“We Played Free.” Wings Comeback Victory Downs Swarm, 15-13
Resetarits Makes History; Forcing Me to Talk About Face-Offs
Photo Credit: Kyle Hess/Georgia Swarm
The Philadelphia Wings (6-10) top scorer Mitch Jones was ejected from Gas South Arena before the Wings ever played a settled shift for his role in a tussle with the Georgia Swarm’s (8-8) Adam Wiedemann. It provided the spark the Wings needed to finally snap their eight-game losing streak, downing their former Eastern Division rival with a 15-13 comeback victory on Saturday night.
“Relief,” Wings head coach Ian Rubel answered postgame when asked what his immediate reaction was to finally getting their first win since January. “I mean, it’s been a weight weighing on everybody. We know we have the talent in our locker room to be competing every night, and for whatever reason, the ball wasn’t bouncing our way. To finally grind that one out the way that we did, it shows the character of these guys in that room.”
The Wings’ depth was severely tested for the remaining 59 minutes of the game, mixing in defenders like Mitch de Snoo and Evan Messenger into the offense at times and getting huge off-ball contributions from rookie Dalton Young in his first NLL game. The Swarm controlled the odd frames, jumping out to a 5-1 lead after the first 15 minutes of play, but the even quarters belonged to the Wings. They chased Swarm netminder Brett Dobson from the pipes in the second and fourth quarters and steamrolled their way to victory at the end, looking much like the Wings during their 5-2 start of the season.
“It shows you what we’re capable of,” Wings forward Joe Resetarits said. “How we started the beginning of the year, it never left. We just would get down. We kind of fought through that adversity, and we got back to it early. In games past, second half is when we kind of turned it back on, but that tough first period — second period, we got our rhythm back, and it showed.”
“They were able to generate shots, we didn’t get saves on those, and we didn’t bury in the other end on those, too,” Swarm head coach Ed Comeau said. “I don’t think it was anything different, but it certainly seemed like the second and fourth — it was two different games, first and third game and second and fourth game. If we were able to play the defense we played in the first and third in the second and fourth, I think we win that game. But that’s not how it works. We’ve got to execute, and we didn’t do it.”
Photo Credit: Kyle Hess/Georgia Swarm
The Wings won the first draw of the game but shot themselves in the foot with an illegal substitution penalty trying to get five players out for their first even strength shift — they sent out six. Georgia immediately capitalized with a Bryan Cole power play marker on their very first set. Philadelphia won the next face-off but tossed the ball away under duress. Wiedemann checked the Wings player pursuing the ball near the boards, Jones took exception, and the two began a fight that was more one party trying to get his helmet off for a proper dust up and the other just raining blows in anger. When he realized Jones’ wasn’t taking off his helmet, Wiedemann executed the takedown, and the refs sent the players to the penalty box.
Wiedemann was assessed a 5 min. major for fighting, but Jones received a 2 min. instigator, a 5 min. major for fighting, and a game misconduct, resulting in his automatic rejection at the 1:00 min. mark in the contest. The Wings would be without their top points producer for the remaining 59 minutes.
“Our reaction can’t be panic,” Rubel said about the ejection. “We’ve just got to regroup and roll with it. That’s the NLL; that’s the challenge of playing in this league. When a guy goes down — we had (Jack) Rowlett in, who’s a face-off guy, and he was kind of coming off, and then we had a couple of guys go down with injuries, so we were short bench for a little while. Mitch stood up for one of our players who took a big hit, and that’s the leadership that we want on this team.”
“We were a little bit surprised, too,” Comeau said. “I guess he took offense to what we thought was a pretty good, clean hit. He instigated, and that’s the call. You instigate, you get thrown out. We knew he’s their top point-getter, so we knew they’d have to do some different things, but I don’t think anyone at that point in the game, it wasn’t like we took our foot off the peddle and said, ‘Oh, their best guy is gone.’ Whether it’s us or any team, when someone gets out of the game like that, it’s an opportunity for someone else. Some of their guys stepped up and made some plays for them.”
“That got the spark going for us,” Resetarits said. “Jonesy’s a warrior. He plays with his heart on his sleeve. Big hit like that, he stepped up and answered the bell. It’s unfortunate he couldn’t play the full game with us, but we wouldn’t be in this situation, that game today, without him setting the tone like that.”
Photo Credit: Kyle Hess/Georgia Swarm
The spark took a minute to catch, however, as the Swarm rattled off three more goals to put their lead at 4-0. A trio of transition shots resulted in Phil Caputo cashing in on the rebounds to get the Wings on the board. Lyle Thompson responded with a transition marker of his own, ending the frame with the Swarm up 5-1.
A 6-3 quarter in the Wings’ favor ensued. Shayne Jackson’s first of the game chased starter Nick Damude from the uprights, and Deacon Knott manned the pipes for the rest of the game. After the swap, a trio of goals from the same spot on the floor from three different left-handed players got the Wings back within two. A testament to their depth, the first two goals of that run were scored by defenders — de Snoo and Messenger — stepping up big for their team and shoring up the sans-Jones offense.
“Messenger, he got a shout out tonight after the game because he can play everywhere, which is great,” Rubel said. “We’re using him on ball team, he was taking some power play minutes up front, running out the front gate, running out the back gate — he played all over the place tonight.”
Thompson cut the run with a settled drive down the alley and jumper to restore a three-goal lead. Resetarits kicked off another three-goal Wings run, making NLL history with his first goal of the contest, as he became the first American-born player to record four seasons of 100-plus points. He chased Dobson with his next goal, and Blaze Riorden strolled down the left lane uncontested to pot a five-hole goal and tie things up. Cole’s hat trick restored the Swarm lead, putting them up 8-7 at halftime.
Resetarits’ hat trick goal kicked off the scoring in the second half, but the Swarm went on a three-goal streak of their own, sparked by an Andrew Kew power play marker and pair of transition tallies from Mike Manley and Seth Van Schepen. The Swarm defense battened down the hatches, and the Wings weren’t able to best Dobson, back between the pipes, until Brennan O’Neill’s power play goal in the final minute of the quarter, changing the score to 11-9 in Georgia’s favor.
The Wings busted open the fourth quarter with a five-goal run, leapfrogging the Swarm for their first lead of the game and never relinquishing it. Caputo bookended the run and chased Dobson again from the pipes, as Riorden, Sam LeClair, and Resetarits contributed to the streak. A Thompson power play goal got the Swarm back within two, but Riorden’s hat trick on the very next shift was the insurance the visiting club needed. Jackson’s own hat trick with 5:09 min. left in the game would be the end of the scoring. Knott was perfect the rest of the way, and the Wings got their first win in 75 days, 15-13.
Thompson and Jackson led the Swarm in scoring with 7 PTS (3G, 4A) the same way. After them was Cole with 6 (3G, 3A) and Kew with 5 (2G, 3A). Dobson earned the loss after recording a 17.63 GAA and .717 Sv%. Angus Goodleaf’s relief appearance resulted in a 7.62 GAA and .778 Sv%.
“They’ve (the Wings) got nothing to lose,” Comeau said postgame. “They went out and played that way. I don’t think we played to our potential. I said to our guys after, ‘Opportunities come and go, and that’s one that we let slip through our fingers.’ Again, they’re a good team; we knew that. We chased a goalie, which is the first time I think we’ve done that all year. Credit to the young kid (Knott); he played really well, made huge saves down the stretch.”
Resetarits’ 11 PTS (4G, 7A) led the Wings in scoring, followed by Riorden with 7 PTS (3G, 4A). Damude finished the night with a 19.87 GAA and .684 Sv%; Knott finished the night with a 10.03 GAA, .781 Sv%, and the win.
“We played free,” Resetarits said. “We didn’t think; we weren’t second guessing anything and let the ball do the work. Obviously, we went down at five, we stayed calm and collected and just took our shots. We weren’t second guessing, we weren’t gripping our sticks, and it showed that when we play with speed, the ball moves, we get in the dirty areas, good things are going to happen.”
Photo Credit: Kyle Hess/Georgia Swarm
Resetarits Makes History
Using his defender as a screen from far out, Resetarits leaned towards the middle of the floor in the second quarter, dropped his stick, and wired the ball high past Dobson, who bit low on the shot.
“Scout’s out on me a little bit,” he said. “I like to shoot low. But kind of on my back, just raised the one and luckily I picked it. Just trying to mix it up. I think we got complacent in that eight-game skid, and we mixed it up. Whether we were gripping our sticks too much, there was none of that tonight. We wanted it, we competed, and you’re going to go a long way in this league if you bring the compete like that.”
It was Resetarits’ 100th point of the season, making him the first American-born player to record four seasons of 100-plus points. Three of those seasons were achieved in his 30s, and Rubel credited Resetarits’ offseason work for helping him be one of the most dangerous shooters this season.
“It started in the offseason,” he said. “We had conversations right after last season ended, and he put a lot of work in this year. He knows he’s in the twilight years of his career, and he wants it extended. He wants to see a championship. He put all the work in and all the effort in to prepare himself to play like this. We’ve been trying to shake Rezy up; he’s had some slow starts the past few games. He was getting his one goal a game, but he should be a guy who’s getting two to four goals a game for us. It was great to see him perform tonight.”
As cool as achieving such a historic feat is, the 35-year-old from Hamburg, New York naturally praised others that have helped him along the way to getting this achievement.
“It’s cool, obviously, but it’s just all the great players I’ve played with, that’s all them, and great coaches I’ve had. Honestly, looking back when I first came in the league, did I think I’d still be playing 12 years later and still play at a high level with such great athletes coming in and the game keeps evolving, and I’m just thankful and fortunate that I can still play this game and just be a part of this. This has been in my life for 32 years, this game. Being a husband and a father, this is all I know.
“Again, it’s cool, but I owe this all to everyone I’ve played with and people who took the time to make me and believed in me. I owe it all to them.”
Photo Credit: Kyle Hess/Georgia Swarm
Forcing Me to Talk About Face-Offs
Part of the Swarm’s meltdown in the even frames were due to losing face-offs. Saturday’s contest was the second consecutive game Jeremy Thompson was a healthy scratch for, meaning the Swarm draw team was by committee and more about creating 50-50 loose ball situations to get wins. They were 3-28 in face-offs against the Thunderbirds and 7-32 against the Wings.
But winning face-offs doesn’t mean much if you’re not capitalizing on them. The Wings didn’t have that problem at all. Seven of their goals were scored on the very first shift following a face-off win, all of them even strength.
“It’s momentum,” Rubel said. “Early in the year before Rowlett came back to us, we were struggling in the face-off, and it’s such a momentum killer. If you’re giving up 20 possessions a game to face-off, in this league, the way that these offenses are built in this league now, it’s lethal. If you can’t pick up a ball off the face-off, the momentum will just run away like a train on you. For us and Nicky to step in there and win those draws and some of the guys to battle and get those balls for us, it means everything in this league. Possession’s key.”
Georgia had a plan coming into the game when they decided to scratch the eldest Thompson, and for significant stretches of game, it worked. They made the Wings discombobulated on the very first play of the game, resulting in them making an illegal substitution late in the shot clock of their first possession. After that was turning a Wings face-off win into a 50-50 loose ball situation culminating in the scrap between Jones and Wiedemann. But in the second and fourth quarters, the Wings seemed to draw inspiration from playing on the eastern end of the floor. Manley did score off the draw in transition for the Swarm in the fourth quarter, but one face-off goal couldn’t match up with seven, especially when those seven are all even strength.
“I thought Liam Byrnes did a really good job when he was out there battling and coming up with some balls, and it was a lot of 50-50 balls,” Comeau said. “Getting the stop is a little bit about our defense. We got back, and we got set, and we just didn’t get the job done defensively, and we didn’t get the save. If we get the save there, it’s not necessarily a stat that anyone’s going to talk about, but once again, we knew that Rowlett’s good on face-offs, and we had our plan. It’s about getting the right guys out there going back, settling and playing good D and getting the stops, and we didn’t do that tonight.”