Philadelphia Wings

NLL Team Infobox
team_name=Philadelphia Wings
bg_color=red
title_color=black
division=Eastern
logo=Philly Wings.pngfounded=1986
home_arena=Wachovia Center
hometown=Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
team_colors=Red, Black, Silver
head_coach=Dave Huntley
general_manager=Lindsay Sanderson
plpa=Kyle Sweeney
media=Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia
website= [http://www.wingslax.com/ www.wingslax.com]
champs=1989, 1990, 1994, 1995, 1998, 2001
division_champs=1993 (American), 1994 (American)

The Philadelphia Wings are a member of the National Lacrosse League, a professional box lacrosse league in North America. They play at the Wachovia Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. [Practice facility: The Wings training camp and part-time practice facility is United Sports Training Center in West Bradford Township, Pennsylvania, while other practices are hosted by Tri-State Sports in Aston, Pennsylvania.]

The Wings were one of the original four teams in the "Eagle Pro Box Lacrosse League" that began play in 1987. The league was renamed to the "Major Indoor Lacrosse League" in 1989, and again to the "National Lacrosse League" in 1998. They are the only franchise to have played all 21 seasons in the same city. The Wings have the most titles in the combined league history with 6 total: 4 North American Cups in the MILL era and 2 Champion's Cup since the formation of the NLL.

__TOC__

History

Early years

The Philadelphia Wings were one of the original four franchises in the Eagle Pro Box Lacrosse League, joining the New Jersey Saints, Washington Wave, and Baltimore Thunder in the premiere season. While the Wings were not an immediate success on the floor, going 3-3 and 3-5 in the first two regular seasons with two playoff losses, there were the biggest draw in the league. They drew an average of almost 12,000 fans to their three 1987 regular season games, and slightly over 12,000 fans for their four games in 1988.

Their first on-field success came in 1989 with a first place 6-2 campaign, ending with their first of a league record 6 titles with an 11-10 win over New York at the Spectrum. The Wings became the first team to repeat with another 6-2 regular season followed by a championship win in Worcester over the New England Blazers. A 5-5 season in 1991 left the Wings in third place in the American Division, 1 game behind the division winners Baltimore and out of the playoffs for the first time in their history, denying them the opportunity for a "threepeat."

Some of the early stars of those teams included Mike French, Hall of Fame college player at Cornell and a current team executive; John Grant Sr., father of current NLL star John Grant Jr.; Syracuse Hall of Famer Brad Kotz; long time Wings coach, Tony Resch; and long time NLL player and coach John Tucker.

Wings vs. Bandits

In 1992, the MILL expanded to western New York with the Buffalo Bandits. The Bandits were primarily Canadian players from Ontario, while the Wings were still mostly American based, like the rest of the league at the time. The rivalry was instant, as the teams would play each other in 4 of the next 5 title games, interrupted only by the Wings triumph over Rochester in the 1995 season. The Wings struggled in the regular season of 1992, but turned it on in the playoffs to defeat Baltimore and New York and host the Bandits in the championship game. John Tavares would end the Wings quest for their 3rd title with an overtime winner, however.

1993 saw the Wings have a 7-1 season, only to be topped by the Bandits perfect 8-0 season. Both teams dispatched their semifinal opponents, and the rematch was on. The Bandits once again ended the Wings hopes, this time winning a one goal contest in regulation 13-12.

1994 saw both teams top their respective divisions with 6-2 marks, and again both teams dominated the semifinal game to meet for a 3rd consecutive time for the North American Cup. An incredible run by Philadelphia in the middle of the game buried the Bandits hopes of their own threepeat, giving the Wings a 26-15 win and their third title.

The Wings were their same dominating selves in 1995, going 7-1 to finish atop the single table (a structure the league changed back to before the season), while the Bandits uncharacteristically struggled, finishing just 4th in a 6 team league at 3-5. This meant the Wings faced the Bandits in the semifinals, and due to the MILL's "attendance rule" that gave postseason home field advantage to the team with better attendance, the game was played in Buffalo. The Wings proved to be the better team with a 19-16 win on their way to a league high 4th title.

1996 saw the Bandits return to their prior form, while both teams finishing 8-2 and tied atop the league standings. Once again, the teams found themselves in the final, and the Bandits returned the favor of stopping a threepeat with a dominating 15-10 performance.

1997 would be the first time that the Wings and Bandits would not meet in the playoffs since the Bandits had been introduced in 1992. The Wings won another regular season title with a 7-1 record, but were upset in the semifinals by the eventual champion Rochester Knighthawks.

NLL era

The league name changed for 1998, but the Wings success wasn't about to. Despite the loss of Gary Gait to the Baltimore Thunder, the Wings still claimed their 4th regular season title in 5 years at 9-3. Once again, the Wings were paired up with their arch-rival Bandits in the semifinal round, and the Wings dispatched the Bandits just as they had in the previous semifinal matchup. The Wings advanced to play the Thunder and Gary Gait in the final round, which was a best 2 of 3 series for the one and only time in league history. The Wings opened the series with a 16-12 victory at home, before sweeping the series with a dominating 17-12 road victory in Baltimore Arena.

1999 saw the end of the heated Wings-Bandits rivalry, as the Bandits started to rebuild and fell to a 4-8 mark, missing the postseason. The Wings also had regular season struggles, finishing at just 5-7 and squeaking into the playoffs as the fourth seed. Wings fans probably wish the team had missed the postseason, as the team was pummeled in a record breaking 13-2 loss to the eventual champion Toronto Rock. 2000 saw the team improve slightly to 7-5 during the season, but it ended the same way, with a semifinal loss in Toronto by a more respectable 14-10 score.

That set up the 2001 season, with the Wings once again seeing their league dominance challenged by a newcomer to the league. The Rock and the Wings did not disappoint, with the Rock going 11-3 and the Wings 10-4 in the regular season, and winning their semifinal games to set up a third straight postseason matchup in Toronto, this time with the title on the line. Unlike the previous two games, the Wings dictated the style of play, and built a 9-4 lead early in the fourth quarter before the Rock finally solved the defensive puzzle. It proved too little, too late, and the Wings claimed their 6th title with a 9-8 upset victory, once again ending the chance at the first league threepeat.

The 2002 season was clearly a transition year for the franchise, as they muddled through a difficult season to finish at 8-8 before falling in a quarterfinal game against the Washington Power. Until the 2008 season, it would prove to be the last playoff appearance for the proud franchise.

Rebuilding

The 2003 season saw the Wings start off strongly, but collapse down the stretch as they finished 8-8, and lost the division title to the Colorado Mammoth, missing the postseason for the first time since 1991. It would continue to get worse for the Wings, as the next two years ended with a last place 7-9 2004 season and a 6-10 2005 season. The rebuilding of the Wings began in earnest in the offseason, as the Wings would have three first round draft picks before the 2006 season, adding Sean Greenhalgh, Luke Wiles, and Chad Thompson. [cite web|url=http://www.lacrosse-network.com/outsidersguide/news050829.htm|author=Philly, R.A.|title=Brodie Merrill joins brother as #1 draft picks|work=Outsider's Guide to the NLL|date=August 29, 2005|accessdate=2007-03-16] Wiles and Thompson were later dealt for Mike Regan, and Greenhalgh was moved to Buffalo after the 2007 season. Despite the added firepower, the Wings saw some improvement, going 8-8 in 2006 but missing the postseason on tiebreakers.

The 2006 draft was again fertile ground for the Wings, adding Geoff Snider, Ian Llord, and Athan Iannucci in the first round, [cite web|url=http://www.lacrosse-network.com/outsidersguide/news060913a.htm|title=Stealth doubles up with Benesch, Sorensen atop draft|author=Philly, R.A.|work=Outsider's Guide to the NLL|date=September 13, 2006|accessdate=2007-03-16] and adding Kyle Wailes, another first round pick, through a trade with Calgary. [cite web|url=http://www.lacrosse-network.com/outsidersguide/news061216.htm|author=Philly, R.A.|title=Wings trade for Wailes, wait on Snider|work=Outsider's Guide to the NLL|date=December 16, 2006|accessdate=2007-03-16] However, the 2007 season again would leave fans wondering about the future, when the Wings collapsed down the stretch with 4 losses in the last 5 games to crash to a 6-10 record and miss the playoffs for a fifth consecutive season. The entire coaching staff was fired after the season ended, though Lindsay Sanderson kept the role of GM. [cite web|url=http://nll.com/article.php?id=2921|title=Wings Relieve Coaching Staff of Duties|work=NLL.com|date=April 30, 2007|accessdate=2007-04-30]

Back in the Postseason

On June 8, 2007, the Wings announced that the team's original general manager Dave Huntley would be their head coach for the 2008 season. [cite web|url=http://www.nll.com/article.php?id=2981|work=NLL.com|title=Wings Hire Dave Huntley as Head Coach|date=June 8, 2007|accessdate=2007-06-08] The personnel changes would continue as Sean Greenhalgh was moved to Buffalo and Ian Llord moved to Calgary in a deal that brought the Wings Jason Crosbie on offense and former Defenseman of the Year Taylor Wray on defense. [cite web|url=http://www.nll.com/article.php?id=3021|work=NLL.com|title=Three Team Blockbuster Trade announced|date=July 24, 2007|accessdate=2008-01-14] The Wings added goaltender Rob Blasdell in the dispersal draft that occurred for the one year supension of the Arizona Sting, and he was named the starting goaltender for the 2008 season. On March 5, 2008, the Wings continued to restructure the team, even when leading the league with a 6-1 record at the halfway point. The Wings were involved in trades with the Chicago Shamrox, Minnesota Swarm, and Edmonton Rush leading to the acquisition of A.J. Shannon and Brandon Miller, while sending Matt Roik, Dan Marohl, Keith Cromwell, and Brad Self elsewhere. [cite web|url=http://www.nll.com/article.php?id=3350|work=NLL.com|title=Trade Frenzy: Six players dealt|date=March 5, 2008|accessdate=2008-03-05]

All the changes paid off, as the Wings compiled a 10-6 record, good for a four way tie for the Eastern Division championship. Due to tiebreakers, they finished with the 4th seed in the East, and travelled to Buffalo for an Eastern Division semifinal game on May 2 ,2008. The Wings return to the postseason was short-lived, however, as the Wings dropped a 14-12 decision to the Bandits.

The 2008 season saw the emergence of two new Wings superstars, second year players Athan Iannucci and Geoff Snider. Iannucci scored 71 goals on the season, breaking Gary Gait's single-season scoring record of 61, [cite web|url=http://nll.com/article.php?id=3425|title=Iannucci Breaks Single-Season Goals Record|work=NLL.com|date=April 12, 2008|accessdate=2008-05-23] and Snider set new records for loose balls (242), penalty minutes (103), and faceoffs won (318). [cite web|url=http://nll.com/article.php?id=3458|work=NLL.com|title=Snider Breaks Loose Ball Record|date=April 29, 2008|accessdate=2008-05-05] Both made the All-Star team and All-Pro teams, and Iannucci was named Player of the Month three times as well as league MVP.

Awards & honors

Notes and references

ee also

*
*1974-75 Philadelphia Wings team

External links

* [http://www.wingszone.com/whistory/history.htm Wingzone Web Site]