Philadelphia, PA – Six goals in the third quarter and stellar play from goalie Doug Jamieson propelled the Albany FireWolves (3-0) to a 15-10 win on the road against the Philadelphia Wings (1-2) at the Wells Fargo Center. The FireWolves continue their spectacular start to the 2023-2024 National Lacrosse League season and will go into their holiday break with a 3-0 record.
It was a back-and-forth battle as the game was tied 6-6 at halftime, but Albany blew the door open with a big third quarter and kept the pressure on in the fourth to secure the victory. Jamieson allowed only 4 goals in the second half and finished the game with 38 saves. Forwards Ethan Walker and Alex Simmons both finished with 3 goals and 5 assists to lead the FireWolves offensively. Walker also reached the milestone of 100 career points in the win. Defenseman Joe Nardella won 22 of 29 faceoffs and scooped up 17 loose balls to give Albany a huge possession advantage.
The combination of the FireWolves’ young offensive firepower, loose ball domination, and their strong defense backstopped by Jamieson continues to be a winning mix. Albany is off to their best start to a season since the organization moved to the capital region in 2021.
The FireWolves got off to a great start in the first quarter with three straight goals from Walker, Sam Firth, and a shorthanded effort from Tye Kurtz to go up 3-0. Philadelphia would answer back with a three-goal run of their own as they scored twice on the power play and then added another on good ball movement to tie the game up 3-3. Taggart Clark scored a diving goal for the Wings near the end of the quarter to make it 4-3 for the Wings. Taggart is the son of Albany Head Coach Glenn Clark and it was a special moment for the Clark family in their first experience competing on opposite teams.
In the second quarter, both teams would trade goals before heading to halftime knotted at 6-6. Jamieson and Wings’ goalie Zach Higgins were both solid in net and the Wings and FireWolves provided an entertaining game for the Philadelphia crowd at Wells Fargo Center.
The floodgates would open in the third quarter as Travis Longboat opened the second half scoring with a sneaky shot for the FireWolves’ second shorthanded goal of the afternoon. Soon after, Simmons would fire a laser past Higgins and then Nathan Grenon shot low to low to score his first goal as a member of the FireWolves to put them up 9-6.
Philadelphia stopped the bleeding with a shorthanded goal to cut the lead to 9-7, but Albany responded with three more goals as Marshall Powless scored off a pick and roll, Simmons finished a feed from Walker, and Grenon would add his second goal to stretch the FireWolves lead to 12-7. The Wings would then pull Higgins and replace him with rookie Deacan Knott in net.
The FireWolves kept the pressure on as a bouncing ball in front of the net resulted in a Wings own goal and then Simmons fed Walker who scored on a low to high rocket to extend the lead to 14-7. The Wings finally responded with a goal, but defender Nick Chaykowsky scored right off a faceoff win to answer and score the FireWolves’ final goal that put them up 15-8. Philadelphia scored 2 late goals to make it 15-10, but Albany would close the game out to remain undefeated.
The FireWolves will take a two week break before travelling to face the Saskatchewan Rush for a New Year’s Eve showdown on Sunday, December 31 at 8 pm ET. The game can be watched on ESPN+, TSN+, and locally on MY4.
Single game tickets for the 2023-2024 FireWolves season are available now! For more information regarding tickets, visit www.AlbanyFireWolves.com or call/text the FireWolves front office at 518-362-4900.
About Albany FireWolves
The Albany FireWolves is the Capital Region’s very own Professional Box Lacrosse team, playing in the National Lacrosse League out of the MVP Arena in downtown Albany, NY. For more information, contact the Albany FireWolves Front Office at (518) 362-4900 or visit AlbanyFireWolves.com. Follow the team on Facebook at facebook.com/AlbFireWolves, Twitter @AlbFireWolves, and Instagram @AlbFireWolves.
About the National Lacrosse League
The National Lacrosse League (NLL) is North America’s premier professional lacrosse league. Founded in 1986, the NLL ranks third in average attendance for pro indoor sports worldwide, behind only the NHL and NBA. The League is comprised of 15 franchises across the United States and Canada: Albany FireWolves, Buffalo Bandits, Calgary Roughnecks, Colorado Mammoth, Georgia Swarm, Halifax Thunderbirds, Las Vegas Desert Dogs, New York Riptide, Panther City Lacrosse Club (TX), Philadelphia Wings, Rochester Knighthawks, San Diego Seals, Saskatchewan Rush, Toronto Rock, and Vancouver Warriors. For more information, visit NLL.com and find @NLL on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter.
About MVP Arena
MVP Arena is a full-service entertainment and sports facility featuring a wide variety of family shows, sporting events, trade shows and concerts. Owned by Albany County and managed by ASM Global, MVP Arena opened in 1990 and is home to the Albany FireWolves of the National Lacrosse League, the Albany Empire of the National Arena League and the Division I Men’s College Basketball Siena Saints. For more information, please visit https://www.mvparena.com/.
