It was another rough loss for the Philadelphia Wings, who lost 13-5 at home to the Ottawa Black Bears. The Black Bears put together a creative game plan on offense. Where there was a hole in Philly’s defense, the Black Bears would capitalize, scoring at will and getting the Wings defense to bite on a lot of their plays. One of the plays that stood out to me was Connor Kearnan walking down into Philly’s defensive zone pretending to have the ball, while Reilly O’Connor (who actually had the ball) seeing the Wings defense was distracted with their eyes on Kearnan and unloading a rocket from Ottawa’s bench for an easy goal.
Jeff Teat handed Philly all sorts of problems putting up 9 points in this game on 4 goals and 5 assists. These Black Bears are trying to make it to the playoffs, beating Colorado on a short turn around last week, and now taking care of business in Philly. They look to get their third straight win next week as they head into Rochester to battle a tough Knighthawks team.
Former Wings Come Back As Black Bears To Hunt Philly
The Philadelphia Wings had the opportunity to compete against some former teammates. Forward Taggart Clark had a huge night against his old club. Making a statement in Philly, putting up 4 goals and 3 assists. Clark made scored back-to-back goals in this game where he just marched right down Broad Street, carrying the Wings’ defense along with him for the ride. Goaltender Zach Higgins had a huge night as well, stopping 42 out of 47 shots that came his way. One of the perks that Higgins had was knowing most of his former team’s playbook and the tendencies of the guys on the offensive unit, and taking away a lot of Philly’s scoring opportunities.
The Aftermath
The Philadelphia Wings have now lost eight games in a row, a franchise record. While still not mathematically eliminated, at 5-10 their playoff hopes are fast becoming an afterthought. Let’s see how this team gets themselves off the ground as they head into a home-and-home series with the Georgia Swarm. For the 7-8 Ottawa Black Bears, this win was a huge momentum booster. Building confidence as they face a red-hot Rochester Knighthawks team next week, needing to win at least two of their last three games to give themselves a legitimate shot at making the postseason.