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SWARM TRY FOR FOURTH STRAIGHT WIN, FACE WINGS

Philadelphia to host Minnesota on Saturday night

03/13/2010

By Patrick Gordon for NLL.com

The Philadelphia Wings (2-8) host the Minnesota Swam (4-4) in a National Lacrosse League matchup Saturday night at the Wachovia Center at 7pm EST.

The Wings enter the weekend in desperation mode, three games behind Rochester for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Division. The Wings visits Orlando on Friday.

"Our focus right now is completely on Orlando for Friday," said Wings Head Coach David Huntley, during the league's media teleconference on Wednesday.

"The one thing I do know about Minnesota is that historically we have had some great games with them. Mike [Lines] is doing a great job as a first-year coach there. They started out rough but he has the team back and playing well with some terrific players."

Kyle Wailes recorded a hat trick in last week's losing effort in Calgary. Drew Westervelt chipped in with six points (1 G, 5 A).

Minnesota comes to Philadelphia riding a three-game winning streak. The Swarm last played Feb. 27 when they trumped Denver, 13-12. The team enjoyed a bye last week.

"We got a little run going and got ourselves back to .500," said Swarm Head Coach Mike Lines. "We still got some work to do, but it was nice getting the bye last week. We're prepared for Philadelphia and I think we are starting to turn the corner."

"The whole season comes down to streaks just like in games," said Lines. "Everybody can have their good and bad streaks. There's a bunch of teams that started out great but are hurting right now. Calgary was having trouble early like we were, but now they have gone on a run. We have to keep the momentum going and build off that."

Minnesota finished the month of February with a 3-1 record and outscored their opponents 44-29 during their three game winning streak. Most recently, the Swarm defeated the Colorado Mammoth (2-6), 13-12, on Feb. 27 in front of 15,427 fans at Pepsi Center. Forward Tim Campeau (2g, 3a) scored the game-winning goal with 32 seconds remaining in the fourth to give the Swarm a two-game advantage over their division rival in the standings.

"We were fortunate," said Lines on Campeau's last second goal. "It was great to see him get rewarded for the way he has played in the last few games."

Callum Crawford leads the Swarm's offensive threat with 45 points (16 G, 29 A), followed by veteran Aaron Wilson with 44 points (19 G, 25 A). Crawford will be eligible to play on Saturday, as an arbitrator upheld his appeal of a one-game suspension assessed for leaving the bench to take part in a fight during a game against Washington on February 13.

Minnesota trails Washington by a game and a half for the top spot in the West Division.

Watch the game live on The NLL Network at NLL.com.