Riptide vs. Wings – Game Preview

The New York Riptide return to action this Saturday, March 4, when they travel to take on the Philadelphia Wings, with faceoff set for 11:30 AM at the Wells Fargo Center.

The biggest strength for Philadelphia comes at the faceoff X where Trevor Baptiste is second in NLL, winning 69% of his draws, as well as picking up 99 loose balls. This provides extra possessions for the offense, however, Philadelphia has struggled offensively this season, with their 10.5 goals per game being the third lowest in the league. Joe Resetarits, Ben McIntosh, and Blaze Riorden have carried the load for the Wings, being the only players on the team to have 30 or more points this season, as well as the only players with double digit goals. On the defensive end, the Wings are led by Chad Tutton, who has 58 loose balls and a team leading 11 caused turnovers, and Ryan Wagner, who leads the team with 15 blocked shots, and has also picked up 55 loose balls and caused 9 turnovers. Kiel Matisz is an offensive threat from the back end as well, having scored 18 points from transition this season.

New York is coming off of a devastating 11-10 overtime loss to the Rochester Knighthawks, a game that took 74:02 to decide, making it the second longest game in league history. There were several positives in that game that the Riptide will look to build on, namely Steve Orleman’s 53 saves, as well as a tremendous two-way performance from Kevin Brownell, where he scored 3 goals, assisted on one more, caused 2 turnovers, collected 7 loose balls, and blocked a shot. Brent Noseworthy also had a strong defensive game, blocking 3 shots and picking up 10 loose balls. With Philadelphia’s struggling offense, this week’s matchup could be a chance for the Riptide defense to build confidence and put in another good performance. Offensively, New York will continue to look for more options, as just 2 of their 10 goals last week came from forwards other than the NLL’s leading goalscorer, Jeff Teat.

The game will be available to watch on ESPN+, 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.