Sunday, January 09, 2011

Wings fall to Boston in season opener

Philadelphia - Reigning NLL MVP Casey Powell was too much for the new-look Wings to handle as Boston topped Philadelphia, 10-6, in front of 7,940 Saturday night at Wells Fargo Center in the opener of the Wings 25th Anniversary season.

Powell, a seven-time All-Star, found the back of the net five times while Josh Sanderson added three goals for the Breakers, who won the first season opener in franchise history. Goaltender Anthony Cosmo started off his third season between Boston's  pipes with a solid 25 save performance.

"This is a franchise first coming out of the gates 1-0," Powell said. "That was our goal and that's what we did. It was a great team win for us and great for momentum for the rest of the season."

Bill McGlone and Alex Turnner each scored twice for a Philadelphia team trying to integrate 14 new players into its lineup under new coach John Tucker. Wings goalie Brandon Miller had a busy night, totaling 41 saves.

"I think we were sloppy at times," Tucker said. "We played well in the first quarter offensively and were moving, but then we got to standing around the outside on the perimeter. I thought defensively we played a pretty good game and our goalkeeper was great. We have a lot to work on."

The Wings hung tough early and found themselves even at three after the first quarter thanks to goals by McGlone, Turner and Drew Westervelt.

The Blazers inched ahead by halftime, 5-4, and put things away with a strong defensive second half. Sanderson secured things for Boston with a pair of fourth quarter goals.

Wings fan favorite Athan Iannucci did score his first goal of the season with just under four minutes left to play, however. Iannucci, the NLL's single season goal scoring record holder, returned after missing the entire 2010 season with a knee injury.

The Wings return to the Wells Fargo Center next Saturday, Jan. 15 to host the Buffalo Bandits at 7:30 p.m.

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