Black Wolves Bounce Back To Split Weekend With Wings

Less than 24 hours after the Wings were victorious over the Black Wolves in Philadelphia, the two squads were back in action on Sunday afternoon at Mohegan Sun Arena.

After a 14-10 defeat on Saturday night, the veteran Black Wolves (5-4) looked to have much more jump than the younger Wings (2-8). Overcoming an early 2-0 deficit, New England  took over the game and topped Philadelphia 17-11. New England scored over twelve goals for the fourth time in five home games this season. The Black Wolves also remained unbeaten when defenders score at least three goals in a game.

Just 15 seconds into the game on Sunday, Philadelphia’s Liam Patten and Steph Charbonneau teamed up to knock Ryan Fournier around before Nick Chaykowsky came in to even the fight. The early game scrum would send all four players to the box but that was the biggest spillover of emotions from the previous night that the game would see.

Philadelphia jumped out to a 2-0 lead early, mostly thanks to some overly aggressive off ball penalties by New England. The Black Wolves quickly got back into the game before the end of the 1^st quarter with goals by Stephan Leblanc and Brett Manney.

Manney’s goal with 3:12 left in the opening frame was his first of the season. The shorthanded goal by the Black Wolves captain seemed to really jumpstart his squad as they completely took over the game from that point forward, finishing the half on a 7-3 run for an 8-5 advantage at the break.

Wings’ rookie goalie Doug Buchan started less than 24 hours after notching his first career win. The high of winning his first NLL game would not last long as he was pulled in the 2^nd quarter after giving up six goals on 22 shots. Buchan was replaced by veteran David DiRuscio who did not fare much better, surrendering 10 goals on 34 shots.

Callum Crawford continued to be a dominant offensive force for the Black Wolves as he picked up a career-high 12 points including five goals and seven assists. Stephan Leblanc also continued to have a hot stick, scoring four goals and adding three assists. Also impressive for New England was Tyler Digby who was coming off the best game of his young career. Digby had two goals and six assists on the day. Reilly O’Connor finally got back in a groove with two goals and four assists.

For Philadelphia, their biggest offensive threat Kevin Crowley was held off the scoresheet until 10:17 left in 3^rd quarter. Crowley, the former Black Wolves’ star, finished the game with two goals and two assists on eight shots.

Holding steady in net for the Black Wolves was Doug Jamieson who was one save shy of his career high, stopping 43 of 53 shots from the Wings.

The New England Black Wolves will be back in action next Sunday, February24 when they welcome the Toronto Rock to Mohegan Sun Arena for a 1 p.m. face-off.