Wings beat Bandits on the road

There's physical toughness and there's mental toughness. Wings head coach Johnny Mouradian told his team at the start of the fourth quarter that they'd need both to overcome a two point deficit against the Buffalo Bandits.

They did, beating the Bandits 13-10 by outscoring them six goals to one on the road in Buffalo Friday night.

"It was a great team effort," Mouradian said. "Every game in this league is a playoff game. You have to have the physical endurance and the mental endurance to win."

And Mouradian said he's proud of the team's defensive and offensive intensity.

At one point, Wings player David Brock decked a Bandits offensive player about 20 feet away from the Wings goal. Then Brock sprinted down field to score an unassisted goal and tie the game at six in the second quarter.

The win gives the Wings (2-1) their first victory on the road and is another sign the team is continuing to gel despite 18 new members on their roster this season. Wings player Drew Westervelt – who led the team in scoring with four goals – said the team knew they had to trust each other in order to comeback to win.

Defensively, the Wings held NLL all-time leading scorer John Tavares to just one goal. But the Bandits (2-1) double-teamed Wings rookie and NLL number-one draft pick Kevin Crowley for much of the game, limiting him to one goal. Goaltender Brandon Miller had 29 saves and played the whole game.

Westervelt said the team knew other players would have to step up on offense.

"We trusted each other," Westervelt said. "We never doubted that we could come back."

Mouradian said the tight coverage against Crowley, who had one goal and one assist, indicates that the NLL first round overall pick has earned a reputation of being a big-time player.

Earlier this week, Mouradian said he was looking for Wings co-captain and veteran Dan Dawson to become more an offensive factor. He led the team in assists with six and scored one goal.