 games played. 

Coaches Corner:

Wings General Manager and Head Coach David Huntley:

“Toronto played really well and obviously I think they have been playing well but they just didn’t have the wins to show for it and we were in the game. I think it was 4-1 at the half, but our inability to score goals and to stay with them caught us in the second half. I’d have to give credit to them (Toronto) because I think for the second game we played them, they out played us.”

“Not having Dan Teat last week had a big impact. Dan is a terrific finisher but probably more importantly we have a lot of young players on our offensive end. I think one of our most experienced guy besides Dan had only two years of experience. Kyle Wailes has been playing indoor lacrosse, but just two years experience in the league but not only was Dan a skilled player but he was just the kind of guy who I think gave a lot of structure and leadership to our younger guys. In a game like the Toronto game last weekend we were a little sluggish on the floor offensively so we definitely missed him a lot.”

“Athan’s (Iannucci) surgery went well and he’s working hard on his rehab. Obviously this is the second surgery he’s had on that knee in the last two years so he knows the drill and I think he’s a little more mentally prepared for what that brings. You never know when the end of the game will be the last time you’ll play. Iannucci is in good spirits and by all signs the surgery went well. If he continues to take care of himself then I have every reason to believe he will be back and be successful next year.”

Rochester Knighthawks Head Coach Paul Gait:

"This is a big game because we are on a four game slide. We need to turn things around and get a win."

"We put ourselves in a big hole and these are pretty much must wins. Home field advantage just isn’t always there so maybe this year we are a road team from here on out."

“Last week was a much better effort from our offense. We shot about 20 percent and that’s the kind of number we need to be in a game and to have a chance to win.  We also played short for quite a bit of the first half which put us in a hole early.”