Wings beat Rock, now in first place in NLL East

With a 14 to 8 win against the Toronto Rock, the Philadelphia Wings took first place in the NLL East Division.

Led by Brendan Mundorf’s five goals, the Wings (4-2) outscored the Rock (3-3) by four goals in the second half. During their first meeting this season, the Rock beat the Wings 15 to 6 and held the Wings scoreless in the second half.

Wings head coach Johnny Mouradian said the difference this time was his team’s defensive play.

“Our defense was great tonight and we played an aggressive game,” said Mouradian. “We gave them a lot of trouble.”

Dan Dawson and Kevin Crowley each had a hat trick for the Wings, which ended the Rock’s three-game winning streak. Dawson led the team in assists with seven. Garrett billings led the Rock in scoring with three goals.

“Every week we’ve been taking steps to get better,” Mundorf said. “We’ve been chipping away and chipping away, and so beat this team for all 60 minutes turned out to be a nice win for us.”

The win gives the Wings an edge for home advantage in the play-offs and ties the season series of the Rock and Wings at one game a piece. The Wings and Rock will meet again March 9 in Philadelphia for their final meeting of the regular season.

Wings goaltender Brandon Miller made 32 saves. The Wings outscored the Rock in each quarter except the first, where they trailed by one goal.

“Miller was phenomenal tonight,” Mouradian said. “Our defense collapsed on their offense but when they got through, they had to deal with Miller.”

Mundorf said the Wings will enjoy this win tonight but then focus on next week’s away game against the Edmonton Rush (1-2). Fans can watch the game online at NLL.com, 7 p.m. Friday.

After the Edmonton game, the Wings will get a break for the NLL All-Star game. Dawson and Crowley will join teammates Max Seibald and Brodie Merrill in representing the Wings at the All-Star game Feb. 25 in Buffalo.