Riptide vs. Wings- Game Preview

The New York Riptide return to Nassau Coliseum this Saturday, March 11, when they host the Philadelphia Wings with opening faceoff scheduled for 7:30 PM.

These teams will be familiar with each other as they faced off last Saturday in Philadelphia, a game the Riptide lost 19-12. Mitch Jones led the way in that game for the Wings, recording 14 points on 6 goals and 8 assists, while Joe Resetarits and Ben McIntosh had 9 and 8 points respectively. On the Riptide side, Jeff Teat had a goal and 8 assists, while Connor Kearnan and Tyler Digby had 5 points apiece, while Steve Orleman made 45 saves. Philadelphia benefitted in that game from having many extra possessions due to Trevor Baptiste’s dominance at the faceoff X, with Baptiste winning 28 of the 35 draws, as well as a strong performance from goaltender Zach Higgins, who made 41 saves. Two positive takeaways for New York were that they were able to get offense outside of Teat, something they have struggled with all season, as seven different players scored, including a transition goal from Jay Thorimbert, and that they did a good job of holding onto the ball, with just 13 turnovers compared to 26 for the Wings.

One area that New York must improve on if they are to win this game is their discipline. The Riptide had 69 penalty minutes in their last game, by far a season high, with 3 players receiving game misconducts. Additionally, the Riptide were only able to kill off 3 of the 7 Philadelphia power plays, while only scoring on 1 of their 3 power play opportunities.

Saturday’s game will be available to watch on ESPN+ and MSGSN 2, and listen to on WRHU 88.7 FM, WRHU.org, and the WRHU iPhone app. Live stats and periodic in-game updates will be available via Twitter @NewYorkRiptide.