WINGS CLIP ROSTER TO LEAGUE LIMIT OF 23 PLAYERS
TEAM FEATURES 12 PHILADELPHIA-AREA NATIVES AND SEVEN NEW FACES
The Philadelphia Wings, of the National Lacrosse League, trimmed their roster to the NLL limit of 23 players in final preparations for the upcoming 2000 season, it was announced by General Manager Steve Govett and Head Coach Tony Resch.
The 23-man Wings roster features 12 players hailing from the Philadelphia area, including three-year veteran and last season’s Wings’ leading scorer Jake Bergey (Chaddsford, PA), seven-year veteran Paul O’Grady (Ardmore, PA) and nine-year veteran John McEvoy (Havertown, PA).
Two of the most exciting veterans on the 2000 Wings roster are 10-year veterans -- All-Pro Goalie Dallas Eliuk and Kevin Finneran, who is expected to tie an indoor lacrosse record on opening night when he plays in his 96th consecutive game.
The 2000 roster also features seven new comers to the Wings roster, including rookies Gewas Schindler and Jason Clark, six-year veteran Tom Ryan, four-year veteran Tom Phair and three-year veteran Andy Towers. Phair, a resident of Brampton, ONT, is expected to maintain his full-time job in Toronto and fly to Philadelphia weekly for games.
The 2000 Wings will also carry a four-man practice squad, featuring rookies Kevin Kaiser, Brody Bush, Jesse D’Alonzo and Todd Snellenburg.
"This is the deepest team as far as quality talent that we’ve had since our l994 roster," said Govett. "There are 23 players that can step into the 17-man dressing roster on any given night. We have the best goaltending in the League and we’ve added significant size, power and speed on defense. Our transition game is improved drastically and we boast the most potent offense in quite some time."
Last season the Wings finished with a disappointing 5-7 record, the most losses in their 13-year history. The Wings, who last season lost three games by one goal, including two in sudden-death overtime, still managed to qualify for the post season. The Wings are five-time NLL Champions (l989, l990, l994, l995 and l998).
The Wings open their millennium season on Friday, January 7, when they host the NLL’s newest expansion team, the Albany Attack, at the First Union Center, beginning at 7:30 p.m. Tickets at $35, $25, $21 and $16 are available now at the First Union Center box office and all Ticketmaster locations. Season tickets are also available by calling (215) 389-WINGS. Game plans, birthday packages, luxury suites and club boxes, as well as group packages, are available by calling (215) 389-9543.
The Wings are owned and operated by Philadelphia Wings L.P., whose principal owners are Russ Cline and Michael French. Comcast-Spectacor serves as the marketing, promotional, advertising, sponsorship and publicity arm of the Wings.
PHILADELPHIA WINGS 2000 ROSTER
NO. POS. NAME SEASON HT. WT. COLLEGE HOMETOWN
00 G Chris Sanderson Second 5'8" 180 Virginia Hopewell, NJ
1 G Andy Piazza Eighth 5'11" 210 North Carolina Oceanside,
NY
4 F Tom Phair Fourth 5'10" 195 Delaware Brampton, ONT
5 A Gewas Schindler Rookie 5'11" 175 Loyola Baltimore, MD
7 A Paul O'Grady Seventh 6'2" 190 Villanova Ardmore, PA
11 F Kevin Finneran Tenth 6'2" 190 Ohio Wesleyan
Philadelphia, PA
12 F John McEvoy Ninth 5'9" 165 Villanova Havertown, PA
13 F Jason Clark Rookie 5'9" 175 Hartford Westminster,BC
14 A Jim Rogers Eighth 6'0" 175 Villanova New York, NY
17 F Tom Ryan Sixth 6'2" 195 Bowdoin Baltimore, MD
18 A Matt Ogelsby Fifth 6'0" 185 Duke Bryn Mawr, PA
24 F Peter Jacobs Fourth 6'5" 225 Johns Hopkins Baltimore,
MD
35 G Dallas Eliuk Tenth 5'10" 180 Vancouver Vancouver, BC
41 F Michael Busza Third 5'6" 155 Penn State Morton, PA
42 F Tom Marechek Seventh 5'10" 185 Syracuse Baltimore, MD
43 A Tom Slate Fourth 6'0" 200 Essex Springfield, PA
44 F Andy Towers Third 6'4" 220 Brown New York, NY
55 F Dan Radebaugh Fifth 6'2" 210 Maryland Baltimore, MD
66 A Jake Bergey Third 6'0" 205 Salisbury State Chaddsford,
PA
77 F Dave Stilley Third 6'2" 215 Duke Philadelphia, PA
84 F Sean Radebaugh Third 5'11" 170 Maryland Wilmington, DE
88 A Jamie Hanford Second 6'2" 215 Loyola San Fancisco,CA
91 F Greg Traynor Third 6'1" 190 Virginia Rosemont, PA
ps F Kevin Kaiser Rookie 6'1" 200 Johns Hopkins Baltimore,
MD
ps F Brody Bush Rookie 6'0" 180 Rutgers Media, PA
ps F Jesse D'Alonzo Rookie 5'9" 180 Towson Springfield,PA
ps F Todd Snellenburg Rookie 5'10" 175 Drexel Meadowbrook,
PA
ps - denotes member of Wings practice squad
PRESIDENT: Russ Cline EXEC. VICE PRESIDENT: Michael French
COACH: Tony Resch ASSISTANT COACH: Gary Martin
GENERAL MANAGER: Steve Govett COACHES ASSISTANT: Peter Tyson
ATHLETIC TRAINER: Bill Mills EQUIPMENT MGR: Mark Grothmann
DOCTORS: Larry Miller/David Rubinstein
MEDIA RELATIONS: Ike Richman/Shae Sperry